Regional Project Operations Assistant

UNDP has been working in India since 1951 in almost all areas of human development. Together with the Government of India and development partners, we have worked towards eradicating poverty, reducing inequalities, strengthening local governance, enhancing community resilience, protecting the environment, supporting policy initiatives and institutional reforms, and accelerating sustainable development for all. 

With projects and programmes in every state and union territory in India, UNDP works with national and subnational government, and diverse development actors to deliver people-centric results, particularly for the most vulnerable and marginalized communities. As the integrator for collective action on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within the UN system, we are committed to supporting the Government of India’s national development vision and priorities and accelerating the achievement of the SDGs for the people and the planet. 

UNDP India’s new Country Programme (2023-2027) builds on our prior work and aims to provide an integrated approach to development solutions in three strategic portfolios:  

• Strong, accountable and evidence-led institutions for accelerated achievement of the SDGs.
• Enhanced economic opportunities and social protection to reduce inequality, with a focus on the marginalized.
• Climate-smart solutions, sustainable ecosystems and resilient development for reduced vulnerability.
• South-South cooperation, gender equality and social inclusion are promoted across the pillars. The programme is supported by a framework of renewed partnerships and blended finance solutions, strategic innovation and accelerator labs, and data and digital architecture.

You are invited to join a team of future-smart development professionals to support India in achieving the national and globally agreed goals. As part of the UNDP team, your focus will be to work with diverse stakeholders to find country-specific solutions that lead to sustainable development and reach those furthest behind first.

In India UNDP is a long-standing partner of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and its institutions at the State and District level. Guided by the government, the UNDP India work is fully carried out in close coordination with partner UN agencies and is focusing on better health services provided to population of India. 

The overarching goal of UNDP’s work on health system strengthening in India is to facilitate equitable access to basic services by strengthening capacities of communities to demand and access services, and of institutions to deliver quality, timely and stigma free services and LNOB (Leaving no one behind). 

The Gavi Alliance co-funded Health System Strengthening (HSS) programme is one of the efforts of the MoHFW to improve the quality and level of immunization coverage in India. UNDP has been a trusted partner of MoHFW and GAVI for many years in this flagship programme that has nationwide coverage and has supported vaccine delivery to over 1 billion people. The initially developed solutions (eVIN and CoWIN) have proven themselves well and now UNDP is given a unique opportunity to develop and integrate a new universal vaccination solution – U-Win – which will be the focus on the next phase of support. 

While a large part of the HSS programme is related to digital solutions development, capacity building and implementation, it also includes technical support to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for prevention and management of non-communicable diseases, Neglected Tropical diseases and for leveraging technologies to track high risk pregnancies and thereby reduce maternal and child mortalities rates. Working closely with other development partners, the programme also supports the National AIDS Control Organization’s efforts in prevention and control of HIV and AIDS.

Duties and Responsibilities

• The specific duties and responsibilities during the assignment will include, but not be limited to, the following:
• Undertake administrative, finance, logistical, travel, low-cost procurement, asset management and project personnel administration tasks of HSS project in full compliance with UNDP rules, regulations and policies.
• Preparation of e-requisitions and payment requests via UNDP ERP based platforms.
• Provision of services in organization and coordination of meetings, training sessions, workshops, conferences, and project events and prepare reports and meeting minutes, if required.
• Participate in the preparation of annual work plans, project implementation plans and periodical reviews. Preparation and submission of required documents for audit and any types of reports.
• Booking arrangements for project related travels. Follow up with travel reports and reconciliation of travel advances. Support to Project Administrative Associate in preparation of travel expenses reports.
• Quality Assurance of Travel Requests, Expense checklists and F10 received from the project personnel ensuring accuracy of all computations, availability of budget and completeness of supporting documentation. Assist project personnel on T&E matters.
• Provision of information to the state and district level project personnel at all levels on travel including entitlements, travel route and hotel arrangement.
• Maintenance of project assets and inventory, preparation of respective reports. Regular follow up with mobile service providers on SIM cards. Ensure that project assets and inventory are recorded and records maintained according to UNDP Rules and Regulations. Provide necessary guidance to project personnel.
• Maintain cooperation and communication with project’s partners and beneficiaries on the implementation of the agreed activities, especially for the events, trainings, workshops.
• Maintains proper document filing system according to UNDP India Document Management guidance, rules and regulations.
• Establish and maintain record with contacts, pursue networking and information sharing and to follow up on partnership related issues.
• Prepare official correspondence as per request.
• Provision of basic HR support to project personnel at state and district level including Third Party contract holders.
• Maintenance and quality assurance of Leave &Attendance records of the state and district level personnel in respective region. Timely submission of records to project HR Associate.
• Timely submission to project HR Associate contract extension/termination related requests and supporting documents.
• Support to personal appraisal exercise ensuring timely submission of work plans and reports.

Required Skills and Education:

• Completion of Secondary education is required
• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, finance or economics is desirable but not mandatory
• Minimum 5 years of relevant experience in administrative , finance, or project coordination/implementation
• Experience in the usage of digital finance solutions and software packages, and advanced knowledge of data management and systems
• Experience and knowledge of Atlas/Quantum is a strong asset
• Excellent interpersonal, networking and team building skills
• More than 1 year of experience working in the UN system
• Experience collaborating with government agencies, international organizations, and community leaders
• Knowledge of UN regulations, rules and procedures
• Strong oral and written communication skills in English and native language
• Excellent skills in event and travel organization required