Project Finance and Administrative Officer

Term of Reference for for Project Finance and Administrative Officer

UNICEF Funded Project for The Office for Business Sustainable Development (SDforB) of the
Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI)

A full-time Project Finance and Administrative Officer will be hired to be responsible for both financial and administrative works of the project  of the Office for Business Sustainable Development (SDforB) of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) funded by UNICEF Viet Nam.

Background Information

The Project on Promotion of Children’s Rights and Business Principles (CRBP) among Enterprises in Vietnam (hereafter called CRBP Project) is developed by SDforB/VCCI and funded by UNICEF to strengthen the knowledge, capacity and commitment of businesses with high impact on children (with a focus on the Footwear and Apparel, Information, Communication and Technology, Travel and Tourism industries) to respect and support children’s rights as outlined in the Children’s Rights and Business Principles (CRBP). The project will further strengthen multi- stakeholder engagement with relevant government ministries, elected bodies, academic and training institutions to create an enabling environment for businesses to respect and support children’s rights in Viet Nam. The Children’s Rights and Business Principles (CRBP) released by UN Global Compact, UNICEF and Save the Children will serve as an overall guidance framework for businesses by promoting respect and support for children’s rights in the workplace, marketplace, community and environment. The Principles provide a child rights lens to the global standards on business and human rights established by the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights for Implementing the United Nations ‘Protect, Respect and Remedy’ Framework.

UNICEF tools for businesses on policies and code of conduct, impact assessments, sustainability reporting and industry specific tools for businesses will be utilized to guide the enterprises. It is expected to advance business competitiveness and integrate children’s rights as one of the factors in benchmarking sustainable business and/or in sustainability reporting as well. Moreover, the project aims at the uptake of strengthening government policy and initiatives to support and promote good practices demonstrating the implementation of the CRBP and its integration in business community in Viet Nam. UNICEF’s practical guide on the implementation of General Comment 16  will serve as a resource to raise awareness and advocate with the relevant Government ministries and elected bodies on State’s obligation and actions on child rights and business, which can range from legislative, policy, remediation measures to coordination, collaboration and awareness raising measures.

Objective of the Assignment
Project Finance and Administration Officer will be responsible for ensuring the overall financial and administrative operations for the project to fullfill the requirements as per the agreements and procedures of both UNICEF and national related laws and regulations. He/she will oversee project accounting, financial reporting, auditing, financial management and monitoring. He/she will also work with Project Coordinator and National Project Director to ensure project compliance with all donor regulations and for effective and pro-active management.

This position will not only work with project team but also with SD4B staff and technical support from UNICEF in-charge staff and specialists.

Scope of work: Responsibilities and Duties

Financial duties and responsibilities

• Lead and assist Project Coordinator (PC) in preparation of disbursement plans in accordance with the Harmonized Programme and Project Management Guideline (HPPMG)
• Closely coordinate with UNICEF officer-in-charge to review and revise the project budget when required on periodical basis;
• Prepare budget estimates for all project activities;
• Be responsible to open bank account and tax code for the project at the beginning and close them at the end;
• Carry out procedures relating to all applicable taxes;
• Review, arrange in-time payment and record all prokect expenditures in accordance with UN-EU Cost Norm, Vietnamese financial regulations and UNICEF guidelines;
• File all financial documents and prequare necessary conditions to work with audit agencies or financial inspection entities when required;
• Prepare procurement plans for all project requirement and supplies;
• Assist PC to prepare TORs, bidding documents for all project tender packages;
• Carry out procuedures relating to procurement, bid evaluation and selection in accordance with existing, Vietnamese law and regulations and with UNICEF practices;
• Ensure that adequate financial controls are in place to maintain propriety and proper accountability of expenditures;
• Ensure the financial transactions are properly authorized, recorded have adequate supporting documentation, filled, maintained and can be easily extracted for the purpose of preparing financial statements and financial audits
• Make cash and bank reconciliation every month
• Prepare payroll of project staff monthly by coordinating with Project Coordinator (PC) and National Project Director
• Support NPD to prepare and submit timely and reliable project financial documents and financial report and statement, prepare the fund transfer request for UNICEF
• Working with PC to track activity level budget and call for financial review meetings on periodical basis.
• Check budget lines to ensure all transactions are booked to the correct budget lines and used effectively
• Update policy on taxation, financial procedures, internal control mechanism
• Cross verify (compliance and relevancy) all financial transactions done by project staffs.
• Take lead project audit done by donor in coordination with UNICEF staff
• Keep track of the implementation of recommendations of the UNICEF micro-assessment and spot checks.

Administrative duties and responsibilities

• Provide administrative and logistical support/arrangements to project conferences, workshops, event, etc. including travel request, accommodations (project staffs), event organization
• Preparation of routine correspondence, faxes, memoranda and reports
• Support Project Coordinator in preparing of all necessary documentation, implementation of follow-up actions, drafting correspondence related to project activities
• Manage the contract with service providers/consultant for the project activities
• Manage and keep record of suppliers’ contracts i.e. water, electricity, telephone, internet lines as well as project document folders i.e. staff contracts, incoming and outgoing letters, etc.
• Manage inventory and keep record of project materials, equipment and physical assets, etc.
• Maintain updated documentation, filling, folders and administrative data management in both hard and soft copy
• Assist PC to prepare the monthly, quarterly, biannual and annual work-plans with proper itemized cost estimates;
• Carry out any other administrative/financial assignments as requested by the PC and NPD.

To apply: Qualified candidates should send their CV and all scanned related documents to [email protected] by indicating “Project Finance and Administrative Officer” in the Subject line of the email. Deadline for the application is 24 March 2019. Any applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

Note: Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for further details and enquiries.