PMO Team Leader

The primary role of Project Management Office (PMO) is to provide countries under her/his responsibility   with the structures, tools and techniques needed to ensure that  the right programmes and projects are in place,  operational and change priorities are balanced, the governance and decision making is facilitated and   the resources and capability allow them to deliver them consistently well.  The PMO will collaborate with the Head of PMO of Senegal Multi-country office.

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.

• In conjunction with the PMO team, provides appropriate levels of programmatic management and administrative support to the Programme Management 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.

• 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 North Africa.

• Identifies, and anticipates in a timely manner, potential risks and issues and advises mitigating measures to the Country Manager. 

• 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 Support Services Manager in all project assets and finance related issues.

• For project closure purposes, acts as (or nominates and supervises) a focal point between the countries 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, updating of information on the UNOPS Management Workspace (MWS), and effective handover of closed projects to UNOPS HQ for financial closure processes

• Prepare and issue regular project reports in accordance with donor guidelines for reporting.

• 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 anticipate in a timely manner, potential risks and issues specific to delivery forecasts, and advise mitigating measures to the Country Manager.

• 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 programmes 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 track 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 Support Services Manager 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 programmes and project communications plans.

• Coordinate stakeholder engagement and communication, ensuring effective timing and interdependency management of communications across programmes and projects.

• Coordinate internal programmes/projects communications.

• Monitor the effectiveness of programmes/projects communication.

• Work with internal audit and finance to ensure the programme complies with audit requirements.

• Work with procurement/purchasing personnel  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.).

• Represent the Country Manager in supporting key stakeholders to continuously identify and improve operational processes relevant to project implementation.

• Act as a focal point for the Hub maturity enhancement initiatives, using the P3M3 as a baseline.

• Ensure that 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 in the Knowledge System.

• Provides feedback to Practice Leads on policy and supporting guidance working to achieve continuous improvement of UNOPS policies.

• Contributes to the oversight of lessons learned procedures, ensuring that lessons learnt are shared in a timely and appropriate manner.

• Exercise control of all staffing issues within the PMO team including recruitment, on boarding and staff performance reviews.

• Directly contributes to the development and maintenance of budget and resource availability tables in conjunction with project managers and relevant project personnel

• Promote and support a learning culture by empowering individuals and teams to identify critical learning needs and plan/provide easy access to learning opportunities to maintain personnel competency and flexibility.

• Foster a positive work environment, respectful of both men and women, and ensure that the highest standards of conduct are observed.

• Advanced University Degree in Project Management, and/or Business Administration or other relevant discipline such as Civil Engineering, and/or Architecture is required

• University Degree (bachelor’s degree) in Project Management, and/or Business Administration or other relevant discipline such as Civil Engineering, and/or Architecture   with a combination of 2 additional years of relevant professional experience in Civil Engineering, or Architecture, or Project Management, or Business Administration or other relevant discipline, may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

• A minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in project management is required.

• A minimum of 2 years working experience with data analysis, management reporting and project management tools and information management systems is required.

• A minimum of 2 years experience in the management or planning space, or as PMO for infrastructure projects / programme / portfolio is required.

• Minimum of 3 years experience in team supervision (preferably in multicultural environment set-up) is required 

• A minimum of 2 years experience   working within a PMO environment is required

• Detailed knowledge of UNOPS’ project management tools, UNOPS financial and procurement rules and regulations, and financial management tools is an advantage.

• Experience of Project Management, oversight of programmes and projects in Africa is an advantage.

Contract type: Individual Contract Agreement (ICA)

Contract level: I-ICA2
Contract duration: Open ended


For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link:

• 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.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (around 4 hours) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS.
• 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 is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.

The Tunisia Project Office is responsible for managing strategic and operational risks associated with the Project Office’s portfolio of engagements (in Tunisia, Morocco, Libya and Algeria) – as part of the Senegal Multi Country Office (MCO) set up, developing and delivering cost effective services contributing to partners' sustainable results and achievements of UNOPS management results. 

UNOPS Tunisia activities range from tailor-made administration, operations, human resources and logistics support for implementation of development and humanitarian projects; infrastructure and procurement management services; and advisory services to partners (in Tunisia, Morocco, Libya and Algeria) to facilitate effective procurement, supply and financial management. Partners include the Government of Tunisia, European Union and UN agencies such as UNHCR and WHO. It provides project management services including design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. It also offers funds management, loan and grant administration, public, building local capacity markets, training and technical assistance.