Background
With a total gross domestic product (GDP) of over USD 430 billion, Bangladesh is the second-largest economy in South Asia. Between 2000 and 2019, Bangladesh’s economy registered high GDP growth, averaging around 6% per annum. During this period, there were several notable improvements across different socioeconomic indicators, putting the country on track for a formal graduation from the group of least developed countries (LDCs) in 2026. Bangladesh’s score on the human development index (HDI) increased from 0.49 in 2000 to 0.68, placing it among countries categorized as medium human development. The national poverty rate fell from over 48% in 2000 to less than 19% in 2022.
Despite the progress, Bangladesh faces several development challenges, and with the current trend, the country is unlikely to meet several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Even before the political crisis in 2024, Bangladesh was grappling with double-digit inflation. According to the latest estimate, GDP is expected to grow by 3.7% in 2025, much slower than the GDP growth in the past. Without an uptick in private investment, the economy cannot diversify, a necessary condition for creating decent jobs. With low social spending and weak capacities, the government is constrained from providing quality services to the people. Bangladesh is also one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change and is prone to natural hazards, including climate-induced disasters.
As the UN’s development agency, UNDP has been in Bangladesh since 1972, promoting inclusive growth and democratic governance, and helping the country to achieve equitable and sustainable development. UNDP has been a close partner of Bangladesh in co-designing policy solutions, building national capacities, and promoting innovations to help meet its developmental aspirations.
UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks. UNDP is the leading United Nations organization in fighting to end the injustice of poverty, inequality, and climate change. Working with our broad network of experts and partners in 170 countries, we help nations to build integrated, lasting solutions for people and planet. Learn more at undp.org or follow at UNDP.
The Initiation Plan (IP) of Resilient and Inclusive Economic Growth (RINEG) programme at UNDP Bangladesh supports the development of innovative initiatives to advance resilient, green, and inclusive economic development, with a strong focus on digital transformation of land administration systems. The RINEG Initiation Plan (2026–2027) provides a foundational framework to consolidate UNDP’s climate and inclusive growth programming by integrating governance, gender and inclusion, sustainable finance, and digital innovation into a cohesive, resilience-focused portfolio.
Under Output 5, the programme aims to digitize land management records in automated land management system, embarking a new era in online land governance of Bangladesh. Key components of this initiative include data collection, entry, verification, correction and validation to modernize services such as- land development tax, records of rights (RoR/Khatian) and mutation. A critical aspect is ensuring the accuracy of data. UNDP has been actively collaborating with the Ministry of Land on this digitalization effort. A critical value addition by UNDP on this initiative has been to enable online access for landowners in digital land records by creating their land profiles. Successful completion of 1st piloting phase in 8 districts across 8 divisions led to 2nd piloting phase across 6 districts (Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayanganj, Narsingdi, Kishoreganj and Cox’s Bazar) and 2 city corporations (Chattogram and Khulna) with much diversified data outlook. This initiative will benefit over 11.73 million citizens by ensuring secure, transparent, and equitable access to land information, empowering communities and reducing land-related disputes. The unified digital platform will enable landowners to securely store and access land records, pay land development taxes online, initiate and track mutation processes digitally, and manage their access credentials, thereby streamlining services, reducing costs, and strengthening inclusive and sustainable economic development.
The Project Analyst (Finance and Operations) will provide support to Project Manager (PM). H/S responsible for managing both the financial and operational aspects of the project while providing comprehensive support for project implementation. This role includes analyzing budgets and expenditures to inform strategic decision-making across key project areas. Additionally, the Project Analyst will oversee procurement, human resources, administration, IT, and logistics functions, ensuring efficient operations that contribute to the timely achievement of project objectives.
Duties and Responsibilities
The Project Analyst (Finance and Operations) will be work under the overall guidance and direct supervision of the Project Manager, collaborates closely with RIG Cluster, Programme Teams, Operations Teams of UNDP.
The Project Analyst (Finance and Operations) will manage finances, procurement, HR, administration, and logistics for the Land Data Digitalization for Inclusive Growth Project to meet project goals on schedule. Key duties include:
1. Financial Management of the Project
- Strategic Financial Oversight: Oversee the comprehensive financial management of the Land Data Digitalization for Inclusive Growth project, including strategic yearly budgeting, detailed Annual Work Plan (AWP) analysis, and ensuring robust budget allocation for vital program support activities. This encompasses meticulously reviewing fund advance requests and ensuring optimal, activity-wise fund allocation to achieve land data digitalization targets efficiently.
