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UN Consultancy: Natl. Finance & Compliance Consultant monitor grant disbursement by ROK Project – Vientiane

DMSPC - United Nations Department of Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance

JOB DESCRIPTION

  • Natl. Finance & Compliance Consultant monitor grant disbursement by ROK Project

Natl. Finance & Compliance Consultant monitor grant disbursement by ROK Project

Procurement Process

IC – Individual contractor

Office

UNDP-LAO – LAO PDR

Deadline

17-Feb-25 @ 11:59 AM (New York time)

Published on

04-Feb-25 @ 12:00 AM (New York time)

Reference Number

UNDP-LAO-00450

Contact

Kongthanou Khanthavixay, Procurement Analyst – [email protected]

This specific tender is managed via the new supplier portal system of UNDP Quantum. If you are interested in submitting a bid for this tender, you must subscribe following the instructions in the user guide. If you have not registered a profile with this system, you can do so by following the link for Supplier Registration.

If you already have a supplier profile, please access the negotiation using quicklink or please login to the Supplier Portal, then search for the negotiation using the reference number UNDP-LAO-00450, following the instructions in the user guide.

Introduction

Country: Vientiane Capital, Laos

 

Description of the Assignment:

Background

The Project entitled “Enhancing Integrated Water Management and Climate Resilience in Vulnerable Urban Areas of the Mekong River Basin” is a transboundary project that seeks to strengthen the climate and disaster resilience of people and communities in vulnerable regions of Lao PDR and Cambodia through improved risk and vulnerability assessment and advancing an integrated approach to water resources management.

This project is implemented by UNDP, in close cooperation with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare (MLSW). Asian Water Council (AWC) and K-Water will conduct some of the activities.

Taking a barrier-removal approach tailored for each country, the project will address gaps in efficient delivery of integrated water resource management to enhance the availability of resources for investment in water-related risk reduction at the institutional as well as community levels. There are two outcomes intended at the country-level activity implementation: 1) Inclusive assessment of water-related climate risks completed in the priority river basins, and 2) Enabling environment for gender-responsive climate risk-informed integrated water resources management (IWRM) developed.

In Lao PDR, project interventions are targeted in the Xe Bang Fai and Xe Don river catchment areas across four districts of the southern provinces of Khammouane and Champassak. These are expected directly benefit approximately 106,481 and overall benefit (direct + indirect) over 1.6 million people within the target provinces. The project is being implemented by UNDP, in close cooperation with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) with inputs from the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare (MLSW). The Asian Water Council (AWC) and K-Water also provide support for some of the project activities.

Outcome 2 of the project aims to improve the enabling environment for vulnerable groups, including women and ethnic groups, who are economically and financially susceptible to the impacts of climate change in the target provinces. In order to leverage the existing gaps in a rural economy and increase their resilience, the project is looking to

· Utilize the Village Development Fund (VDF)[1] already established in the target provinces and demonstrate their potential for low value loan/grant support to reach out to those needed.

·build capacities at the community level to facilitate long term sustainability of the low value grant support mechanism.

·empower local communities by administering cash-for-work, entrepreneurship and livelihood, volunteering and other initiatives, as appropriate.

In this regard, UNDP is seeking the services of National Finance & Compliance Officer to administer and monitor disbursement of grants through the Relief Fund Facility (RFF) operationalized by the project in the eight targeted villages across four districts in Khammouane and Champasak province.

Scope of Work

The successful applicant will be expected to undertake the tasks as described below:

1. Receive, check and submit grant proposal packages for approval by the Grant Selection Committee (GSC) under the RFF including

·Receiving grant proposals submitted by the eight target villages

· Conducting preliminary checks to ensure that the proposals provide adequate details, follow the requisite formats, templates and before they are presented to the GSC for approval;

·In consultation with the National Project Coordinator work with the VDFs and/or respective focal points to draft, revise and complete the grant proposals submission package

· In coordination with the National Project Coordinator, prepare, submit and present the final Grant Proposals to the GSC for approval;

·Maintain and update notes, files, physical and digital records in relation to the decisions of the GSC during approval meetings that take place at regular intervals;

 

2. Process the disbursement of grants (in up to three tranches) post approval by the GSC

· Upon approval by GSC, in consultation with the Project Coordinator, complete the requisite signatures from the UNDP CO, Department of Water Resources (DWR) MONRE, and the GSC to process the grants as per the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) prescribed by the project;

· In consultation with the Project Finance and Admin officer and the Project Coordinator, coordinate with the UNDP Country Office to complete the necessary processes to initiate the grant disbursement;

·Process the disbursement of grants as per the approved disbursement schedule to the respective VDF in the target villages. Grants to the villages are expected to be disbursed to the target villages in the up to three tranches as per details in the RFF SOPs.

· Record, update and track the transfer of funds to the VDFs and/or direct payments, as appropriate, made as per the approved grants proposal to the target villages

 

3. Monitoring and Reporting to ensure compliance of the utilization of disbursed grants.

·Develop and maintain updated accounting records, use financial monitoring and tracking tools to ensure proper utilization of disbursed grants;

· Provide technical support to the VDF management committee members on recordkeeping to ensure members correctly record and monitor all financial transactions in compliance with the RFF SOPs.

· Undertake on-site inspection and off-site monitoring of the VDFs’ recordkeeping systems to ensure that information and transactions are correctly recorded.

· Undertake monitoring visits to the target villages at regular interval, as determined in consultation with the project team, to gather evidence, record progress, ensure compliance and capture findings for the utilization of disbursed grants.

·Coordinate with the respective VDFs and/or focal points to collect any missing and/or additional information in relation to the disbursed grants.

· Bring to the attention of UNDP, the project team and the GSC and irregularities and practices not in alignment with RFF SOPs, approved grant proposals and/or UNDP policies.

 

4. Prepare progress reports and present findings to the GSC at regular intervals.

· Develop progress reports at regular intervals for the consumption of the GSC in relation to disbursement, disbursement status, utilization progress, financial statements in relation to the RFF

·Present of challenges and opportunities for the utilization of the Project Relief Funds to be closely monitored by the project

·Develop a consolidated final report on closure of the RFF under the project.

[1] The VDF was set up nationwide in 1997 as part of the government policy to provide financial services to the poor. The fund aimed at enhancing income generating activities and contributing to poverty alleviation. The semi-formal financial sector is allowed to provide limited financial services, such as loans, but not deposit or savings accounts. Within slightly more than a decade, there were more than 3,300 instances of VDF with more than 334,000 households as members and nearly one-half of the establishments in the Central region (Bounthom Sissoumang, et. al. 2013). The VDF is the largest informal financial sector in Lao PDR (2013).

Period of assignment/services: 140 working days.

 

Proposal should be submitted directly in the portal no later than indicated deadline.

 

Any request for clarification must be sent in writing via messaging functionality in the portal. UNDP will respond in writing including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry.

Please indicate whether you intend to submit a bid by creating a draft response without submitting directly in the system. This will enable the system to send notifications in case of amendments of the tender requirements. Should you require further clarifications, kindly communicate using the messaging functionality in the system. Offers must be submitted directly in the system following this link: http://supplier.quantum.partneragencies.org using the profile you may have in the portal. In case you have never registered before, you can register a profile using the registration link shared via the procurement notice and following the instructions in guides available in UNDP website: https://www.undp.org/procurement/business/resources-for-bidders. Do not create a new profile if you already have one. Use the forgotten password feature in case you do not remember the password or the username from previous registration.

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements


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