ThaiNGO

I. Organizational Context

The Regional Office for Southeast Asia and the Pacific’s (ROSEAP) of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), works with the region’s various national governments, civil society stakeholders, regional priorities agreed by ASEAN, the Mekong MoU on Drug Control, and international partners to help address the development challenges, specifically in relation to drugs, crime, and security-related issues. The Regional Programme outlines the proposed scope and focus of UNODC work in the region for the years to come. It provides a framework for delivering a coherent programme of work to: (i) give clear focus to supporting Member States and regional partners in achieving priority crime and drug outcomes; and (ii) increase the responsiveness, efficiency, and effectiveness of UNODC support to the region.

The Regional Programme focuses primarily on crime and drug challenges that are best addressed through coordinated cross-border and intra-regional cooperation. There are five Sub-Programmes under the Regional Programme:

•           Transnational organized crime

•           Anti-Corruption

•           Terrorism Prevention

•           Criminal Justice Systems

•           Drugs and Health, and Alternative Development

Through the Regional Programme, UNODC has provided technical support to related frameworks and regional institutions to help promote ownership and sustainability objectives, these include provision of secretariat and programme implementation support to the MOU on Drug Control in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (Mekong MOU), which was signed in 1993 in response to an increased regionalization of illicit drug production, trafficking and associated impact, as well as to rising organised criminal activities at the national and regional levels. The first signatories were the following: China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and UNODC (then UNDCP), with both Cambodia and Viet Nam officially joining in May 1995. Under the Mekong MOU, activities are carried out under the framework of its Sub-Regional Action Plan (SAP). The SAP was initially established for the period 1995-1998, but has since been revised and renewed biennially, with the latest SAP (Revision XI) entering into effect for 2020-2023.

II. Functions / Key Outputs Expected

Summary of Key Functions:

Under the direct supervision of the Programme Officer (Mekong MOU), the Programme Associate will be responsible for providing a range of administrative, logistical and substantive support to the implementation of UNODC activities and initiatives under the Mekong MOU framework.

1. Support the formulation and implementation of MOU strategies, focusing on achievement of the following results:
   • Assist in the preparation of documents to be present at relevant meetings, workshops, conferences and other events;
   • Liaise at the technical level with national stakeholders including government entities, non-government organizations, civil society organizations and other partners;
   • Provide support to the research and study conducted by the MOU team in the local context;
   • Support the drafting of correspondence and providing strategic ideas in the designing of work plan and project documents; and
   • Prepare informal translations and act as interpreter (Thai/English and vice versa) when required. This includes the review of translated documents from Thai to English and English to Thai for accuracy.

2. Provide effective support to the management of projects, focusing on the achievement of the following results:
   • Assist in initiating and finalizing budget revisions, work plans, notes to the file, etc. to facilitate the implementation and monitoring of the assigned activities;
   • Provide expenditure amounts for all project-related activities for internal UNODC and donor reporting;
   • Provide support to assigned projects and to relevant UNODC personnel in Bangkok on aspects related to the preparation of payment requests in the UNODC administrative systems (Umoja and ProFi), as well as payment reconciliation and expenditure verification. Follow up with UNDP offices on project expenditures and payments;
   • Prepare any document required for consultants’ contract issuance/management and follow up on payment requests of their fees as per their terms of reference; and
   • Contribute to developing and maintaining a filing system for projects including hard copy files and managing online records on cloud services (i.e. SharePoint);

3. Provide administrative and operational support, focusing on the achievement of the following results:
   • Organize international, regional and national conferences, meetings, training and workshops held within the Asia-Pacific region and travel to the events' location if needed;
   • Prepare travel plans, organize travel dates and provide logistical information for participants to UNODC events, and for UNODC staff as required. Prepare travel requests to be sent to the travel agents to issue air tickets, request payment of Daily Subsistence Allowances (DSAs) and terminal expenses when needed, and determine appropriate budget lines;
   • Complete administrative workflows in relation to the handover of equipment to Member States’ institutions and liaise with the UNODC personnel in Bangkok in charge of asset management;
   • Support the closing of administrative workflows in relation to the procurement of goods and services after they have effectively been received, and liaise with UNDP Country Offices and relevant UNODC personnel in Bangkok to provide/obtain the necessary documentation; and
   • Contribute to the development of administrative and financial guidance for UNODC programme personnel in the region, and contribute to exchange of information among colleagues to identify and spread best practices and experiences.

4. Assist on the procurement for associated projects:
   • Plan and organize the procurement of goods and services required for the assigned projects, ensure compliance with, and verify, regulations and procedures to be applied when procuring goods or services. Conduct low-value procurement (up to US$ 10,000) and initiate procurement processes for all types of goods and services required under the assigned projects;
   • Collect and compare offers from vendors and liaise with the UNODC Procurement Team in Bangkok and relevant personnel at UNDP Country Offices to ensure abidance with relevant UN rules and regulations. Liaise with bidders and vendors, and follow up with suppliers and expediters to ensure timely delivery; Contribute to developing and maintaining a filing system for projects including hard copy files and managing online records on cloud services (i.e. Sharepoint); and
   • Perform any other work-duties as required.

III. Impact of Results

Efficient and timely achievement of the results directly affects programme delivery. Effective coordination in support of the programme implementation and delivery of results. Close liaison and cooperation with key stakeholders, including government counterparts, partners from international and national organizations, and beneficiary populations for achieving the programme outcomes and objectives.

IV. Competencies and Critical Success Factors

• Professionalism: Project administration experience and skills, and understanding of theories, concepts and approaches relevant to technical assistance and international relations. Knowledge of the mandates, priorities and operational modalities of UNODC. Good analytical and problem-solving skills, including ability to identify and contribute to the solution of problems/issues; sound judgment and political sensibility.

• Planning, organizing and managing performance: Ability to plan own work, manage conflicting priorities and to use time efficiently. Ability to organize and implement activities and outputs. Ability to maintain focus and pay attention to necessary details.

• Teamwork: Good inter-personal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective partnership and working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity and gender.

V. Recruitment Qualifications

• Secondary Education, preferably with specialized certification in areas directly relevant to administrative and/or financial management is required. University Bachelor’s Degree in social sciences, business administration,  international communications or other related fields is desirable.

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• A minimum of 7 years (with secondary education) or 4 years (with bachelor’s degree), of relevant experience in the administrative/finance/procurement aspects of technical assistance delivery at the national or international level is required.
• Previous work experience in the areas of drugs control in Asia and/or the Pacific region is required.
• Previous experience in engaging with governmental or intergovernmental institutions or civil society organizations in the organization of workshops and conferences is required.
• Experience in the use of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) and knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages are required.
• Work experience with web-based enterprise resource management systems is required.
• Previous experience in reviewing translated documents from Thai to English and English to Thai is desirable.
• Knowledge of Umoja, SharePoint and Smartsheet is desirable.

• Fluency in English and Thai is required.