- Integrated Budget Management and Expenditure Tracking: Directly manage the project's overall budget, meticulously track all disbursements and expenditures in strict adherence to the Project Document (ProDoc) and approved AWPs. This ensures optimal utilization of financial resources for land data entry, verification, and the development of digital land services.
- Rigorous Financial Compliance and Payment Assurance: Conduct thorough reviews and ensure the timely settlement of all payments and claims from staff and service providers, strictly complying with both UNDP and Government of Bangladesh (GoB) rules, utilizing the QUANTUM system. This includes certifying payroll and expenditures for direct payments, thereby safeguarding financial integrity for all digitalization initiatives.
- Proactive Fund Reconciliation and Strategic Prioritization: Lead the reconciliation of project funds against the approved budget by analyzing data from QUANTUM. This data-driven approach facilitates informed decision-making regarding the prioritization of project activities, ensuring critical components of land data digitalization are adequately resourced.
- Effective Petty Cash Administration: Administer petty cash management with utmost accuracy and transparency, providing essential immediate financial support for field-level operations crucial for data collection.
- Leadership in Financial Audits and Compliance: Serve as the primary focal person to lead all financial audits initiated by relevant authorities, including the Foreign Aided Projects Audit Department (FAPAD) and UNDP. This involves ensuring full audit compliance, meticulously preparing replies to any audit observations, and facilitating their timely settlement.
- Timely and Accurate Financial Reporting: Monitor the submission of all financial reports to donors in a timely manner, strictly adhering to the terms prescribed in project agreements. Additionally, review and assure the quality and accuracy of monthly and quarterly financial reports submitted to key GoB stakeholders, including the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) and Economic Relations Division (ERD), ensuring full transparency of resources utilized for land data digitalization.
2. Ensure Efficient Procurement for Effective Programme Support
- Strategic Procurement Leadership: Ensure full compliance with all UNDP procurement rules, regulations, and policies. This involves leading the development of source strategies, overseeing rigorous supplier evaluation and selection processes, ensuring quality management of all procured goods and services, and maintaining strong vendor relationships to guarantee optimal performance.
- Integrated Procurement Planning and Monitoring: Proactively monitor that all planned procurement items and packages are meticulously included in the yearly procurement plan and directly linked with the approved AWP, ensuring timely acquisition of all resources for digitalization activities.
- Timely and Compliant Procurement Execution: Ensure all procurements are executed in a timely manner, strictly in accordance with the procurement plan and aligned with both the ProDoc and AWP. This is critical for the continuous operation and expansion of land data digitalization efforts.
- Robust Contract Management and Value for Money: Ensure stringent contract management for all procurement activities, consistently seeking and demonstrating maximum value for money in each acquisition, particularly for technology and equipment supporting digital land services.
- Ethical Vendor Engagement: Maintain ethical communication and foster collaborative relationships with all vendors to ensure the delivery of appropriate services and goods precisely as per contractual agreements, upholding UNDP's integrity in all procurement related to digitalization infrastructure.
3. Support Human Resources Management to Ensure Efficient Personnel Management in the Project
- Strategic HR Coordination for Recruitment: Coordinate and ensure seamless support to the Country Office (CO) HR team for all project staff recruitment processes. This includes timely submission of accurate Terms of Reference (ToRs), ensuring corrections are made as per feedback, and diligent follow-up on recruitment progress to secure specialized personnel for land data management and digitalization.
- Compliance and Performance Management: Ensure full compliance with corporate human resources management policies, procedures, and strategies. This role is pivotal in facilitating robust performance management systems within the project, ensuring staff contributions directly align with land data digitalization targets.
- HR Contract Management: Oversee and manage all HR contracts for the project, ensuring compliance with terms and conditions, and timely renewals or adjustments to support consistent project delivery.
- Human Resources Development and Knowledge Sharing: Champion HR development activities within the project and actively foster a dynamic knowledge-sharing environment. This encourages continuous learning and capacity building among staff, crucial for adapting to evolving digitalization and AI applications in land data.
4. Manage and Coordinate Administrative and Logistics Activities of the Project
- Comprehensive Operational Support: Ensure all necessary support services are provided for effective program implementation and for organizing key events at the field level, particularly for data collection campaigns and automation camps in the 8 districts.
- Logistics for Smooth Operations: Provide essential logistics support to all project staff, ensuring a smooth and enabling working environment crucial for their engagement in land data entry and monitoring.
- Administrative Decision Support: Provide strategic administrative support to the project management in making informed decisions on operational issues, meticulously monitoring and reporting on both financial and programmatic aspects of digitalization efforts.
- Efficient Resource Management: Ensure optimal vehicle management, accurate petty cash management, and comprehensive logistics support to enable the efficient functioning of the Land Data Digitalization for Inclusive Growth Project.
