Project Assistant

The GEF created a global programme to support countries to design a national Biodiversity Finance Plan. A Biodiversity Finance Plan includes a systems analysis of a country’s economy including to map existing financing mechanisms, subsidies with potential harmful impacts on nature, drivers of biodiversity loss and gain, public and private expenditures committed towards biodiversity objectives and a country’s national financial needs for biodiversity. The biodiversity finance plan itself consists of a series of actions with the aim to significantly scale up available funding, green or phase out harmful finance flows and improve the effectiveness of available expenditures. The programme allows for active sharing of experiences across countries and includes a knowledge sharing platform and the provision of continuous technical support to country teams. 

The UNDP Namibia Country Office has organised its programmatic activity into three portfolios: Sustainable, Inclusive and Green Growth (SIGG); Governance, Inclusive Institutions and Civic Engagement (GRICE) and Sustainable Environmental Management and Enhanced Resilience to Shocks and Crises (SEMER) Portfolio. The SEMER portfolio can broadly be divided into three overlapping areas of work: (a) Climate Change (mitigation, adaptation and reporting to UNFCCC); (b) International Waters (marine and freshwater) and (c) Natural Resource Management (sustainable land-use; human-wildlife interaction; sustainable mining, waste management).  The implementation of the project in Namibia falls under the GEF-8 Umbrella programme for the development of the first National Biodiversity Finance Plan. The overall implementation of the project will under SEMER, led by the Project Lead with the support of a technical team and in coordination with a government project director and the National Steering Committee.  

For the implementation of the GEF8-BFP Umbrella program at the national level, UNDP is recruiting a national team composed of a Sustainable Finance Specialist (Project Lead), a Project Assistant, Biodiversity Finance Specialist.  The Project Assistant will be responsible for providing back-office/administrative support to the Senior Finance Expert (Project Lead) and the whole project. 

Duties and Responsibilities

• Under the over-all guidance of the Sustainable Finance Specialist (Project Lead), the Project Assistant will be responsible for providing back-office/administrative support to the Sustainable Finance Specialist (Project Lead) and the SEMER Programme Specialist including:
• facilitating procurement;
• financial and administrative tracking of activities and expenses;
• support with communication, facilitation and organisation of outreach activities, press releases, project/UNDP/government briefing notes, translations, etc.;
• liaising with UNDP country office, and GPMTSU (Global Project Management and Technical Support Unit) to facilitate financial reporting and compliance, and UNDP procurement compliance.

Support to Project Management 

• Provide support with all financial and administrative requirements of the project, especially those related to project funding and accounting.
• Assist in ensuring that project is executed in a timely and appropriate manner.
• Assist or support in facilitating, guiding the work of the national team; manage payment schedules.
• Assist in project related activities, including planning for meetings, local and national consultations, trips and other project related activities.
• Provide administrative support to ensure all national and international travel is organised smoothly.
• Document and share records of meetings, decisions, actions, etc.
• Support with the Monitoring and Evaluation of the project at the national level, including workshop evaluations.

 Provide support to financial Oversight 

• Support the management of the project budget, and support overseeing of procurement and accounting procedures and activities, together with the UNDP Country Office and the GPMTSU.
• Monitor financial resources are disbursed on time to implementing partners.
• Maintain records of expenditures and collaborate in financial reporting.
• Provide support to effective administrative and logistical administration to ensure successful project delivery
• Assist in the development of calculations for the development of the annual workplan/budget.
• Support all required procurement processes, requisitions and purchase orders, ensuring compliance with UNDP rules and regulations.
• Maintain an inventory of assets/equipment and support with the handover of equipment upon project closure.
• Provide assistance to have Quantum approval system set up at the Country Office for the project.
• Handle all logistical matters to organise the inception workshop, consultation workshops and any meetings as required
• Regularly update the procurement plan and contacts list.
• Handle of all travel arrangements for national travel/missions and participants to national-level workshops.
• Handle all travel procedures for participants to global and regional workshops and other international meetings, ensuring all necessary visa, security clearances and plane tickets are obtained timely, and confirmations/changes of travel arrangements are communicated to the GPMTSU immediately.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Secondary education is required. University degree (Bachelor’s Degree) in Environmental Management, Natural Resources Manangement, Public Administration or other related Social Sciences fields will be given due consideration but is not requirement.
• Experience: Minimum 4 years (with Secondary Education) or 1 year (with Bachelor’s degree) of experience, in project management, finance, administration, accounting, budgeting or related field.

Required skills:

• Experience in dealing with national experts and international institutions is an asset.
• Sound understanding of key software packages (MS Office)
• Ability to maintain overview in complex work situations, self-starter in supporting the coordinator in communicating and keeping timelines.
• Able to gather and process data and information.
• Excellent interpersonal skills to network among the national team and beyond to other national institutions.
• Writes clearly professional correspondence adequately.
• Highly organized person, sets priorities, produces quality outputs, meets deadlines and manages time efficiently.
• Shares knowledge and is willing to provide support to others who request advice or help.
• Works toward creative solutions by analysing problems carefully and logically.
• Maintains professional relationships with supervisors, co-workers and clients.

Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section

• Experience with UNDP/UN policies, procedures and practices, particularly in relation to project development and implementation, is highly desirable
• Specialized training in administration, accounting, finance or related field would be an advantage.

Source: https://estm.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX_1/requisitions/job/19448