Portfolio Associate

UNOPS supports partners to build a better future by providing services that increase the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of peace building, humanitarian and development projects. Mandated as a central resource of the United Nations, UNOPS provides sustainable project management, procurement and infrastructure services to a wide range of governments, donors and United Nations organizations.

New York Portfolios Office (NYPO) supports the United Nations Secretariat, as well as other New York-based United Nations organizations, bilateral and multilateral partners in the delivery of UNOPS mandate in project management, infrastructure management, and procurement management.

Sustainable Development Cluster (SDC) supports diverse partners with their peacebuilding, humanitarian and development operations. It was formed by combining the following portfolios: Grants Management Services (GMS), UN Technology Support Services (UNTSS), Development and Special Initiatives Portfolio (DSIP) It provides Services to partners’ programmes that are designed, structured, and managed with a global perspective and primarily serving partners that are headquartered in New York. The SDC has a footprint of approximately 125 countries

The position of the Senior portfolio manager is under the Development and Special Initiatives (DSI) portfolio, which supports diverse partners with their peacebuilding, humanitarian and development operations. For example, within the United Nations Development Programme, the DSI supports the Global Program on Nature for Development.

The DSI also supports the United Nations Secretariat, UNWOMEN as well as a broadening community of other New York-based United Nations organizations in the delivery of project management, implementation, and administration services.

The incumbent of this position will be a UNOPS personnel and is under its full responsibility.

*Even though the duty station is indicated as New York, USA, consideration may be given to allow the position to be home-based in a time zone close to New York (USA). For home-based positions, the selected candidate’s remuneration will be determined based on a location-specific pay scale.*

Functional Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Project Manager, the Portfolio Associate will undertake the following activities:

Project Management/Administration

Ensure that implemented activities are aligned with approved project agreements in terms of technical scope, engagement of resources, budget expenditure and agreed timeframe;
Input and update of accurate data and information to facilitate effective delivery of the operations;
Provide inputs to the Project’s work, financial, recruitment and procurement plans as required;
Contribute to the development of Project’s reports and analysis related to project activities;
Establish and maintain project documents/files for easy retrieval of archives related to Project’s activities;
Contribute to the identification, capturing, and assessment of risks/issues and implement mitigation measures in accordance with the Risk Management Strategy;
Contribute to the identification, capturing, and sharing of the Project’s lessons learned and best practices;
Draft reports as envisaged by the Project Document/legal agreement, while in particular considering progress against the Key Performance Indicators;
Contribute to efficient and effective use of Project and UNOPS tools for monitoring of the Project’s performance, outputs and benefits;
Assist with administration and regular monitoring of all budgetary, financial, procurement and routine aspects of project delivery;

Finance

Preparing and handling submission process of budget creation and revision in required formats and in compliance with UNOPS requirements for internal approval, monitoring of funds availability; run budget reports including transactions details and exceptions; Monitor expenditures, verification for accuracy of expenditure requests (COPs, invoices, TECs), completeness of documentation submitted;
Monitoring of payments and follow up when problems arise; Review of Requests for Payments and supporting documentation for completeness, accuracy, compliance with UNOPS FRRs and correctness of account code charges;
Supporting review of financial information with the concerned team, identify bottlenecks and corrective actions;
Preparing and analyzing of financial proposals, and financial reports, including investigation and preparation of adjustments as required;
Creating, importing, reviewing, correcting and processing journal entries in General Ledger. Review and run inquiries included in the journal, ledgers, or accounting entries;
Petty cash management, including preparation, submission for approval, regular monitoring/reconciliation, and closure;
Operational Advance management, including preparation, submission for approval and closure;

Travel/Procurement/Grants/HR

Provide support with event logistics/coordination related to conferences, workshops and retreats. This will include collecting information for the planning phase and execution of related tasks for all events;
Help analyze administration, travel, procurement and policies, assess changes’ impact, and help management with their implementation. Continuous research of the matters related to service provision and partner requirements;
Support timely preparation and submission of periodic inventory reports; coordination of physical verification of inventory items;
Support in the management of project assets, making sure they are properly recorded in oneUNOPS as well as disposed per UNOPS procedures upon project closure;
Provide guidance on administrative, financial and logistical activities of the projects;
Assist in communication with colleagues on areas requiring verification, correction, and additional information to improve the quality of output and /or account submission and increase the knowledge base in the process;
Help ensure that requests from projects to engage with grantees and implementing partners are initiated and processed in a timely and high-quality manner;
Act as the focal point for drafting and facilitating conduct of calls for proposals, grant awards and relevant contracts, facilitating the creation of the respective arrangements between UNOPS and its partners and management of respective contracts to ensure delivery as per project agreements;
Support administration of calls for proposals in line with UNOPS policies and procedures, collection of proposals, review of proposals through a selection committee, preparation and finalization of evaluation reports, as relevant and required;
Help projects liaise with implementing partners to monitor the performance of grants, highlight issues and risks involving grantees, and ensure timely delivery;
Facilitate the creation of grant agreements and disbursements of funds in a timely manner and in accordance with project requirements;
Manage day-to-day administration of the grant management activities, track reports, and process grantee registrations and payments, as required;
Carry out activities related to procurement for various thresholds;
With guidance from the support services team and the Project Manager, contribute to the development of documentation needed for procurements, travel, and engagement of consultants
Identify potential service providers for standard supplies, maintenance, furniture etc. and maintain good relationships with existing ones;
Support when required in travel activities and related processes, including Travel Authorizations, Visas, Travel Expense Claims etc;
Draft procurement awards, contracts, and grant support agreements;
Maintain contracts and grants tracking plan to review contractor invoices and supporting documentation and ensure that services provided and claims are in conformity with the terms of the contract;
Register supplier details in the system and approval follow-ups;
Enter Certificate of Payments for retainers/lump sum contractors and validate monthly payrolls
Liaise and resolve any payroll-related issues with relevant parties.
Support creation and maintenance of HR contract tracker
Perform a backstopping role during the absence of the Project Manager, under the overall supervision of a DSIP Project Manager and/or DSIP Senior Portfolio Manager;
Perform other duties as may be reasonably required and in line with the incumbent’s scope of services above.

Education/ Experience/ Language requirements

*FEMALE CANDIDATES ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY

Education

Completion of secondary education (High School diploma) with a minimum of six (6) years of relevant experience is required;
Advanced University Degree (Master’s Degree or equivalent) or First-level university degree (Bachelor’s degree or equivalent) preferably in business administration, finance, accounting, or related areas is desirable and may reduce the years of relevant experience required.

Required Experience

Minimum six (6) years of experience working in one or more of the following areas: operations, project management, programme management, and administration.
Proficiency in MS Excel and Word or G-sheets and G-Docs is required.

Desirable experience (the following experience is optional candidates who do not have it are welcome to apply):

Proficiency in OneUNOPS, including related systems such as Projects and Reports would be an asset.

Language

Fluency in written and oral English is required.
Fluency in another UN official language is an advantage.

Others

The selected candidate will have to have access to internet connection and computer from the home-based location (if applicable).

Contract type, level and duration

Contract type: Individual Contractor Agreement (ICA)
Contract level: Local Individual Contractor Agreement (L-ICA 6- ICSC6)
Contract duration: The contract for this position is set for a duration until 31 December 2024, with termination upon its conclusion. Any need for services beyond this initial period will be communicated to the incumbent accordingly.

For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link:

https://www.unops.org/english/Opportunities/job-opportunities/what-we-offer/Pages/Individual-Contractor-Agreements.aspx