UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

UNDP is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP’s policy work carried out at HQ, Regional and Country Office levels forms a contiguous spectrum of deep local knowledge to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy. In this context, UNDP invests in the Global Policy Network (GPN), a network of field-based and global technical expertise across a wide range of knowledge domains and in support of the signature solutions and organizational capabilities envisioned in the Strategic Plan.

Within the GPN, the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP’s Strategic Plan.  BPPS’s staff provides technical advice to Country Offices; advocates for UNDP corporate messages, represents UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora including public-private dialogues, government and civil society dialogues, and engages in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas.  BPPS works closely with UNDP’s Crisis Bureau (CB) to support emergency and crisis response.  BPPS ensures that issues of risk are fully integrated into UNDP’s development programmes. BPPS assists UNDP and partners to achieve higher quality development results through an integrated approach that links results-based management and performance monitoring with more effective and new ways of working.  BPPS supports UNDP and partners to be more innovative, knowledge and data driven including in its programme support efforts.

UNDP’s 2018-2021 Strategic Plan emphasizes the critical links between environmental sustainability, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and broader efforts to achieve the goals of the 2030 Agenda and Paris Agreement. As part of the Global Policy Network in the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, UNDP’s Nature, Climate Change, and Energy (NCE) Team promotes and scales up integrated whole-of-governance approaches and nature-based solutions that reduce poverty and inequalities, strengthen livelihoods and inclusive growth, mitigate conflict, forced migration and displacement, and promote more resilient governance systems that advance linked peace and security agendas.

The NCE Team works with governments, civil society, and private sector partners to integrate natural capital, environment and climate concerns into national and sector planning and inclusive growth policies; support country obligations under Multilateral Environmental Agreements; and implement the UN’s largest portfolio of in-country programming on environment, climate change, and energy. This multi-billion dollar portfolio encompasses: Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services including forests; Sustainable Land Management and Desertification including food and commodity systems; Water and Ocean Governance including SIDS; Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation; Renewable and Modern Energy; Extractive Industries; Chemicals and Waste Management; Environmental Governance and Green/Circular Economy and SCP approaches. This work advances crosscutting themes on innovative finance, digital transformation, capacity development, human rights, gender equality, health, technology, and South-South learning.

In addition to UNDP’s bilateral partnerships on natural capital, environment and climate, UNDP is an accredited multilateral implementing agency of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Multilateral Fund (MLF), the Adaptation Fund (AF) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) which  includes the Global Environment Facility Trust Fund (GEF Trust Fund), the Nagoya Protocol Implementation Fund (NPIF), the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), and the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF). As part of UNDP’s partnership with these vertical funds, UNDP provides countries specialized integrated technical services for eligibility assessment, programme formulation, capacity development, policy advice, technical assistance, training and technology transfer, mobilization of co-financing, implementation oversight, results management and evaluation, performance-based payments and knowledge management services.

The Environmental Finance Unit has the objective to help countries achieve the simultaneous eradication of poverty and significant reduction of inequalities and exclusion by assisting Country Offices (COs) in accessing environmental finance for sustainable development.  The Environmental Finance Unit has specialized technical and policy advisory teams in New York, Addis Ababa, Geneva, Istanbul, Bangkok and Panama working on catalyzing environmental and climate finance for climate-resilient, sustainable development. To achieve this, the Environmental Finance Unit works closely with UNDP country offices to develop country capacity to put in place the right mix of regulatory and financial incentives, remove institutional and policy barriers, and create enabling environments that attract and drive public and private sector investment into sustainable development.  In doing this, The Environmental Finance Unit assists partner countries to access, combine, and sequence resources from a wide range of funds, financial instruments, and mechanisms. 

The Management and Programme Support Unit (MPSU) of the Environmental Finance Unit is responsible for all programme support, operational, and financial matters related to the management and oversight of the GEF Family funds, GCF, AF, Cost Sharing funds, and Management funds to support the Unit. The complexity of GEF/GCF funded projects and donor reporting requirements, the huge Environmental Finance portfolio size, the highly decentralized business structure and delegation to regions, requires a team highly skilled in programme support, operations and financial management located at HQ and in the regions.

The Management and Programme Support Analyst (MPSA) will be reporting to the team lead of the MPSU. The MPSA works in close collaboration with the Environmental Finance teams in HQ and Regional Hubs, with COs, and other UNDP Units to ensure a consistent quality service delivery and practices.

This is an out-posted position and will be located in UNDP’s Regional Hub in Istanbul, Turkey.

 

 

Summary of Key Functions:

  • Provide portfolio oversight management of Country Offices andimplementation support;
  • Reviews for exceptions accounts and ensure Country Offices are taken corrective actions in budget, expenditures and deviations;
  • Knowledge, Capacity Building, Lessons and ToolsDevelopment.

