The Project Manager is responsible to create the Implementation Plan, use the Project Initiation Documents (PID), Legal Agreement and have a thorough understanding of the terms, conditions, and the respective roles and responsibilities of the partners/stakeholders to ensure the project(s) outputs are capable of meeting the business cases for both UNOPS and the partner(s). Success of the project(s) and hence Project Manager will be based on the defined Success Criteria.
The project manager will be managing project(s) which ultimate goal is to provide implementation services that contribute to the achievement of partners’ goals. The variety of projects is quite diverse and can range from management of grants, development of strategies to delivery of training or providing technical assistance.
While the complexity of those projects may vary, maintaining high standards in terms of quality, health, safety and sustainability is always expected.
Depending on the nature and configuration of the project, the project manager might be executing technical studies, reviews, designs, supervision or operation and maintenance services of one or several physical infrastructure assets, in one or multiple sites. Depending on the implementation modality it may involve large volumes of procurement of goods, services and HR services.
UNOPS operates in complex contexts where resources might be scarce, local capacity low and where professional judgement and experience in these environments are of uttermost importance.
Functional Responsibilities
Summary of functions:
Project Delivery and Performance
Procedures
Monitoring and reporting
Stakeholder engagement
Quality assurance
Knowledge management and innovation
Personnel management
Project Delivery and Performance :
Develop, complete and update implementation plan(s)
Implement the approved plan (including the establishment of milestones) within tolerances set by the Project Board.
Embed sustainability dimensions including social and gender inclusion, environmental and economic aspects into project life span.
Manage the production of the required outputs, taking responsibility for overall progress and use of resources and initiating corrective action where necessary.
Ensure that quality of work packages and deliverables complies with the quality requirements defined in the Implementation Plan.
Liaise with any external suppliers or account managers
Manage acceptance and delivery of work packages
Monitor project progress ensuring that work packages are being executed properly
Control project and work packages changes
Identify, and anticipate in a timely manner, potential risks and issues and advises mitigating measures to senior management/ Project Board so that maximum benefit to partner(s) and other stakeholders is achieved
Identify and report to the supervisor potential business opportunities for UNOPS
Procedures :
Comply with all organizational policy and specifically the Project Management Manual
Prepare/adapt all relevant plans for approval by the Project Board.
Manage the reporting obligations defined in the Legal Agreement(s) and in the Implementation Plan
Ensure maintenance of the project files and lessons learned are recorded
Manage budgets, cash flow and obligations to ensure that deliverables are met and payments to contractors and personnel are received on time.
Understand and manage UNOPS overheads, allocable charges, and related corporate charges as they apply to the project
Understand the unique structures of the UN and budget appropriately for personnel
Manage expenditures against the budget (based on accurate financial reports)
Where the Project Manager has no delegation as a committing officer, s/he retains these responsibilities and will monitor and instruct/request others to carry out the relevant commitments and disbursements.
For project closure purposes, provide a formal handover of the project to the closure manager
Support project audit activities, including planning, preparation and coordination during the audits and follow up on audit observations/recommendations
Monitoring and reporting :
Prepare and issue regular project and/or financial reports in accordance with Partner and UNOPS requirements for reporting.
Maintain diaries and progress reports as required by the organization’s standard procedures.
Provide routine oversight and analysis of delivery data within the dashboard system.
Ensure all project team members track and regularly update milestones and targets for the duration of projects' life span
Stakeholder engagement :
Develop stakeholder profiles and facilitate the formulation of stakeholder engagement strategies
Establish solid working relationships with the Project Board (Executive, Senior Users and Senior Suppliers), client and key stakeholders
Enable the formulation of project communications plans. Coordinate internal project communications. Monitor the effectiveness of project communications
Coordinate stakeholder engagement and communication, ensuring effective timing and interdependency management of communications. Ensure stakeholders are aware of project activities, progress, exceptions and are in a position to accept handover outputs
Quality assurance :
Work with internal stakeholders to ensure projects comply with audit requirements
Work with procurement/purchasing staff to ensure effective interface with suppliers' quality systems
Coordinate quality reviews of project documents and deliverables
Provide quality control for management outputs (project documents, reports, etc.)
Knowledge management and innovation :
Encourage routine and effective capacity building activities are conducted in order to build the long-term and sustainable capacity of staff.
Actively interact with other Project Managers and the wider PM community to share case studies, lessons learned and best practices
Contribute to the oversight of lessons learned procedures, ensuring that lessons learnt are shared in a timely and appropriate manner. Participate in the relevant Communities of Practice
Research and logging of lessons learned throughout the project life span.
Provide feedback to Practice Groups on policy, supporting guidance with an aim towards continuous improvement of UNOPS policies
Personnel Management :
Lead and motivate the project management team
Ensure that behavioural expectations of team members are established
Ensure that performance reviews are conducted fairly, accurately and timely
Select, recruit and train team as required and taking into account gender parity and diversity objectives.
Ensure safety and security for all project personnel and comply with UNDSS standards
Education:
Advanced University Degree in a relevant discipline such as International Affairs, Social Sciences, Human Resources, Business Administration, Project Management, Engineering background, Computer Science, or other relevant fields.
A combination of Bachelor’s degree with an additional 2 years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of the education requirements outlined above.
Certification:
Certification in Project Management (PRINCE2, PMI, etc.) is an asset.
Complete the UNOPS PMM, UNOPS PMM Infra perspective and oneUNOPS Projects trainings within (3) months from joining UNOPS.
Experience:
A minimum of five (5) years' experience in implementing complex projects/programmes.
Experience in developing countries or post-conflict environments is an asset.
Experience in writing reports, performing data analysis, and writing technical documents is an asset.
Knowledge of quality assurance methodologies is an asset.
Experience in risk management is an asset.
Experience working in multicultural teams is an asset.
Experience in managing teams is an asset.
Strong analytical capabilities with the ability to manage tasks associated with the development of projects.
Strong Problem Solving Skills.
Language requirement:
Full working knowledge of English is essential.
Knowledge of another official UNOPS language is an asset.
