Mission and objectives

UNDP's mandate is to end poverty, build democratic governance, rule of law, and inclusive institutions. We advocate for change, and connect countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has partnered with Bangladesh ever since its birth and through its remarkable journey from a war-ravaged economy to a middle-income country. It remains a catalyst in Bangladesh’s journey from Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. UNDP assists in building institutions and helps strengthen institutional capacities through people-centric, pro-poor, inclusive and sustainable policy making and development governance.

Context

UNDP Bangladesh has been a key facilitator in Bangladesh’s remarkable development story since it first arrived in 1972. It has been a valuable partner throughout this process, acting as an honest broker and a helpful catalyst in promoting transformational changes in the lives and livelihoods of the people of Bangladesh. Through its work, UNDP is also helping Bangladesh to meet its Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. To help the people of Bangladesh reach these ambitious targets. To meet its delivery commitments and comply with policy requirements, the UNDP Bangladesh Country Office undertakes extensive documentation and administrative tasks, including the recovery of VAT refunds from the government. Ensuring timely submission of all necessary documents and successful VAT refund claims from DEDO remains a significant challenge for both the Country Office and project teams. To address this, several innovative and fast-track measures have been introduced to minimize delays and ensure timely delivery of results. In this context, the incumbent will support the office in collecting and reviewing VAT-related documents and in preparing VAT claim statements to facilitate the refund process for goods and services procured under UNDP-supported projects. Additionally, the incumbent will assist in implementing smart office initiatives, including managing the UNDP archive to ensure proper document retention. The role will also provide operational support to projects on VAT-related activities.

Task Description

Under the direct supervision of the Head of Finance: Support in Receiving all VAT related Documents • Assist in receiving documents, vouchers, and invoices from programme clusters, projects, and agencies. • Communicate with projects to collect necessary documents (e.g., Mushuk, Treasury Challan, etc.). • Coordinate with other operations units to obtain required documents. • Liaise with clusters, projects, and agencies to resolve any issues raised by DEDO. • Inform clusters, projects, and agencies about new government rules or regulatory changes. • Collect VAT-related documents from respective projects and other agencies. Reviewing VAT Documents and Facilitating VAT Refund Claims: • Review all VAT documents attached to vouchers for accuracy and completeness. • Maintain a database tracking VAT amounts eligible for refund. • Prepare VAT refund statements, including Mushak-10.1, Annexure-3, and claim vouchers. • Arrange submission of VAT refund claims to the Duty Exemption and Drawback Office (DEDO). • Maintain regular communication and follow-up with VAT offices to track refund progress. • Provide assistance to the VAT ARO and other VAT officials to facilitate refund processing. • Communicate with the Tax (Income Tax) office when required. Support in Archiving Documents: • Ensure all hard copies of documents are properly archived. • Coordinate with Homebound for managing UNDP’s hard copy vouchers. • Upload digital (soft) copies of documents to SharePoint for recordkeeping. • Supporting the retrieval of documents from the archive for audit purposes Other Tasks: • Provide effective operational support to the project team on day-to-day VAT-related matters. • Assist in planning and providing logistical support for learning events and workshops. • Support the team in procurement-related processes and activities. • Perform other duties within the functional profile as required for the effective operation of the Office and the Organization. Expected Outputs / Deliverables: The expected deliverables to be achieved include ensuring the following: • Timely collection of all vouchers and supporting documents from projects and other partner agencies. • Proper documentation, filing, and archiving of all hard copies in the office archive. • Accurate preparation of VAT refund statements, including Mushak-10.1, Annexure-3, and claim vouchers. • Regular visits to the DEDO office (2–3 days per week) to follow up on the status of VAT refund claims. • Effective liaison with VAT officials to obtain updates and share information from both the Government and UNDP. • Successful submission, follow-up, and collection of VAT refund claims from the VAT office. • Ensuring the recovery of all pending VAT claims from the DEDO office, especially for 2024 and previous years • Completion of uploading all relevant documents to SharePoint Impact of Results: The key results will contribute to improving the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the Country Office Finance Cluster. This role will directly support resource mobilization efforts for the Country Office, projects, and partner agencies by ensuring the successful recovery of VAT refunds from the Government.

Competencies and values

• Accountability • Adaptability and flexibility • Creativity • Judgement and decision-making • Planning and organising • Professionalism • Self-management

Living conditions and remarks

Dhaka is located in central Bangladesh along the Buriganga River. Not only is it the capital city, but it is also the largest in the country. It is the centre of political, cultural, and economic life in Bangladesh. The official language is Bengali, while English is the working language of UN Agencies. In recent decades, Dhaka has seen the modernization of services, communications, and public works. The city is attracting large foreign investments and greater volumes of commerce and trade. It is also experiencing an increasing influx of people from across the nation; this has reportedly made Dhaka one of the fastest-growing cities in the world. Good English-speaking medical, dental services, and educational centres are available for internationals. Dhaka is connected to other cities by rail, road, and by air and internationals can move easily from one city to another. Dhaka has venerable green spaces, including many gardens and parks, historical places, and nice restaurants. The weather is tropical - hot and very humid during the summer monsoon season (April-September) and drier and cooler in the winter (October-March). Historically, Bangladesh has been a safe country for internationals so far. While Dhaka is not categorized as a hardship station, the volunteer should be prepared for limitations in freedom of movement on foot, by public transport, and to certain locations. You can check full entitlements at the duty station at https://app.unv.org/calculator. The complete UN Volunteer Conditions of Service is available at https://explore.unv.org/cos.