Project Finance Associate (NPSA-7) - Green Transition Project

Background

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are core principles at UNDP:  we value diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate, we foster inclusion as a way of ensuring all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, and we ensure equity and fairness in all our actions. Taking a ‘leave no one behind’ approach to our diversity efforts means increasing representation of underserved populations. People who identify as belonging to marginalized or excluded populations are strongly encouraged to apply. Learn more about working at UNDP including our values and inspiring stories.
 

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.

Project Description

On 23rd of June 2022, the European Council granted the Republic of Moldova the status of EU candidate country which is a substantial achievement, but which comes with great responsibilities and obligations. One of such obligation is the “Green Agenda and Sustainable Connectivity” which includes Chapters of the environment and climate change acquis. In this sense, meaningful reform are expected in view of European Green Deal targets. 

The proposed Green Transition Project takes due account of this endeavor. Hence, it will put in place the enabling conditions for a green transformation in Moldova through a combination of cross-sectorial decision-making in joint stakeholder platforms, capacity building measures, general education and awareness raising, dissemination of best policy practices, information sharing and networking, as well as pilot-testing green-transition related solutions and other activities, to ensure that the green transition concept is well understood and implemented.

The established enabling conditions and the investments into green-transition solutions will respond to the key development challenges that the country is currently dealing with such as the  climate change, environmental pollution and the energy crisis. 

It is well acknowledged that Moldova is highly vulnerable to climate change, given the limited resources and institutional capacities to address the climate change impacts. It is also due to the heavy reliance on the agricultural sector, water scarcity and other geographical factors. Currently the country is advancing with the national adaptation planning, including in the agricultural sector, aimed at putting in place proper institutional, technical and budgeting capacities in the context of climate change, however significant gaps remain in embarking of the sectors into achievement of the long-term adaptation targets.   

Environmental degradation is also posing a major threat to Moldova’s development agenda as its economy relies greatly on natural resources which leads to their overexploitation and pollution. Inadequate waste management practices and outdated practices and technologies in the key sectors of the economy also contribute to the environmental degradation and pollution. Mainstreaming of the green agenda into the country’s economic activities is taking place slowly. 

Moldova is in line with the global trend of continuously growing urbanization, with the proportion of the population living in urban areas expected to rise from 47% in 2010 to 60% in 2030 (UN Habitat). Cities are increasingly and significantly contributing to the main drivers of global environmental degradation. The municipalities have the greatest impact on air quality and are responsible for more than 50% of total air pollution in Moldova. 

From energy security perspective – Moldova is highly dependent on imported energy sources, and rely mostly on the use of fossil fuels. In addition, inefficient energy supply and consumption across all sectors exacerbates the situation. Until recently being 100% dependent on Russian gas import, the country is actively seeking diversification of energy supplies after the war of aggression in Ukraine. Improvements both in energy efficiency and in the development of domestic resources – including renewable energy resources – for strengthened sustainability, competitiveness, and energy security rank high on the political agenda. Energy sector is also the main source of GHG emissions in the country. 

Against this background, the Green Transition Project aims to support the Government of Moldova to engage sustainably in a transformative green agenda by enhancing awareness, building capacities and encouraging investments into low-emission and resource efficient economy. 

The target areas of the project are resource efficiency, green and circular economy, cleaner and sustainable energy, and mobility. 

The implementation period of the project is 48 months and the total budget is 10 million EUR. The Project will be implemented under the following three specific components:

1. Socio-economic framework for a gender-responsive and inclusive green transition enabled. 
2. Capacity and awareness on the inclusive green transition increased among key stakeholders.
3. Additional funding attracted by promoting and piloting investments in green and innovative technologies, while evidence-based decision-making for green transition is improved by deploying a reliable air quality monitoring system.

COM (2019) 640 final The Green Deal was presented by the European Commission in December 2019 and is a comprehensive package of reforms aimed at transforming climate and environmental challenges into opportunities and to ensure a green transition to a fair and prosperous societies. 

Duties and Responsibilities

The Project Finance Associate will ensure, in line with the Project scope, the provision of the following development services and products pertaining to an effective administrative and financial management.

Financial management: 

• Ensure compliance with all corporate rules of UNDP in the field of financial planning, reporting, and auditing.
• Monitor budget expenditures and maintain a proper record of approved project budgets and their revisions.
• Prepare proposals for budget revisions, budget corrections etc.
• Upon request, prepare and submit expenditure and program budget status reports.
• Maintain accurate budget reporting in both UNDP and EU standard templates.
• Prepare other recurring reports as scheduled and special reports as required for budget/financial preparations and audit.
• Respond to queries from the UNDP and EU in respect to financial aspects of the program, liaise with UNDP-appointed and external auditors wherever required. 
• Prepare requests for advance of funds and/or direct payments, as well as proposals for budget revisions.
• Perform necessary checks of the financial reports submitted by project suppliers.
• Advise international and national consultants on all aspects of allowances, travel claims and other financial matters and calculate payments due for claims and services.
• Prepare Travel Requests and F10 claims for project staff and consultants.
• Ensuring payments in Quantum to project suppliers.
• Verify and monitor the accuracy of e-requisitions in Quantum.
• Provide advice to the team on project financial issues.
• Undertake other financial tasks as required.

