International Consultant for Programme Finance Support

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

UN Women Regional Office for the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region was established in Istanbul, Turkey, at the beginning of 2014 as a part of the UN Women’s new regional architecture. Much progress has been made since the establishment, but at the same time, the Regional Office faces high expectations and demands from partners at both regional and country levels as well as from UN Women Field Offices.

To enhance the capacity of the programmatic support to the programmes in ECARO and other offices under the Delegation of the regional office, the consultant will work to ensure that greater compliance and accountability are achieved through the proper planning, updating and tracking of project budgets in line with UN Women rules and regulations, with a specific focus on the finance and budget aspects of the projects to include, but not limited to partner engagement, budgets, training, compliance and capacity assessment, audit and review.

Reporting to Regional Office Programme Specialist, ECARO, the Programme Finance consultant works with and provides support to the members of the ECARO Programme Teams as well as ECA offices in the development and implementation of effective programmes consistent with UN Women rules and regulations.  They will contribute to research, financial management, and programme implementation including providing necessary finance-related operational, administrative and programmatic support. The Programme Finance consultant works in close collaboration with the operations, programme and projects’ staff in the RO and UN Women HQs as required for resolving complex finance-related issues and exchange of information.

Under the overall supervision of Programme Specialist the consultant will be responsible for supporting on the following tasks:

1. Provide effective support to programme unit on Budget and Finance Management

• Monitors the budget utilization and implementation, as per the work plan/spending projections and the signed donor agreements;
• Ensures that expenditure is in accordance with the project document and project work plans and that accounting records and supporting documents are properly kept;
• Provide advanced administrative and technical support and inputs in the preparation of programme work plans/spending projections, budgets, and proposals on programme implementation arrangements;
• Creates and oversees projects in UN Women ERP systems, prepares budget revisions, revises project details and status; determines unutilized funds and the operational and financial management of projects from creation to closure;
• Monitors budget preparation and the budget execution of the Regional Office Programmes
• Follow ups on and/or consolidates performance indicators/success criteria, targets and milestones, preparation of financial reports;
• Provides technical guidance to projects/programmes and UN Women Responsible parties on routine implementation, delivery of projects and reporting of programme supported activities and finances; Analysis of the situation in programme, identification of operational and financial problems, development of solutions;
• Ensures full compliance with UN Women rules, regulations, and policies of financial activities, financial recording/reporting system and follow-ups on audit recommendations; implementation of effective internal controls, and proper functioning of a client-oriented financial resources management system.

2. Provide advanced support to projects on partners:

• Support in the selection of partners relating to proposed project proposal review and capacity assessment;
• Support in the preparation of partner advances and liquidations documentation in line with UN Women policy;
• Aid project teams in the submission of partner actions in PGAMS (Partner Agreement management System);
• Provide training to partners on liquidation of advances and related reporting on liquidations; and
• Work with the regional VSGC focal point on donor reporting to ensure that the correct reports are received as required.

3. Provide advanced administrative support to programme unit

• Support in ECARO team as required to prepare documentation relating to expenditures;
• Support ECARO as needed in the preparation and review of audit related documentation;
• Provide training in all areas related to project budgets and finances for both project teams and partners as required.
• The consultant will at any time provide support in any Programme related areas to ECARO and the region as requested by the ECARO Programme Specialist.

Deliverables

Duration of this assignment is proposed for a maximum of 240 days (20 days per month).

Payment schedule

Work plan will be set at beginning of the contract with clear scheduled monthly milestones/deliverables. This work plan will be agreed between the consultant and the ECARO supervisor.

Monthly payments will be made based on the supervisor reviewing and confirming/signing off that the consultant has met the required deliverables set in this work plan. This will also be accompanied by a time sheet submitted by the consultant to the supervisor.

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

Functional Competencies

• Strong knowledge of programme management;  
• Ability to create, edit, synthesize and present information in clear and presentable formats;
• Ability to administer and execute administrative processes and transactions;
• Ability to provide input to business process re-engineering, elaboration and implementation of new data management systems;
• Ability to manage data, documents, correspondence and reports information and workflow;
• Excellent financial and budgeting skills;
• Excellent IT skills.

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in finance-related field required, equivalent technical certification accepted.
• Master’s degree in Business Administration, finance, accounting or
• A first-level university degree (Bachelor) in combination with additional two years of qualifying experience may be acceptable in lieu of the Master’s degree

Work Experience:

• At least 7 years of progressively responsible experience in finance relating to programme management/support;
• Experience in UN Women budgeting;
• Experience in working in a computer environment using multiple office software packages;
• Knowledge of UN Women project management cycles is considered an asset;
• Experience in the use of ERP systems such as ATLAS/QUANTUM is an asset; and
• Experience in supporting a team.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required; and
• Working knowledge in another official UN language is an asset.

Evaluation of applicants

Candidates will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal. Contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

a)  Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and

b)  Having received the highest score out of below defined technical and financial criteria.

Interviews and/or written tests will be organized, if needed, depending on the short-listed candidates’ qualifications. Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for financial evaluation.

UN Women may request a follow-up interview for short-listed candidates based on the quality of applications.

Financial Evaluation (30%) – max. 30 points:

The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal. All other price proposals receive points in inverse proportion. A suggested formula is as follows:

p = 30 (µ/z)

Using the following values:

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

µ = price of the lowest priced proposal

z = price of the proposal being evaluated

Application procedure

The following documents should be submitted as part of the application:

• Cover letter to include a brief overview about which of your previous experiences makes you the most suitable candidate for the advertised position.
• Signed P11 (and CV) including past experience in similar assignments; can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment, a signed copy should be submitted with the application.

           P11 should include all ICT related experience, skills and applications worked on.

• Financial Proposal Specifying a total lump sum for assignment inclusive of a daily rate amount for the tasks specified in this Terms of Reference. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount. Travel (tickets, DSA etc.) should not be included in the lump sum and will be paid for separately by UN Women based on their requirement to the assignment.

          *Please note that application without financial proposal will not be considered.

Candidates should have the ability to quickly produce degree certificates and medical certification (of good health) should they be short-listed in consideration of the consultancy post.

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, colour, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination.  All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)