5. Ensure Implementation of Operational Strategies
- Leadership in Operational Excellence: Supervise and coordinate the implementation of all operational activities, demonstrating strong leadership in ensuring efficient and effective project execution.
- Comprehensive Operational Reporting: Lead the preparation of comprehensive annual reports for operational activities, including elements for the Technical Assistance Project Proforma (TAPP), Project Documents (ProDocs), and various contract documents, ensuring full transparency and accountability.
- Adherence to Compliance Frameworks: Ensure full compliance of all project operations with UNDP and GoB rules, regulations, and policies. This involves diligently implementing corporate operational strategies to maintain the highest standards of integrity and efficiency in land data digitalization.
- Knowledge Building and Best Practices: Actively contribute to knowledge building and sharing initiatives regarding management and operations. This includes synthesizing lessons learned and documenting the best practices derived from the implementation of digital land services, contributing to broader organizational learning and future strategic planning.
The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.
Competencies
Core Competencies:
- Achieve Results: LEVEL 2: Scale up solutions and simplifies processes, balances speed and accuracy in doing work
- Think Innovatively: LEVEL 2: Offer new ideas/open to new approaches, demonstrate systemic/integrated thinking
- Learn Continuously: LEVEL 2: Go outside comfort zone, learn from others and support their learning
- Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 2: Adapt processes/approaches to new situations, involve others in change process
- Act with Determination: LEVEL 2: Able to persevere and deal with multiple sources of pressure simultaneously
- Engage and Partner: LEVEL 2: Is facilitator/integrator, bring people together, build/maintain coalitions/partnerships
- Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 2: Facilitate conversations to bridge differences, considers in decision making
People Management:
UNDP People Management Competencies can be found in the dedicated site
Cross-Functional & Technical Competencies:
Business Management
- Operations Management: Ability to effectively plan, organise and oversee different parts of corporate operations, simultaneously and in an integrated way, in order to convert the organisation’s assets into the best results in the most efficient way. Knowledge of relevant concepts and mechanisms.
Procurement
- Contract Management: Knowledge of contract management concepts, principles and methods, and ability to apply this to strategic and/or practical situations.
Administration & Operations
- Documents and records management: Overall document (hard or electronic) management; registry and retention policy including storing and archiving.
Ethics
- UN policy knowledge - ethics: Knowledge and understanding of the UN Staff Regulations and Rules and other policies relating to ethics and integrity.
Business Direction & Strategy
- Strategic Thinking: Develop effective strategies and prioritised plans in line with UNDP’s mission and objectives, based on the systemic analysis of challenges, opportunities and potential risks; link the general vision to reality on the ground to create tangible targeted solutions; learn from a variety of sources to anticipate and effectively respond to both current and future trends; demonstrate foresight.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- A professional accounting qualification from an internationally accredited institute of accountancy, and/or Advanced (Master´s) University Degree in Finance and/or Accounting is required. Or a first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.
- Candidates with professional accounting qualifications from an internationally accredited institute of accountancy will have a distinct advantage.
- Candidates with no professional accountancy qualifications, but with degrees that major in accountancy and/or finance must complete the Finance Training and Certification Programme (FTCP), if recruited.
- Candidates satisfying the two above criteria are exempted from undertaking the UNDP Advanced Accountancy and Finance Test (AAFT).
- Candidates with MBA or master's in finance with no accountancy qualification but with relevant experience must successfully undertake the UNDP Advanced Accountancy and Finance Test (AAFT) to be eligible for shortlisting.
Experience:
- Applicants with a Master’s degree (or equivalent) in a relevant field of study are not required to have professional work experience. Applicants with a Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) are required to have a minimum of two (2) years of Finance and Operations in a national or international organization implementing the development projects, and/or leading and managing projects.
Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section:
- Experience in the UNDP’s project, government bodies, or public international organizations, particularly in countries with similar development contexts to Bangladesh. Experience with the UN system.
- Managerial experience in Operations (finance and admin, human resources; procurement) in a development project.
- Experience in finance, programme support, management advisory services and managing staff and operational systems.
- Managerial experience in finance, operations, programme finance; human resources; procurement.
- Experience in the project with large-scale budget management.
- Experience in large scale budget management and analysis.
- Experience in the national or international donor-funded programme.
- Experience in the use of computers, office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and web-based management systems, and advanced knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages.
- Experience of IPSAS.
Required Languages:
- Fluency in English and Bangla is required.
Professional Certificates:
- Professional Certifications in finance, accounting and project management are desirable.
Equal opportunity
As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination.
UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.
Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority
UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles.
Right to select multiple candidates
UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.
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