Division 7 IMPLEMENTING AGENCY – STAFFING ISSUES

The UNODA will be entrusted with the implementation of this project. The implementation of this project will be in accordance with the financing agreement to be concluded between the Commission and the UNODA. The UNODA will partner with the UNOPS, who will provide logistical and administrative support to this project. The role of the UNOPS would be limited to logistical and administrative support only.

Given the extra-budgetary character of the activities envisaged for the UNODA in the implementation of this project, additional staff will be required. The staff will be responsible for successful implementation of the project, and will organise and deliver activities identified in its projects. In particular, the staff is expected to contribute with substantive experience and expert knowledge to the design and delivery of training activities and to liaise with relevant partners such as international and regional organisations and laboratories. The staff will have to be at a senior level (at P-5 level in the UN system) in view of the complexity of the project and, in relation to the training activities, the high level of experience and knowledge needed in diverse areas, including field deployment, investigations, design and delivery of training activities, and biology and biological weapons.

In addition, the UNOPS will be engaged for the administrative and logistical support in implementing the projects and in particular in the organisation of training courses and workshops, mainly through the booking and issuing of tickets and disbursement of per diem amounts to participants. Utilising the expertise of the UNOPS as an experienced resource for project implementation and administrative support services would be a better option than hiring administrative support staff, as this often generates an expectation of continued employment with the UNODA after the end of the project and the risk that such administrative support staff will be used for non-project related assignments by virtue of being co-located in the office. Using the UNOPS as an implementing agency in this project would also allow the UNODA to further engage the UNOPS in SGM activities, including in the case of actual deployment of the SGM mission in response to a request by UN Member States. The extensive network for procurement, supplies and transportation that the UNOPS possesses could be highly advantageous in cases where the need swiftly to procure and transport equipment would be crucial to the success of a mission.