Project Associate (Finance & Accounts)- Short Term (NPSA-7)

Tiered Approach

In Line With The Commitment To Safeguard Capacity And Support Personnel Already In The Organization, a Majority Of UNDP UNCDF/UNV Vacancies Are Advertised Using a Tiered Application Process Whereby

• Tier 0: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV IP staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments, whose posts will be abolished, or contracts will be terminated or not renewed during 2026.
• Tier 1: Other UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments
• Tier 2: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding temporary appointments (TA), personnel on regular PSA contracts, and Expert and Specialist UN Volunteers
• Tier 3 or no tier indicated: All other contract types from UNDP/UNCDF/UNV and other agencies, and other external candidates

Please make note of the Tier(s) indicated in the vacancy title, if any, and ensure that you satisfy the eligibility to apply.

Background

Bangladesh is the second-largest economy in South Asia, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of over USD 450 billion. Between 2000 and 2019, the economy grew at an average of around 6 per cent per year, accompanied by broad gains in human development. The national poverty rate fell from over 48 per cent in 2000 to about 18.7 per cent in 2022, and the Human Development Index reached 0.685 in 2023, placing Bangladesh in the medium human development category. The country is scheduled to graduate from Least Developed Country (LDC) status in November 2026.

Significant development challenges remain. GDP growth slowed to 3.49 per cent in fiscal year 2024–25, inflation has stayed elevated, and private investment is weak, constraining the economic diversification needed to create decent jobs. Bangladesh is also one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries, highly exposed to natural and climate-induced hazards.

As the UN’s development agency, UNDP has worked in Bangladesh since 1972, partnering with the government to advance democratic governance, climate adaptation, environmental protection, and inclusive growth. This support spans high-quality policy and technical advice, implementation support, development financing, and knowledge sharing.

The programme portfolio is organized into two clusters and a Sub-Office in Cox’s Bazar; Democratic Governance, and Resilience and Inclusive Growth aligned to the Country Programme Document (CPD) and the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF). Each cluster is led by a Cluster Team Leader (functional title: Assistant Resident Representative) and Sub-Office by its head responsible for programme and project quality, results, and effective relationships with implementing partners and donors. Across both clusters, the Operations Team and the Programme Management Support Unit (PMSU) provide cross-cutting oversight and quality assurance, helping to ensure compliance, delivery readiness, and sound financial and operational management.

UNDP Bangladesh’s Democratic Governance programme works toward a country that is inclusive, capable, rule-based, accountable, and transparent, so that all citizens can contribute peacefully to national development. It focuses on three areas: strengthening effective and accountable governance that improves equitable access to justice and the rule of law; promoting participatory governance and a strong civil society so that all voices are heard; and advancing the civic, political, and economic empowerment of women and youth. In practice, this work spans support to justice-sector institutions and access to justice including legal aid and community-based dispute resolution such as the Village Courts alongside strengthening local government institutions and decentralized service delivery, advancing human rights, transparency, and anti-corruption, and supporting inclusive, credible electoral processes. UNDP partners with government, civil society, community, and academic institutions to make public institutions more effective, accountable, and responsive, with particular attention to women, youth, and marginalized and minority groups.

The Government of Bangladesh, through its 8th Five Year Plan (2021–2025), prioritizes enhancing access to justice under Key Area 2a: Justice and the Rule of Law. The Plan commits to strengthening NLASO’s capacity to reach poor and marginalized groups, fostering partnerships with NGOs and CSOs for broader legal aid coverage, and conducting diagnostic assessments to inform innovative, needs-based legal aid delivery. These efforts aim to reduce case backlogs and ensure inclusive, equitable justice.

As the formal courts in Bangladesh are slow, expensive and overburdened, with a backlog of around 3.8 million cases, it pushes most people to manage petty disputes through informal means, such as shalish. These informal solutions are often biased especially against women and minorities, they are not transparent and often ineffective as they lack enforcement powers. The Village Courts (VCs) were established by the Village Courts Ordinance, 1976 to allow petty disputes to be dealt with by Union Parishads, the lowest tier of local government in rural areas. As the law was not fully implemented, later the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) enacted the Village Court Act, 2006 repealing the Village Court Ordinance, 1976. The Activating Village Courts in Bangladesh Project (AVCB) began in 2009 as a pilot project aiming to activate VCs in 351 Union Parishads (UPs) and the second phase (AVCB-II) started in 2016, targeting a further 1,080 Ups which was completed in June 2022. The final phase for five years (2022-2027) has been implemented by the Local Government Divisions of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives (MoLGRD&C).