Administrative management: 

• Assume overall responsibility for the coordination of project administrative matters.
• Contribute to project implementation and ensure conformity to expected results and work plans.
• Monitor compliance with both UNDP and Donor standards and ensure the corresponding quality control.
• Provide advice to the project team on administrative issues, at the necessity.
• Maintain records on all project suppliers, including their respective status (e.g., appropriate contract management, monitoring of deadlines, ToRs and reports, etc.) in accordance with accepted policies and procedures.
• Ensure compliance with corporate human resources policies and strategies under UNDP HR procedures.
• Supervise other support staff (Driver) and coordinate short-term consultants on administrative and financial matters.

Institutional Arrangement

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Project Managers, in cooperation with project staff the Project Finance Associate shall contribute to an effective and efficient implementation of the Green Transition Project through a range of actions contributing to the design, planning, management and monitoring of project activities. 

The Project Finance Associate will apply and promote the principles of results-based management (RBM), as well as a client-oriented approach consistent with UNDP rules and regulations.

The Project Finance Associate will work in close collaboration with the Projects’ teams as well as the team in the Country Office (CO) for effective achievement of results, anticipating and contributing to resolving complex project-related issues and information delivery. 

The incumbent is expected to exercise full compliance with UNDP programming, financial, and administrative rules, regulations, policies, and strategies, as well as implementation of the effective internal control systems.

Competencies

Core competencies:

• Achieve Results: LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline.
• Think Innovatively: LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements.
• Learn Continuously: LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback.
• Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible.
• Act with Determination: LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident.
• Engage and Partner: LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships.
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination.

Cross Functional & Technical competencies:

• Business management-Digital awareness and literacy    
  • Ability and inclination to rapidly adopt new technologies, either through skillfully grasping their usage or through understanding their impact and empowering others to use them as needed.
• Business management-Working with evidence and data               
  • Ability to inspect, cleanse, transform and model data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions, and supporting decision-making.
• Business management-Monitoring         
  • Ability to provide managers and key stakeholders with regular feedback on the consistency or discrepancy between planned and actual activities and program performance and results.
• Finance Budget- management    
  • Ability to support budgetary aspects of work planning process, drawing and management of team budgets.
• Finance-Financial planning and budgeting           
  • Ability to create and manage processes to achieve UNDP's long and short-term financial goals, through planning, budgeting, forecasting, analyzing, and reporting.
• Finance-Financial reporting and analysis               
  • Understands changes in regulatory, legal, and ethical frameworks and standards for financial reporting in the public sector. 
  • Ability to extract, evaluate financial data, derive relevant findings, and present them in a meaningful and coherent manner to facilitate effective decision making and performance monitoring. 
  • Understands the benefits of integrated reporting, including non-financial resources such as human, social and intellectual capital, and environmental and governance performance.
• Administration & Operations-Assets management          
  • Knowledge of policy & procedures on PP&E, ability to prepare financial statements on PP&E, maintain Asset Management Module in Quantum, Asset Dashboard, develop supporting tools for assets certification and further enhancements for AM module, design and run training programs, etc. on assets management and assets recording, run AP-AM interface; perform AP-AM-GL reconciliation, perform analytical review of AM reports and asset information to ensure completeness and accuracy of asset information.
     

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Secondary education with specialized certification in accounting and/or finance.
• Bachelor's degree in finance or accounting, or part-qualified accountants from an internationally accredited institute of accountancy will have a distinct advantage. (The degree must state that the major is in accounting or finance. Degrees in Business Administration or Public Administration are not considered equivalent).
• Fully qualified accountant from an internationally accredited institute of accountancy or full completion of the UNDP Finance Training and Certification Programme (FTCP). 
• Candidates with no professional accountancy qualifications, but with Bachelor’s degree (major in finance/accounting) must complete the UNDP Finance Training and Certification Programme (FTCP), if recruited. 
• Candidate with no professional accountancy qualifications, but with Secondary Education or Bachelor’s degree and with relevant work experience must successfully undertake the UNDP Accountancy and Finance Test (AFT) before shortlisting and must complete the UNDP Finance Training and Certification Programme (FTCP), once recruited.

Experience:

• Minimum 7 years (with Secondary education) or 4 years (with Bachelor’s degree) of relevant work experience in administrative work, accounting, finance, economics, audit or other substantive area is required.

Languages:

• Fluency in English and Romanian is required.
• Knowledge of one or more minority languages relevant for Moldova, including Russian, Romani, Gagauzian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian and sign language will be an asset.

Required skills:

• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and advance knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling the web-based management systems. 

Desired skills:

• Work experience in a similar position in UN Agencies will be an asset.
• Work experience in development assistance or related work for a development organization, consulting company, NGO and other relevant institutions will be an asset.
• Additional training and/or certification in financial management and/or accounting will be an asset.

The following documents shall be required from the applicants:

• Personal CV or P11, indicating all past positions held and their main underlying functions, their durations (month/year), the qualifications, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate, and at least three (3) the most recent professional references of previous supervisors. References may also include peers.
• A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page) indicating why the candidate considers him-/herself to be suitable for the position.
• Managers may ask (ad hoc) for any other materials relevant to pre-assessing the relevance of their experience, such as  reports, presentations, publications, campaigns or other materials.

Disclaimer

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.

Non-discrimination

UNDP has a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual exploitation and misconduct, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.  

UNDP is an equal opportunity and inclusive employer that does not discriminate based on race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status. 

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Data de încheiere a postului vacant : 26 septembrie 2023