Payments and Platform Operations Assistant

Organizational Context

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kenya focuses on poverty eradication within sustainable development, aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals and promoting UN principles. A key area is Democratic Governance, supporting Kenya's Vision 2030 Political Pillar reforms. The NextGen.Ke program, which this role supports, aims to provide fair and reliable internship placements and timely stipend payments to 15,000 graduate interns, ensuring program integrity and a positive user experience.

Job Purpose

This role is crucial for ensuring the credibility and smooth operation of the NextGen.Ke program by guaranteeing accurate, timely, and transparent stipend payments to 15,000 graduate interns. The position serves as a vital link between financial records and daily platform operations. The incumbent will manage high-volume recurrent payments, assist first-time account holders, and provide essential human oversight to the automated shortlisting process. This ensures fairness, prevents fraud, and supports applicants with limited digital literacy, ultimately protecting program funds and enhancing the experience for both interns and host companies.

Responsibilities

The Payments and Platform Operations Assistant will report to the NextGEN Project Manager and is responsible for processing monthly intern stipend payments, ensuring accurate mapping to verified beneficiaries. This includes onboarding and verifying intern bank and mobile money details, particularly for first-time users. The role involves reconciling payment records against attendance and placement data, flagging discrepancies for resolution. Maintaining a comprehensive audit trail of payments and approvals, in line with UNDP financial rules, is essential. The assistant will provide human oversight to automated shortlisting to ensure fairness for candidates from diverse backgrounds and verify uploaded documents (certificates, IDs) to prevent fraud. Additionally, the role entails providing responsive support to applicants and host companies regarding platform usage and resolving recurring payment and platform issues by liaising with the Administrative Associate and development team.

Work Experience

No prior experience is strictly required. However, practical experience in payments processing, bookkeeping, customer service, operations, or administrative support is advantageous. Experience with beneficiary or payroll data, document verification, spreadsheets, mobile money/banking platforms, and database administration tools is beneficial.

Skills

Key competencies include accountability, adaptability, flexibility, creativity, judgment, decision-making, planning, organization, professionalism, and self-management. Expertise in Administration and Business Management is also noted. Strong numeracy and attention to detail are essential for handling financial data and verification tasks.

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