 

1) Ensuresoundoversightmanagementof the Environmental Finance Unit GEF/GCF/AF portfolio under COsbyprovidingefficientandeffectiveimplementation oversight and support

 

  • EfficientmanagementofkeyfinancialandoperationalmilestonesfromCEO/donorapprovalsto financial closures of EF funded projects and cost sharingprojects;
  • Conduct portfolio analysis (project level, CO level and regional level), identify exceptions and implementation issues,and recommendsolutions;
  • Conduct delivery related analysis, and provide periodic delivery reports to team leads, andto Regional Team Leader as needed
  • Review Regional Technical Advisor (RTA)-cleared Annual Work Plans (AWPs) (incl. Multi-year Budget), compare to Atlas KK budgets, verify cumulative expenditure status and project budget balance etc. before approval by MPSU team lead;
  • Assist  MPSU team lead in monitoring threshold for disbursements for cash-controlled projects and prepare disbursement requests to HQ for approval;
  • Assist and backup MPSU team lead in reviewing the proposals, project documents, initiation plans, etc. for financial review for submission to donors and before issuing delegation of authority to country offices;
  •  Monitoring of projects that have completed Terminal Evaluations and ensure they are marked operationally closed in Atlas on time and follow-up with country offices for financial closure within six months from operational closure.  Also monitor and follow-up with country office on closure of old and inactive projects both in atlas and in PIMS+;
  • Follow-up with Country Offices on NIM advances. Ensure advances are liquidated on time and old and credit NIM advances are followed up with country for their urgent actions;
  • Back up MPSU team lead in providing financial review (or clearance) on project submissions or for DOAs.

 

2) Ensure exceptions are reviewed periodically and ensure country offices are taken corrective actions

 

  • Periodical review of expenditure accounts with exception accounts which are not acceptable to vertical fund donors.  Upon identification usage of these accounts, notify country offices for corrective actions within stipulated period;
  • Review expenditures against project budgets, including but not limited to project management cost and UNDP support services in the projects, alerting the team lead, and follow up with COs on any non-compliance of spending, budgeting for CO’s attention, and for  their actions in resolving relevant issues;
  • Monitor deviations in expenditures from the approved budgets and request country office for actions;
  • Assist and backup MPSU team lead in review of financial reports to GCF/GEF/AF and other donors after ensuring expenditures are in line with the Project Documents and donor agreement, and after ensuring corrective actions are taken on exceptions, deviations, etc.;
  • Review Budgets in Atlas, and review budget dialogues in PIMS+;
  • Efficientmanagementofkey MPSU financialmilestonesfromCEO/donorapprovalsto financial closures of GEF funded projects and cost sharingprojects;
  • Conduct regional portfolio analysis, identify any bottlenecks in the implementations, and recommendsolutions;
  • Review all exceptions and deviations at project level, between Cash/ASL, budgets, Expense, Commitments, NIM advances, and ensure compliance with multi-year budgeting by COs.  Alert MPSU team lead of all deviations and take actions as required;
  • Assist MPSU team lead on all audits.

 

3) Knowledge management, Capacity Building and learning

 

  • Identify needs, provide guidance and training to COs on implementation, oversight, exceptions reviews, development of budget for proposals, project documents for GEF (and other donor)fundedprojects.Assistwithpreparationofregionalcommunityofpracticemeeting;
  • Assist the MPSU team lead to do capacity building of COs relating to GEF/AF/GCF and other vertical fund management and policies;
  •  Focal point for Atlas training in the financial management, processes, etc.;
  • Identify personal learning needs, develop self-learning and ensure knowledge up todate.

 

 

 

Core

Innovation

  • Ability to make new and useful ideas work.

Leadership

  • Ability to persuade others to follow.

People Management

  • Ability to improve performance and satisfaction.

Communication

  • Ability to listen, adapt, persuade and transform.

Delivery

  • Ability to get things done while exercising good judgement.

 

Technical/Functional

Operational Efficiency

  • Ability to identify and execute opportunities to improve operational efficiency

Financial Planing and Budgeting

  • Ability to create and manage processes to achieve UNDP's long and short-term financial goals.

Knowledge Management

  • Ability to capture, develop, share and effectively use information and knowledge.

Project and Programme Management    

  • Ability to plan, organize, and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals.

Results-based management

  • Ability to manage programmes and projects with a strategy aimed at improved performance and demonstrable results.

Budget Management    

  • Ability to support budgetary aspects of work planning process, drawing and management of team budgets.

Financial Reporting and Analysis

  • Ability to evaluate financial data, derive relevant findings and present them in a meaningful manner.

 

 

 

Education:

  • Master’s degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Finance, Economics, Accounting or closely related field;
  • Completion of recognized certification program on project management, accounting, and/or procurement is an asset;

Experience:

  • Up to two years of progressive experience at the national or international level in project management and/or managing operational areas focusing on program support and/or budgetmanagement, accounting, resource management, and auditing;
  • Extensive experience in handling an ERPsystem;
  • Extensive knowledge UNDP policies, procedures andpractices;
  • Full computerliteracy, proven experience using Excel and/or Power BI for data analysis.

Language Requirements:

  • Proficiency in written and spoken English and Turkish;
  • Fluency in or working knowledge of other UN languages, especially Russian and/or Arabic, is an asset.

 

Important applicant information

All posts in the GS categories are subject to local recruitment.

Applicant information about UNDP rosters

Note: UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement.  We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

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Contract Duration: 1 Year with possibility for extension

This vacancy is archived.

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