Job: Country Team Leader

Location: Thimphu, Bhutan
Deadline: Saturday, 16 November 2013

UNOPS mission is to expand the capacity of the UN system and its partners to implement peacebuilding, humanitarian and development operations that matter for people in need. Working in some of the world's most challenging environments, our vision is to always satisfy partners with management services that meet world-class standards of quality, speed and cost effectiveness.

UNOPS provides services in sustainable infrastructure, sustainable procurement and sustainable project management, with projects ranging from building schools, roads, bridges and hospitals to procuring goods and services and training local personnel.

By assisting UN organizations, international financial institutions, governments and other development partners, UNOPS makes significant, tangible contributions to results on the ground.

We employ more than 6,000 personnel annually and on behalf of our partners create thousands more work opportunities in local communities. Through our headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark and a network of regional and country offices, we oversee activities in more than 80 countries.

UNOPS is committed to achieving a truly diverse workforce.

The Global Fund does not have a country-level presence outside of its central Secretariat. Instead, it hires third party Local Fund Agents (LFAs) to oversee, verify and report on grant performance. LFAs are selected through a competitive bidding process.

The Global Fund typically engages one LFA in each country where its grant funds are disbursed. The LFA provides access to local knowledge that is relevant to grant performance. The Global Fund adheres to the principles of performance-based funding in making disbursement decisions. The aim is to ensure that investments are made only where funding is managed and spent effectively on programmes that achieve impact in fighting the relevant diseases.The LFA is a crucial part of the Global Fund's system of oversight and risk management. Its principal role is to provide informed and independent professional advice about the capacity of fund/grant recipients to manage the implementation of activities funded by grant funds (including the recipient's capacity to oversee implementation of activities by implementing parties), to make recommendations concerning periodic disbursement of grant funds, to review grant performance when a grant is being considered for renewal, and to provide the donor on an on-going basis with relevant information on issues or risks which might affect grant performance.

The LFA is expected to have an up-to-date and comprehensive understanding of relevant diseases (HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria), how they are prevented, transmitted and treated, and their impact on a specific country. The LFA team assesses the recipients' institutional, programme management, financial management, procurement and supply management capacities and systems to ensure that those are appropriate for implementation of donor grant programs. The LFA team also determines whether the recipient has adequate infrastructure and information systems to support grant implementation, including the monitoring of performance of implementing partners and outsourced entities in a timely and accountable manner. The Global Fund has adopted an intensive risk management approach to services with enhanced effort toward in-depth verifications and reporting. The identification of financial and programmatic risks with ongoingupdates shall be provided to the donor with special attention to the overallcontext of the relevant diseases and grant implementation in country.

The LFA Team Leader (TL) will be based in Bhutan and will report to the Team Leader & Quality Assurance Advisor for GFATM Activities of UNOPS. The TL is responsible for the management of the UNOPS LFA team in Bhutan and for the quality of all deliverables submitted to the client.

The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.

Functional Responsibilities

1. Local Fund Agent (LFA) Team Leader

Leadership and Management

The incumbent is required to perform the function of leadership and management of UNOPS team

activities by carrying out the following activities:

• Supervise and closely monitor the work of UNOPS country teams;

• Ensure the allocation of tasks within the teams and the involvement of the appropriate expertise;
• Ensure that all teamwork, including inputs of all technical experts, is of high quality and completed within the timeframe, and as per guidelines set by the donor;
• Hold regular UNOPS team meetings and promote teamwork and enthusiasm among team members for the provision of services to the donor;
• Lead and guide, troubleshoot and advise the team on remedial actions to be taken;
• Ensure completion of the performance management process for the team;
• Provide development opportunities for the team members;
• Ensure that adequate working environment is maintained for the UNOPS teams, including the provision of logistical and administrative support;
• Develop the annual scope of work, cost proposal and the consequent annual work plan of team activities;
• Maintain updated schedule of time worked by all team members in each technical area;
• Foster an atmosphere of team spirit, mutual respect and professional independence within the teams.

Relationship with the Global Fund

Demonstrate an overall understanding of the grant architecture and in-depth knowledge of all team activities required to be performed as described in the GF Manual;

• Remain updated on GF guidelines and procedures, timeframes for completion of Team activities, and the forms and templates to be used in the field of work;
• Proactively monitor grant implementation and/or performance by recipients through regular contact, including with other stakeholders;
• Provide the GF with relevant information on issues or concerns/ risks which may affect grant performance; such should be reported to the donor/client either through regular deliverables or through special channels and protocols of communications set up by the donor/client, and as per UNOPS rules and regulations;
• Attend meetings and other ad hoc events related to grant implementation, and in line with the scope of work agreed with the donor/client, and keep the donor informed on relevant matters;
• Coordinate closely with UNOPS global quality assurance team to arrange any necessary technical support;
• Facilitate visits by donor staff and travel as necessary for joint monitoring visits.

Content management

• Organize and lead recipient assessments, and financial and programmatic reviews to provide informed and independent professional advice to the donor about the capacity of recipients to effectively manage and implement the donor grant funds;

• Assist the GF in grant negotiations;
• Assist the GF in grant closure activities;
• Verify quarterly financial and programmatic reports and disbursement request to make recommendations to the donor concerning periodic disbursement of grant funds;
• Organize and lead on-site data verifications, financial spot checks and other exercises including travel to monitor status of grant implementation;
• Lead the preparation of coherent reports which reflect the professional excellence of UNOPS; including organizing joint team reviews of all major reports prior to submission for external QA;
• Undertake preliminary quality assurance of all deliverables to be submitted to the donor, to ensure that these are in line with contemporary professional standards; Perform other duties as per the donor manual and/or as assigned/ required.

