Finance and Administrative Officer

While Samoa’s contribution to global Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions is negligible, climate change mitigation remains a critical government priority in light of the already felt and predicted increases in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. The transport sector in Samoa, which is entirely dependent on fossil fuels, is the country’s largest emitter of CO2, accounting for 27.4% of GHG emissions (based on Samoa’s National GHG inventory, 2020). Reliance on energy-dense fossil fuels is expected to render decarbonization of the transport sector particularly difficult. Transport demand has grown in parallel to economic development, and with structural changes, it grows faster than that of other sectors. Whilst some interventions to decarbonize the transport sector in Samoa have initiated, efforts remain fragmented due to a lack of investment and coordination across ministries, agencies, development partners, financial entities, private businesses, and individuals. 

The project Climate Action Pathways for Island Transport (CAP-IT): Accelerating the Decarbonization of Samoa’s Land and Maritime Transport Sectors, funded by the Government of Japan, aims to promote urgent and inclusive transformation of the land and maritime transport sectors towards decarbonization by accelerating the uptake of electrical vehicles and outboard motors in support of the achievement of Samoa’s enhanced NDCs for the energy and transport sector by 2030. This will be achieved through a three-fold approach:   

Creating an enabling environment through strengthened and gender-sensitive institutional governance, financial, legal, and technical capacities for accelerating the decarbonization of both land and maritime transport systems;  

Accelerating inclusive decarbonization of the land transport sector with a focus on adoption and imports of electric vehicles and accessible electrification service networks targeting public transport and public service delivery vehicles; and, 

Introducing and piloting low-carbon outboard motors for Samoa’s fishing fleet through a gender sensitive grant mechanism for local fisherfolk and training scheme on installation, operation, and maintenance.  

CAP-IT is implemented through the UNDP Direct Implementation Modality (DIM), with some activities to be delivered by national implementing entities as Responsible Parties (RPs) contracted by UNDP.  

The Finance and Administrative Officer reports directly to the Project Manager for the overall operational, procurement and financial management functions of the project, and work collaboratively with the CO Procurement office.  

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Project Manager, the Financeand Administrative Officer will be responsible for the overall operational and financial management functions of the project, assist with the procurement needs of the office, as well as provide logistical and administrative management to the project in compliance with appropriate UNDP policies and procedures. 

Effective implementation of operational and financial management strategies: 

• Ensure full compliance with UNDP financial regulations and rules, policies, and standard operating procedures, including internal controls; 
• Ensure compliance with all the policy provisions regarding personnel management, procurement, subcontracting and financial management; 
• Monitor financial exceptions reports for unusual activities or transaction, review anomalies and report to the supervisor conclusions and/or present recommendations for actions/decisions; 
• Provide advice and recommend solutions to a wide range of financial issues; and, 
• Monitor the proper functioning of the financial resources management system for office and programmatic budgets and resources. 

Coordination and assistance with the project’s procurement needs:

• Assist in the development and implementation of procurement plans. 
• Coordinate with project manager to identify procurement needs. 
• Support in sourcing and evaluating potential suppliers. 
• Help maintain a database of preferred vendors. 
• Prepare and process purchase orders, bids, and requests for proposals (RFPs). 
• Assist in evaluating bid responses and finalizing contracts. 
• Ensure all procurement activities comply with organizational policies and regulations. 
• Maintain accurate procurement records and prepare reports. 
• Identify and help mitigate procurement risks. 
• Assist in resolving procurement-related issues. 

Accounting and administrative lead for project implementation: 

• Monitor the setup of budgets in UNDP’s Quantum system to ensure they are in accordance with budgets agreed with donors and are input into Quantum at the detailed Activity level; 
• Track and monitor the appropriate and timely use of financial resources and maintain a proper filing system for all records and documents; 
• Assist the conceptualization and development of Human Resource and Procurement plans in consultation with the Project Manager; 
• Prepare and submit purchase orders (PO) and non-PO requests for payments for Projects with accurate supporting documents and submission for processing to the UNDP Global Shared Services Centre (GSSC); 
• Liaise with regional and country financial and project team as required to resolve financial data issues; 
• Review transactions in Quantum, ensure payroll, travel claims, and other entitlements are processed in a timely manner; 
• Conduct regular coordination with stakeholders and clients or timely actions/decisions and review status reports for quality control; 
• Facilitate timely financial project closure and inputs to financial reports; 
• Provide support to project and partner audits, including follow-up and/or action on audit recommendations; 
• Contribute to the preparation of status and progress reports by collecting information, preparing tables and drafting selected sections; 
• Draft correspondence, notes, documents, reports, contracts and keep the necessary flow of correspondence; 
• Coordinate and assist in making travel arrangements for participants of events, projects staff in connection with their domestic and international project-related travels; 
• Keep records of Non-Expendable Equipment (NEE), conduct physical verification at least once a year and prepare report on annual physical verification of NEE to be submitted to UNDP MCO; and, 
• Support the Project Manager in contract management. 

Actively supports knowledge building and sharing in the MCO:

• Participate in trainings for operations/project staff on Finance; 
• Contribute to knowledge networks and communities of practice; 
• Capture and share lessons learnt and good practices in financial management;
• Provide administrative and financial guidance to project team personnel as and when required, such as assisting them to create an incident in UNAll, inter alia; 
• Maintain project related files and keep information and reference material in a manner that allows easy reference retrieval, including the systematic use of POCOMAS; and, 

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.      

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 competencies: 

Business Direction & Strategy 

• Business Acumen: Ability to understand and deal with a business situation in a manner that is likely to lead to a good outcome. Knowledge and understanding of the operational frameworks in the organization and ability to make good judgments and quick decisions within such frameworks 
• System Thinking: Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgment to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system 
• Effective Decision Making: Ability to take decisions in a timely and efficient manner in line with one’s authority, area of expertise and resources 

Business Development 

• Knowledge Generation: Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need 
• Human-centered Design: Ability to develop solutions to problems by involving the human perspective in all steps of the problem-solving process 

Business Management 

• Results-based Management: Ability to manage programmes and projects with a focus at improved performance and demonstrable results 
• Project Management: Ability to plan, organize, prioritize and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals