Programme Management Officer

The functions and services of the PMO include:

• Strategic Planning/Portfolio Support: Ensuring UNOPS is focused on doing the right projects by supporting management decision-making.
• Delivery Support: Ensuring UNOPS is doing projects the right way, through the effective delivery of the programme and projects.
• Best Practices: Applying UNOPS standards in project management, encouraging consistent working practices and ensuring appropriate application.

1. Development and planning
2. Set-up and closure
3. Monitoring and reporting
4. Stakeholder engagement
5. Quality assurance
6. Knowledge management and innovation

1.     Developing and Planning

• Provides appropriate levels of programmatic management and administrative support to the Head of Programme regarding all ongoing project activities, while maintaining and implementing appropriate standards and best practices in line with UNOPS policies and procedures.
• Directly contribute to strategic oversight, advice and direction on programme and project management activities in line with service agreements and project documents.
• Ensure proper development, implementation and, as and when appropriate, amendments, of project budgets and staffing resources, ensuring synergies across the KEOH.
• Develops and establishes resource tracking systems for use within the PMO, complementary to UNOPS' online tools, to ensure effective planning, forecasting and tracking of delivery across the Somalia Office
• Identifies, and anticipates in a timely manner, potential risks and issues and advises mitigating measures to the Head of Programme. 

• Facilitate the development of high-level programme/project plans, including the collation of lower-level plans into programme/project-level milestones.
• Develop, track and maintain dependencies.
• Liaise closely and support the Head of Support Services in all project assets and finance related issues.
• For project closure purposes, acts as (or nominates and supervises) a focal point between the Somalia Office and donors throughout the process.
• Oversee and coordinate all project closure activities, ensuring appropriate disposal of project assets, timely and effective final (operational) reporting, initiation of financial disbursements as appropriate during Defects Liability Periods, and effective handover of closed projects to UNOPS HQ for financial closure processes.

• Regularly review project status, evaluating performance criteria (scope, cost, schedule and quality).
• Maintain diaries and progress reports as required by UNOPS standard procedures.
• Identify and anticipates in a timely manner, potential risks and issues specific to delivery forecasts, and advises mitigating measures to the Head of Programme.
• Provide routine oversight and analysis of delivery data within the dashboard system, using UNOPS ERP system as required.
• Perform routine maintenance and implementation of effective monitoring and evaluation systems of programme and project activities, in line with logical frameworks.
• Within the context of monitoring and evaluation, ensure all projects submit and regularly update specific milestones and targets for the duration of projects' life-cycles, and tracks progress, or otherwise, against such information.
• Provide editorial support to programmes and projects, ensuring effective and timely dissemination of reports, in line with project documentation and clients' expectations.
• Provide the Head of Support Services with necessary project analysis reports and information to support areas relevant to the project management team (i.e. Locally Managed Direct Costs projections etc.)
• Coordinate and oversee the implementation of requests or initiatives relevant to project management from the Regional Office, IPAS, and HQ Teams, as required.

• Develop stakeholder profiles and facilitate the formulation of stakeholder engagement strategies.
• Enable the formulation of programme and project communications plans.
• Coordinate stakeholder engagement and communication, ensuring effective timing and interdependency management of communications across programmes and projects.
• Coordinate internal programme/project communications.
• Monitor the effectiveness of programme/project communications.

5.     Quality assurance

• Work with internal audit and finance to ensure the programme complies with audit requirements.
• Work with procurement/purchasing staff to ensure effective interface with suppliers' quality systems.
• Ensure compliance with UNOPS defined standards for programme/project management.
• Coordinate quality reviews of programme/project documents and deliverables.
• Provide quality control for management products (project documents, reports, etc.).

6.     Knowledge management and innovation

• Act as a focal point for the Somalia Office maturity enhancement initiatives, using the P3M3 as a baseline.
• Ensure routine and effective capacity building activities are conducted in order to build the long-term and sustainable capacity of national staff.
• Participate in, and advocate PMs' participation in, relevant Communities of Practice.
• Actively interact with PMs and the wider PM community to share case studies, lessons learned and best practices.
• Contributes to the oversight of lessons learned procedures, ensuring that lessons learnt are shared in a timely and appropriate manner.

• A minimum of 5 years relevant experience in the field of Project Management or Operations Management.
• Previous experience of working within a PMO environment is an advantage.
• Skills in Project Management and Reporting are essential.
• Experience in humanitarian emergency operating contexts including humanitarian coordination mechanisms, donors, security, and operations management is an added advantage.
• Experience of UN rules and procedures in Procurement, Finance, HR Management and administrative rules and regulations will be an advantage.
• Working experience in Somalia will be an added advantage.

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns.
Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

UNOPS supports the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to serve people in need by expanding the ability of the United Nations, governments and other partners to manage projects, infrastructure and procurement in a sustainable and efficient manner.

Working in some of the world’s most challenging environments, our vision is to advance sustainable implementation practices, always satisfying or surpassing our partners’ expectations.

With over 7,000 personnel spread across 80 countries, UNOPS offers its partners the logistical, technical and management knowledge they need, wherever they need it.

A flexible structure and global reach means that we can quickly respond to our partners' needs, while offering the benefits of economies of scale. 

Background Information - East Africa Hub (EAH)

Located in Nairobi, Kenya, the East Africa Hub manages a growing portfolio of engagements, including associated strategic and operational risks. The East Africa sub-region currently consists of an established Operation Centre in South Sudan and a portfolio of engagements managed by the Kenya based East Africa Hub office. This includes primarily transactional projects in partnership with the Nairobi based UN Agencies UN-Habitat and UNEP, and multiple ‘operational’ projects in Somalia, Tanzania, Burundi, Uganda, Kenya and several island states.

Somalia Office

The UNOPS Somalia Office presently manages a significant portfolio of projects in Somalia and has its direct representational and oversight functions in Somalia, while maintaining a technical and administrative support capacity at the hub level in Nairobi. UNOPS works with multiple partners including the Governments of Somalia, bilateral and multilateral donors, and United Nations Agencies, Funds and Programmes.