Country: Bangladesh
Closing date: 03 May 2018
UNOPS Bangladesh
UNOPS has been present in Bangladesh since 2003, initially providing operational support programme focusing on police reforms and disaster management. The presence has significantly grown since then with UNOPS being appointed as Local Fund Agent for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Bangladesh.
In 2014, UNOPS established formal representation in Bangladesh as a response to a request from the Executive Board of UNOPS to provide more substantial support to the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) across various areas, including organisational capacity development and integrating resilient infrastructure approaches. The office currently provides capacity development support to several GOB infrastructure related agencies and some key national NGOs with a focus at improving operational capacities within the sectors of procurement, human resources management, finance and internal control, and project management.
Moving forward, UNOPS, in line with its global priorities is expanding its portfolio within Bangladesh to provide more significant support in the sectors of resilient infrastructure, fund management and operational efficiency with an emphasis on building national capacities, improving resilience of communities and supporting in the implementation of SDGs.
Within this focus, UNOPS is currently in the process of initiating the next Bangladeshi National Resilience Programme with UNDP and UN-Women in keeping with priorities of GOB and international agreements such as the Sendai Framework. Building on its extensive global expertise in Fund Management, UNOPS is also working with key development partners in the country in managing a development fund that has been set-up to strengthen preparedness, humanitarian disaster response and early recovery (SHPR Fund).
General Background on the Assignment
Strengthening Humanitarian Preparedness and Response Programme (SHPR)
DFID–Bangladesh (DfID-B) Strengthening Humanitarian Preparedness and Response (SHPR) programme aims to provide more effective, timely and predictable humanitarian support to refugees in Bangladesh and to vulnerable communities following disasters. It also aims to strengthen the ability of the Government of Bangladesh to effectively meet the needs of these groups, and to reduce the scale of impact of disasters when they occur.
The principle objectives of the SHPR are articulated around three Pillars.
Pillar 1: Augment disaster preparedness and disaster risk reduction including for large‐ scale catastrophic emergencies and recurrent, predictable events;
Pillar 2: Respond to the impact of disaster events through the provision of predictable, timely and high quality humanitarian support;
Pillar 3: Deliver urgent humanitarian support to Rohingya refugees and needy host communities as well as creating an enabling environment for Rohingya related relief agencies through support to coordination fora.
The SHPR has initially been established as a facility to support DFID funding only. Depending on the successful implementation of the fund, and interest from other donors to coordinate their humanitarian funding through a joint platform, the Programme may be upgraded to a multi donor programme at a later stage.
DFID has engaged UNOPS to provide fund management services to programmes under Pillar 1 and 3, whilst DFID will manage Pillar 2. Programmes under Pillars 1 and 3 include a Joint Needs Assessment programme by CARE, a joint-UN disaster preparedness programme via UNICEF, support to Mission Aviation Fellowship, IOM’s support to the Government of Bangladesh’ Rohingya Strategy and a Coordinated iNGO programme via ACF. The Bangladesh National Resilience Programme under Pillar 1 will have a different modality for UNOPS, where it will be an Administrative Agent rather than a Fund Manager.
As the Fund Manager, UNOPS is responsible for multiple functions vis-à-vis the SHPR Programme including, design of an early recovery/emergency response facility, fiduciary management, legal and technical oversight, monitoring and evaluation, reporting, quality assurance and communication. UNOPS will also be required to support DFID in its humanitarian agenda from the onset of this project.
Purpose and Scope of Assignment
UNOPS seeks an experienced professional to lead UNOPS team that will deliver Fund Management Services to the SHPR.
The Fund Manager will have overall responsibility of implementing the Agreement on behalf of UNOPS and have a thorough understanding of the terms, conditions, and the respective roles and responsibilities of the partners / stakeholders to ensure the SHPR programme is capable of meeting the business cases of both UNOPS and DFID.
The incumbent will have substantial experience in the preparedness, humanitarian and disaster response themes. Responsibilities will include inter alia, overall project management, stakeholder management, some technical oversight functions and leadership in designing of the Emergency Response Facility. S/he will also take the lead in providing advisory support to DFID humanitarian agenda during the project.
