The Project Associate will be based in Port Vila, Vanuatu within the Department of Energy/Water Resources. The Associate will work under the supervision of the Solar Water Project Manager and the Country Senior Officer (Project Manager) and reports to Country Representative. The Associate is responsible for providing admin and operational support to the Solar Water Project and ensure alignment with other Vanuatu projects. The Associate will work closely with GGGI staff in Vanuatu, supporting Project Managers / Officers in maintaining and verifying project/output level budget execution and controls in line with GGGI policies and WPB. The Project Associate will ensure consistent quality across projects and outputs delivery.
The Associate will support the Project Managers / Officers in maintaining effective program reporting and communication internally and externally with the Government of Vanuatu, Donors, development partners, civil society and private sectors in line with GGGI corporate policies, standards and protocols.
Position is for two years with possibility of extension.
Purpose
Develop and manage detailed budget execution plans and schedules in line with funding agreements and projects implementation plans.
Support organizing and implementing projects activities including policy consultation and validation meetings & workshops, capacity building programs based on yearly/ biannual work programs and budget plans.
Assist in preparing annual budgets, providing monthly forecasts, and monitoring of all country projects expenditures subsequently ensuring that charges in the GL journals are charged to the correct codes.
Place initial screening and controls on all Projects spending, procurement requests and contract issuance and manage projects expenses.
Complete corporate financial returns such as, monthly progress report (financial aspect, budget adjustment rounds during the year, year-end pack return etc.).
Administer and monitor procurement plans and requisition procedures in line with projects implementation plans and funding agreements.
Support the monitoring of projects budgets and track expenditures to ensure that program resources are optimally allocated and utilized.
Ensures adherence to GGGI policies across procurement, legal, HR and finance.
Supports country representative/projects managers / officers in monitoring the projects, when necessary, both, substantively and financially.
Supports country representative in carrying out communications of activities and results, including donors and annual reporting.
Engagement
Advise the country team on the procedures, policies, and tools of all operational transactions for projects/outputs delivery.
Identify issues and risks that will affect consistent program delivery and report to the managers.
Identify issues from across projects and workstreams and advise project staff on remedial measures in order to maintain integrity of delivery.
Communicate program needs to service providers/suppliers and ensure that services/products are delivered in line with established agreements.
Work closely with the Governments of Vanuatu and other project partners to process meetings, arrange workshops, and organize & prepare events.
Delivery
Maintain program filing system and safeguard standards of reporting/documentary quality to support reporting to donors and program stakeholders.
Coordinate and support the logistics for meetings, seminars, workshops, conferences, trainings, etc. including but not limited to transport solutions, catering, procurement, and communications.
Coordinate and assist recruitment of projects staff and individual consultants.
Ensure that a functional system is in place to keep good control of office and IT inventories.
Support the smooth running of the office(s) in Vanuatu in close collaboration with Senior Country Officer.
Identifies projects delivery issues and ensures effective coordination of project activities and resources to ensure attainment of objectives against established timeframes.
Perform data collection and analyses to build and maintain country/project specific knowledgebase.
Anticipates donors requirements and projects requirements and ensures alignment of services to meet the needs.
Administer HR requests and onboarding procedures based on approved headcounts.
Qualifications
Relevant qualification preferred (minimum qualification of a bachelor's degree in any one of the following accounting, business administration, economics, management & public administration, development studies).
Experience in financial management and/or project budget management.
Experience of government and stakeholder systems (donor, multilateral, etc)
Experience in organising workshops and logistics, including travel of participants
Fluency in English and excellent writing skills are essential
At least three years relevant experience in administrative roles
Knowledge of green growth and climate change issues, with a focus on energy and water sectors, would be an advantage.
Experience in writing press releases, communicating professionally on social media would be an advantage.