Report reviews

• Reviewing progress update reports and disbursement requests submitted by the grant recipients as per following:
• Verifying grant recipient and implementing partners' primary records (supporting documents submitted) for accuracy and completeness, and for the correspondence of those, with the summary internal/external reports prepared by the grant recipients and implementing partners;
• Conducting cross-checks of various primary documents with the summary reports Interviewing grant recipients and implementing partners' relevant staff members; Debriefing grant recipient and implementing partners' staff members on the main findings from the UNOPS verifications/reports;
• Cross verification of financial data with Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) and health/programmatic, management and procurement data/information Conduct comprehensive financial analysis and reflect in the finance-related sections of the obligatory reporting template.

Implementation Reviews

• Organize and lead recipient assessments, and financial reviews to provide informed and independent professional advice to the donor about the capacity of recipients to effectively manage and implement the donor grant funds from a financial perspective; Conduct regular (preferably monthly) and field visits to the grant recipients and implementing partners and provide independent opinion and analysis on the financial management by the relevant parties;
• Identify financial weaknesses and make recommendations with timeframes for necessary follow up by the grant recipients and implementing partners;
• Suggest remedial measures on the potential weaknesses in the management of implementing partners, to ensure the optimum utilization of donor grant money and safeguarding the funds against any fraud;
• Undertake quality assurance of the LFA financial deliverables to be submitted to the donor, to ensure that these are in line with contemporary professional standards;
• Immediately raise all suspicious acts, transactions and activities and processes which may pose potential risks, misconduct, mismanagement, misuse and frauds by grant recipients and implementing partners to the attention of the Central Coordination Team (CCT) and GF;
• In conducting the above tasks, ensure that relevant guidelines and policies are adhered to including the ones which are related to the finance functional area. The respective international guidelines (e.g. WHO, UNAIDS, etc) shall be also consulted and followed.

2. Finance Quality Assurance support to CCT

• Support the CCT QA Team Leader in carring out Quality Assurnace of selected key LFA deliverables submitted by other country teams in financial management functional area (e.g. Progress Update Disbursement Request (PUDR), On Site Data Verification (OSDV), Rapid Services Quality Assessment (RSQA), Phase 2 assessment reports, Principal Recipient (PR) assessment reports, etc)

3. Any other related duties as directed by the supervisor and/or GF Programme Manager.

Education

A university master's degree in one of below mentioned fields is required:

• Finance/Accounting;
• Public Administration; Public Health Administration;
• Business Administration; or other relevant discipline.
• A university bachelor's degree combined with professional training and additional years of relevant experience may be considered in substitution of a master's degree.

Professional Certifications:

• Prince 2 Practitioner (desirable)

Experience

• 10 years of management experience, preferably in the health, social or financial sector, with:
• strong project management and team management skills, ability to prioritize tasks and meet multiple deadlines in complex environment;
• an in-depth knowledge of issues relating to project management in developing countries; and
• strong interpersonal skills, diplomacy and tact to effectively communicate with senior-level officials, multiple stakeholders and professionals from diverse cultural and professional backgrounds; and strong professional oral communication, writing and analytical skills, including the development of reports, oral presentations, and technical/persuasive documents.

Competencies

Skills

• Strong project management and team management skills, ability to prioritize tasks and meet multiple deadlines in complex environment;
• In-depth knowledge of issues relating to project management in developing countries;
• Strong interpersonal skills, diplomacy and tact to effectively communicate with senior-level officials, multiple stakeholders and professionals from diverse cultural and professional backgrounds;
• Strong professional oral communication, writing and analytical skills, including the development of reports, oral presentations, and technical/persuasive documents.;
• Experience in financial accounting, with the ability to review and analyse accounting transactions;
• Experience in reviewing and negotiating budgets;
• Experience with financial management systems, with the ability to review and assess internal controls and financial processes and procedures and provide recommendations for improvement;
• Experience with reviewing financial statements (including income and expenditure statements, balance sheets and cash reconciliation statements);
• Experience with reviewing and interpretation of audit reports;
• Experience with grants management, fund management, cash management, financial management / analysis / reporting, asset management, planning and reviewing and project financial control;
• Must be skilled in at least one of the following technical areas: financial management, health program management, procurement and supply chain management, and monitoring and evaluation;
• Experience with larger donors in the area of health is an advantage;

Languages

• Fluency in English is required. Working knowledge of local languages is desirable.

Competencies

• Management experience.
• Supervisory experience.
• Financial management experience
• Health sector experience.
• Decision making.
• Ability to analyse.
• Organizing and quality orientation.
• Communication skills.
• Client focus.
• Leadership experience.

Contract type, level and duration

Contract type: Individual Contractor Agreement Contract level: Local ICA Specialist Level 8 (or UNDP Service Band 5)Contract duration: 1 year, renewable subject to satisfactory performance and funding availability For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link: http://www.unops.org/ENGLISH/WHOWENEED/CONTRACT-TYPES/Pages/Individual-Contractor-Agreements-ICAs.aspx

Additional Considerations

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time (CET)
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns. Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

CANDIDATES ARE STRONGLY RECOMMENDED TO SUBMIT A ONE PAGE COVER LETTER ALONG WITH THEIR APPLICATION, INCLUDING THE NAMES AND CONTACT DETAILS OF THREE PROFESSIONAL REFERENCES.

More Info and Application