The project intervention is going on across all UPs in Bangladesh, excluding CHT (amounting to 4,457 UPs) reflecting the GoB commitment for a national scale-up. It has three components: first to activate Village Courts in 3,041 Union Parishads in Bangladesh; second to maintain the performance of the 1,416 courts activated under AVCB-I and AVCB-II; and third to ensure the Government has the capacity, resources and ownership to take over the management and oversight of VC services so that the project gains are sustained.

The project’s Overall Objective is: Increased Access to Justice and Social Harmony for People In Rural Areas of Bangladesh, Especially Women and Disadvantaged Groups.

Specific Objective/Outcome 1: Duty bearers in Bangladesh provide sustainable, fair and effective resolution for minor disputes in rural areas

Output 1.1 Duty bearers at national and local levels have improved capacity to ensure Village Courts function fairly and effectively

Output 1.2 Legal and policy frameworks for Village Courts are reviewed and enhanced

Output 1.3 Duty bearers in Bangladesh have the resources capacity and ownership to manage and administer village courts after completion of project

Specific Objective/Outcome 2: People living in rural areas, especially women, the poor and other disadvantaged groups are empowered to access Village Courts to resolve minor disputes

Output 2.1 Local population are aware of their local VC and understand its role and functions

Output 2.2 Evidence and knowledge sharing on VC functioning enhanced.

There are 5 technical components in the project named Project Coordination, Capacity Development, Advocacy & Communication, Legal Review and Gender and Planning, M&E and Knowledge Management. Involving national institutions like NILG (National Institute of Local Government), BPATC (Bangladesh Public Administration Training Center) , JATI (Judicial Administration Training Institute), BPA (Bangladesh Police Academy), etc. the project has a plan to build up the capacity of the institutional stakeholders on village courts. Besides, as a part of implementation strategy NGOs/CSOs are also included to help LGD for grassroots level capacity building, social mobilization and eventually activating village courts under the technical support and supervision of Project Management Unit.

The Project Associate (Finance and Accounts) will be responsible for monitoring and evaluating financial information and status to ensure the validity of expenditures and compliance with regulations. Additionally, the role will ensure effective execution of financial procedures and transparent utilization of project resources related to financial issues as per government and UNDP policies and procedure.

i. Ensure strategic direction of Project finance management, focusing on the achievement of the project results:

• Compliance of financial transactions with UNDP and Donor rules, regulations, policies, and procedures and monitoring achievement of results of AVCB-III.
• Establish or practice UNDP and Donor financial procedures: e.g. receipts, payments, disbursements and bookkeeping, filing procedures and other relevant tasks for the Project.
• Maintain financial procedures are in place complying with the financial/accounting and procurement requirements of UNDP.
• Continuous analysis and monitoring of the financial situation, presentation of forecasts for the management.
• Prepare the Project’s Quarterly Report and monthly Cash Flow and annual Cash Flow Forecasts and prepare a statement of sources and uses of funds in compliance with the Project management decisions.
• Ensure standard procedures in maintaining accounts, resources management and program.

ii. Manage the Project budget and organize an optimal cost-recovery system:

• Creation of the project budget (including all activities and funds) in ERP System in light of Project Document/Annual Work Plan (AWP), Ensure entry of data into Quantum in the form of Annual Work Plans (AWPs), monitoring of their status, revisions, determination of unutilized funds, as well as operational and financial closure of Project.
• Ensure actual vs budget variance analysis on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis with follow-up and compiled response from the project team.
• Oversee the monitoring of quarterly financial expenditures and develop a strategy for smooth implementation of the work plan.
• Prepare multi-year output/component-wise budget and variance analysis.
• Assist in preparing budget revisions of the projects based on the Project Delivery Reports and Combined Delivery Report; assist in the preparation of the AWP.
• Ensure uploading the annual Project Budget and Multiyear budget into ERP System (UNDP’s corporate ERP system).

iii. Ensure effective and accurate financial resources management and oversight:

• Financial analysis and oversight of the resources (UNDP and Donors) managed by the Project.
• Proper planning, and expenditure tracking of financial resources following full compliance with UNDP Programme Operations Policy and Procedure/ National Implementation (NIM), UNDP, and Donors’ rules and regulations of the financial process.
• Maintain implementation of effective internal controls over all financial processes for both UNDP and Donor Fund;
• Ensure all Quantum-related transactions and prepare necessary GLJE (General Ledger Journal Entry) in ERP System etc.
• Ensure an effective information flow between finance and non-finance actors (UNDP Programme unit, GoB line ministries, Donors and Project staff).
• Monitor the disbursement of funds periodically and implementation of activities in accordance Responsible Party Agreement/Long Term Agreement, UNDP and GoB rules and regulations.
• Review Financial Report, Funding Authorization and Certificate of Expenditure (FACE) and quarterly fund request of PNGOs/sub-recipient and process for advance/reimbursement following RPA.
• Reconcile Financial Report with Combined Delivery Report (CDR), Ensure the accuracy verification of CDR.
• Collection, review and verification of bills/vouchers from the field against the PCA in coordination with field-level project staff in a timely manner.
• Proper control of the supporting documents for payments, preparation of all types of vouchers for managing projects and PO vouchers for management and development projects.
• Maintenance of the internal expenditures control system which ensures that vouchers processed are matched and completed, transactions are correctly recorded and posted in Quantum.
• Petty cash management for the project.
• Strictly follow the Govt. Tax & VAT rules, regulation and ensure proper deduction & deposit to Govt. treasury.
• Closely work with project components to fulfill the requirement of PCA (Project Cash Advance) and other financial reporting.

iv. Ensure proper Financial Reporting, control of Project accounts and support to Audits:

• Facilitate the preparation of periodic financial reports following the donors (Donor Agreement), UNDP (Project Document) and the Government of Bangladesh (Technical Assistance Project Proposal) on a timely basis, ensuring the quality and accuracy of the information.
• Prepare financial reports for Project Steering Committee, Project Board, and Project management and Assist GoB counterpart to prepare financial progress reports for ADP, IMED and ERD, CA&FO Chief Accounts and Finance Officer Offices), Cabinet and others.
• Complying with the internal expenditures control system, which ensures that vouchers processed are matched and completed, transactions are correctly recorded in the books of Accounts and posted in ERP System.
• Ensure timely corrective actions on un-posted vouchers, including the vouchers with budget check errors, match exceptions, unapproved vouchers and timely response to HQ requests to resolve financial data issues.
• Facilitate financial audits initiated by GoB, FAPAD (Foreign Aided Projects Audit Directorate), HACT (Harmonized Approach to Cash Transfers) Audit, UNDP OAI (Office of the Audit and Investigation) UNBOA (United Nations Board of Auditors), Donor verifications and ensure that external auditors have all relevant information.
• Collaborate with Project Monitoring & Evaluation team in verifying the financial expenditure against the progress of output.
• Routinely monitors financial exception reports, if any, for unusual activities, and transactions, and investigates anomalies or unusual transactions. Inform supervisors of the results of the investigation when satisfactory answers are not obtained.
• Provide advice to the Supervisor and National Project Coordinator on troubleshooting and corrective measures where necessary and arrange an orientation to improve the situation.
• Preparation of annual and interim progress reports to UNDP and EU.

v. Ensure facilitation of knowledge building and knowledge sharing on financial monitoring and evaluation:

• Organize and conduct financial training on relevant areas for field-level staff.
• Contribute to implementing the financial Knowledge Management and Learning Strategy of the project.
• Demonstrate good knowledge of information technology and apply it in assigned work.
• Compilation of lessons learned, and best practices identified in the field of Project Finance and replicate its use to others.
• Identify new and better approaches in improving working processes and incorporate the same in his/her own work.
• Accomplish the work assigned by the supervisor and NPC/NPD (National Project Director) as and when required.

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

• Institutional Arrangement

The Project Associate (Finance & Accounts) will report to the National Project Coordinator and work under the overall guidance of Finance and Accounts Analyst. S/he will be responsible for monitoring and evaluating financial information and status to ensure the validity of expenditures and compliance with regulations. Additionally, the role will ensure effective execution of financial procedures and transparent utilization of project resources.