Stakeholder Management:
- Establish solid working relationship with the SHPR Management Committee , DFID focal point(s),SHPR implementing partners, UN RC Office Humanitarian Adviser, and other key stakeholders
- Manage communications and ensure stakeholders are aware of SHPR activities, progress, exceptions and are in a position to accept handover of SHPR deliverables
- Advise DFID on issues that may impact the achievement of their outcomes
- Manage the information flows between the Management Committee / UNOPS Bangladesh Country Manager and the UNOPS team dedicated to the SHPR Programme
Team Leadership
- Provide direction and leadership to the UNOPS Team responsible for the SHPR Fund Management
- Coach/mentor team members where applicable
- Issue and conflict resolution within the team and between the UNOPS team and stakeholders
Delivery and Performance:
- Lead the design of the early recovery/emergency response facility of the SHPR
- Lead the design and deploy a Beneficiary Accountability Mechanism (BAM) that would provide a platform for beneficiaries to report on respective programmes under the SHPR
- Advise and support DFID on their humanitarian agenda
- Implement approved programme plans (including the establishment of milestones) within tolerances set by the Management Committee
- Manage delivery of the programme’s outputs, taking responsibility for overall progress and use of resources and initiating corrective action where necessary
- Authorize, monitor and control work packages to be delivered by the UNOPS team or by implementing partners
- Advise the Management Committee of deviations that have or will exceed set tolerances as approved in the programme plan
- Identify and manage risks so that maximum benefit to client and stakeholders is achieved
- Monitor and evaluate performance of implementing partners from a fiduciary and contract management perspective
- Control risks to UNOPS internal business case and take corrective action
- Represent UNOPS at Management Committee meetings on a periodic basis in order to discuss key issues and propose solutions to fiduciary and operational challenges that arise
- Ensure that SHPR Programme activities are carried out in a timely fashion and the delineation of responsibilities remains clear
- Monitor progress of the programme at a strategic level and ensure periodic progress and updates are made to the Management Committee
Procedures:
- Follow the Project Management Cycle and ensure that UNOPS organizational policy is complied with (Organizational Directives and Administrative Instructions)
On behalf of UNOPS, contribute to the development of the following plans for approval by the Management Committee:
SHPR Programme Plan
Subsequent Stage Plans
As well as being responsible for the reporting as stipulated in the agreement the Fund Manager and his / her team shall prepare the following reports:
Highlight Reports
End Stage Reports
Operational Closure Checklist
Handover Report
Maintain critical programme records / documents via the Electronic Blue File (online audit / record retention folder)
Ensure that all Programme activities comply with UNOPS Financial Regulations and Rules (FRR).
Manage budgets, cash flow and obligations to ensure that deliverables are met and payments to contractors, grantees/ implementing partners and personnel are received on time.
Understand and manage UNOPS pricing policy and related corporate charges as they apply to the Fund
Ensure implementing partner capacity is commensurate with funding requirements
Understand the structure and approaches of the UN and budget appropriately for personnel
Manage and remain accountable for expenditures against the budget (based on accurate financial reports)
Participate as a member of the UNOPS Bangladesh Senior Management Team
Ensure appropriate measures have been documented in a Closure Plan to facilitate the transition of operations in the final stage of delivery
Knowledge Management:
- Participate in relevant UNOPS Communities of Practice
- Actively interact with the PM community to share case studies, lessons learned and best practice
- Provide feedback to Practice Leads on policy, supporting guidance with an aim towards continuous improvement of UNOPS policies
- Complete lessons learned as per reporting format
- Contribute to the regional Centre of Excellence for Program/Fund Management
Core Values:
- Understand and Respect National ownership and capacity
- Harmonization within the UN and beyond
- Service to others
- Accountability for results and the use of resources
- Excellent facilitation, diplomatic, communication and networking skills and proven ability to perform in a sensitive working environment
Further duties may be identified throughout the implementation period.
How to apply:
For further information and to apply, please visit: https://jobs.unops.org/pages/viewvacancy/VADetails.aspx?id=15442#1