Reporting to the Head of Syria Office and
working closely with the UNMAS Syria R...
Reporting to the Head of Syria Office and
working closely with the UNMAS Syria Response management team, the Project
Manager is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the project(s), provides
services to the different donors, partners and beneficiaries and ensures compliance with agreed humanitarian prioritization
of activities..
He/she is expected to meet and exceed the organizations performance and
delivery goals.
Purpose and Scope of
Assignment
The project manager is responsible to
produce/read 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) products
are capable of meeting the business cases for both UNOPS and the client.
Success of the project(s) and hence Project Manager will be based on the
Success Criteria of UNOPS engagements which are linked to the below
responsibilities. The project manager is
responsible for all aspects of the project life cycle. S/he must be able to
apply, with some degree of autonomy,
the below duties and responsibilities of the project success criteria:
Stakeholder Management:
- Ensure accurate, complete,
representative and timely substantive reporting on the project, its activities,
and key milestones to all stakeholders in collaboration with the Programme
unit. Manage communications and ensure stakeholders are
aware of project activities, progress, exceptions and are in a position to
accept handover products
- Advise the Head of Syria Office on issues that may
impact the achievement of their outcomes (including issues of sustainability
and post project requirements such as maintenance)
- Manage the information flows
between the management hierarchy and the project(s)
Ensure the project is accurately and appropriately
represented to external audiences, under the strategic guidance of the Head of
Syria Office. This includes via various consolidated and participatory
processes (annual and multi-annual budget planning, HRP and within the UN
coordination infrastructure), as well as with UN agencies, funds and
programmes, government counterparts, donors, and other key stakeholders.
Delivery and Performance:
- With the support of the Head of Syria Office and senior
management team, work with key government, UN and member state
stakeholders to define project implementation modalities, outcomes,
outputs and activities.
- Ensure all project activities are conducted in compliance
with humanitarian principles and a humanitarian prioritization process for
implementation of activities is agreed by key stakeholders, including
Governmental, UN agencies, funds and programmes and donors in line with these
key principles.
- Manage
the delivery toward project outputs, taking responsibility for overall
progress and use of resources, as well as initiating corrective action
where necessary;
- Develop and maintain project
plans
- Implement approved project
plans (including the establishment of milestones) within tolerances set at the programme level, and in line with the programme
strategy
- Embed sustainability dimensions
including social and gender inclusion, environmental and economic aspects into
project life cycle.
- Manage the production of the
required products, taking responsibility for overall progress and use of
resources , including, but not limited
to, personnel and equipment, in line with approved budgets, and in pursuit of
the delivery of project objectives; and initiating corrective
action where necessary
- Liaise with any external
suppliers or account managers
- Authorize Work Packages
- Advise the Head of Syria Office of any deviations
from the plan, including through the
identification and management of risks and issues, ensuring maximum benefit to
clients and stakeholders;
- Manage and review product
quality and ensure products are accepted; with the technical guidance
of Operations and Support Services
- Monitor and evaluate
performance of service providers
- Identify and report potential
business opportunities and threats for UNOPS to the Head of Syria Office, in
the pursuit of transparency, excellence and results;
Procedures:
- Follow the Project Management
Cycle Instructions and ensure that all organizational policy is complied with
(Organizational Directives and Administrative Instructions)
- Prepare/adapt the following
plans for approval by the Head of Syria Office: I. Project Initiation
Documentation; II. Stage/Exception Plans and relevant Product Descriptions
- Prepare the following reports:
i. Highlight Reports
ii. End Stage Reports
iii. Operational Closure
Checklist
iv. End Project Report
v. Handover Report
- Maintain the Electronic Blue
File as per OD12.
- Ensure that all expenditure
comply with UNOPS Financial Rules and Regulations (FRR).
- 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 and remain accountable
for 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.
Knowledge Management:
- Participate in the relevant
Communities of Practice
- Actively interact with other
PMs and the PM community to share case studies, lessons learned and best
practice on the Knowledge System.
- Provide feedback to Practice
Leads on policy, supporting guidance with an aim towards continuous improvement
of UNOPS policies
- Complete lessons learned as per
reporting format and incorporate lessons learned from others as per planning
format, to improve future delivery and quality, and to strengthen the knowledge
sharing mechanisms within UNMAS and UNOPS, as well as with clients and other
key stakeholders.
Personnel Management: if applicable
- Lead and motivate the project
management team and ensure they are fully appraised of the goals, orientation,
outputs, and key time and resource constraints of the project, are included and
consulted in the decision-making process as required, and are valued as key
contributors in the delivery of the project objectives;
- Ensure that behavioural
expectations of team members are established, set benchmarks for performance,
and undertake systematic and regular review of personnel performance, including
disciplinary measures if and when required
- Ensure that performance reviews
are conducted
- Guide, empower and develop
staff for the project, with consideration for individual training and
development needs within the overall delivery of the project;
- Have a thorough understanding
of UNOPS personnel contract modalities (including ICA and Staff)
- Select, recruit and train team
as required by project plans
Other tasks as defined by the Head
of Syria Office.
Core Values and Principles:
- Understand and respect UNOPS
sustainability principles
i. Look for ways to embed
UNOPS sustainability principles in day to day project management
ii. Seek opportunities to
champion gender equality at work place
iii. Champion and communicate
project’s sustainability aspects with key stakeholders
- Understand and Respect National
ownership and capacity
i. Understand the principles
of the Paris Declaration on aid effectiveness and mainstream them into the
project plans
ii. Seek opportunities to
recruit qualified local staff
iii. Look for ways to build
capacity of local counterparts
- Partnerships and Coordination Understand
the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) and UNOPS, the project’s place
in the UN system
i. Strive to build strong
partnerships and effective coordination among relevant project actors (e.g.
United Nations, governments, and non-governmental organizations or other
relevant partners)
- Accountability for results and the use of resources
i. The project management
processes are designed to deliver maximum accountability, transparency and
results. If a project or processes is not in line with this, it is the responsibility of the PM to raise the issue with a supervisor
- Excellence
i. Contribute to innovation
and the adaptation of best practice standards of sustainability and quality.