Operations and Communication Associate

The Global Programme for Electoral Cycle Support (GPECS) has become UNDP’s most important vehicle contributing to the formulation and implementation of electoral policy. GPECS seeks to respond to the growing demands and to ensuring global coherence while balancing and responding to regional and country realities.

An EC-UNDP Joint Task Force (JTF) on Electoral Assistance is present in Brussels to further strengthen and facilitate the already existing EC-UNDP partnership in the field of electoral assistance, and to improve the overall efficiency and adherence of UNDP projects benefitting from EU financial contributions to the common EC-UNDP strategic approach. The JTF is part of the overall GPECS framework, linking in their country-support closely with the global and regional policy advisors.

The “Sustaining Peace during Electoral Process” (SELECT) project was designed by JTF to build the capacity of both national electoral stakeholders and international partners to: a) identify risks factors that may affect elections; b) design programmes and activities specifically aimed at preventing and reducing the risk of violence; c) implement operations related to the electoral processes in a conflict sensitive manner.

This will be done by delivering on the two project outputs:

• Development of an online knowledge hub where implementable programmatic activities related to the prevention of electoral-related violence are listed, informed by research and knowledge development, available in French and English;
• The organization of outreach events/workshops as to enhance electoral violence prevention capacities at national, regional and international level.

Following the signature of the SELECT project, a designated Project Management Unit (PMU) will be established to support the SELECT implementation. The PMU will be responsible for implementing project activities through the management of content development for the knowledge hub, developing adequate work plans, terms of references, and carefully designed administrative arrangements.

Working to support the project, the Operations and Communication Associate must be self-motivated, with the capacity to take initiatives and work independently with an innovative approach to problem-solving. S/he must have a good sense of self-organization and flexibility, with an ability to work concurrently on multiple activities, observing priorities and deadlines to deliver the required results effectively within the team. Specifically, the Operations and Communication Associate will be responsible for the following:

1. Operational and administrative services support

• Support in the recruitment of consultants (drafting of TORs, processing of hires, induction) as requested by the project teams;
• Process and manage the procurement of goods and services for the project team (identification of needs, acquisition and supervision of distribution and use);
• Manage project travel: support with visa issuance, verify that entitlements are appropriately allocated and any payments due by traveller are recovered;
• Support in the organization of meetings, seminars and workshops by managing logistics, drafting invitations, presentations and communication;
• Manage the receipt and shipment of communications materials such as leaflets, publications and maintenance of records;
• Maintain a proper project filing system for registry records and documents; external archiving and retrieval of records;
• Maintain a proper system for receipt, registration, coding and forwarding of incoming faxes, letters and other correspondence/mail to relevant SELECT personnel.

2. Project finances support

• Manage, monitor and accurately record project funds and expenses, including for donor reporting;
• Process and reconcile recurring monthly invoices;
• Track and record timing and finances of the project; prepare project budget revisions and the Annual Work Plan (AWP) to reflect new year’s budget, or any ad hoc budget increase or decrease;
• Support project monitoring and evaluation: draft periodic and detailed reports on the state of implementation of the project; prepare ATLAS reports on project progress and delivery for work planning exercise purposes;
• Liaise with BPPS HQ to ensure that all budgets are sent to commitment control;
• Provide periodic updates on expenditure status;
• Provide administrative support for the project audit;
• Support in providing timely and accurate reporting of financial statement to donors to ensure compliance of reporting requirements.

3. Communication and visibility

• Act as focal point for project websites maintenance and update;
• Develop visibility products;
• Provide sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice;
• Other duties as may be required.

Institutional Arrangement

The Operations and Communication Associate will perform their duties under the direct supervision of the Project Manager, working in close collaboration with the various units within the Brussels Office (Directorate, Communications, Programmes, Bureaux, Operations).

Functional Competencies:

Task management skills

• Solid knowledge and understanding of UNDP corporate rules, regulations and policies;
• Good knowledge of organizational policies and procedures relating to the position, applying these consistently in work tasks (specialized knowledge related to management of financial resources and reporting, procurement and travel);
• In-depth understanding and knowledge of the current guidelines and project management tools, utilizing these regularly in work assignments;
• Ability to work under pressure and manage complexities;
• Displays efficiency in meeting commitments, observing deadlines, achieving results;
• Tracks bottlenecks and issues, and proposes solutions;
• Identifies new and better approaches to work processes and incorporates same in own work;
• Documents and tracks innovative strategies/best practices/new approaches;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude, whilst exercising discretion and impartiality;
• Strong interpersonal skills with proven ability to communicate at all levels and establish and maintain effective working relationships with clients and service providers;
• Strong oral and written communication skills.

Technical skills

Experience in the usage of software packages (Office, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc) including graphic design software Adobe in-Design and Illustrator as well as handling of web-based management systems (Share Point, Microsoft team).

Core Competencies:

• Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values by supporting corporate goals;
• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Desired additional skills and competencies:

UNDP Procurement Certification programme is an asset.

Familiarity with the EU-funded projects a strong asset, including competences related to contracting and visibility activities.

Required language(s):

Fluency in English and French (oral and written).

Knowledge of other UN official languages is an advantage.

Minimum academic education:

Secondary education.

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration/Management, Finance/Accounting, Political Science, International relations, Public Administration or related field an asset.

Minimum years of relevant work experience:

Secondary Education with minimum of 6 years of relevant work experience in management, office administration, finance/accounting is required at the national or international level;

OR

Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration/Management, Finance/Accounting, Public Administration or related field plus 3 years of relevant administrative experience.