Programme Specialist

The Central African Republic (CAR) is a highly fragile country with a history of recurrent conflict, the most recent of which took place in 2013 between multiple armed groups. The violence that followed the 2013 crisis greatly damaged public assets and infrastructure, disrupted service delivery, and further weakened the social fabric, and exacerbated people’s poverty and vulnerability to shocks. As a result, roughly one-quarter of the population was internally displaced or had to flee as refugees to neighboring countries. Forced displacement has disrupted livelihoods, depleted the assets of the poor, and put an additional strain on service delivery in areas of displacement.

Improvements in the security situation have resulted in the voluntary return of displaced populations, primarily in the northwest and southwest of the country. It is estimated that about 15 to 20 percent of the displaced population has returned spontaneously. However, the return of the displaced to the areas of origin remains fragile and dependent on the overall security situation. The reintegration of displaced populations and provision of social safety nets is a short-term priority and essential to the stabilization and economic revitalization of the country.

To this end, the World Bank is supporting the Government of CAR to prepare a project to increase access to basic services, infrastructure and social safety nets by communities affected by forced displacement. The project will be implemented through UNOPS, and it will work in the following areas: Kaga-bandoro, Batafongo, Bria, Bambari and Bangui.

The project adopts a multifaceted approach in support of communities affected by displacement in CAR and it entails several components and sub-components to include:

1) support to enhance the delivery of local services and availability of local infrastructure to benefit communities impacted by displacement;

2) financial support to the most vulnerable households among displaced populations and local communities;

3) working with local communities and displaced populations to enhance their capacity to address the impact of displacement and promote peaceful coexistence of different groups; and 4) to enable local authorities (territorial administration and communes) to participate in planning and overseeing the execution of all activities executed under this project.

Located in Kinshasa, DRC the UNOPS Hub in Central Africa covers eleven countries, including Central African Republic (CAR). The office has developed strong working relations with the international partners, UN agencies including UN Missions and Governments of Central Africa over the years. It provides technical support and capacity building in strategic development areas including infrastructure rehabilitation and development across health, education, public works, governance/public administration sectors; procurement, project management and sectoral advisory services; peace and security, environmental preservation and protection among others.

The Programme Specialist is responsible for programmatic development, strategy, planning and implementation of key component and sub-components of the PACAD project. He/she will play a key role in the project’s planning, timely implementation, monitoring and reporting and will ensure that the project results are delivered on time, budget and to a high standard.  He/she is expected to meet or exceed the organization’s performance and expected delivery goals and partners and stakeholder satisfaction. The Programme Specialist will be directly supervised by the PACAD Project Manager in CAR, providing project support services to the Project Manager, project team, government counterparts, World Bank partners and other key stakeholders including local authorities and community leaders across the 5 localities.

The duties include but are not limited to:

• Lead and Support to the identification process/selection of the project’s infrastructure investments (construction / rehabilitation of local infrastructure) in the different semi-urban locations across CAR;
• Lead and Review the technical studies and works for the infrastructure investments component including environmental and social impact studies;
• Closely work with the local authorities and communities to help them prioritize their needs in line with the project criteria;
• Develop and update workplan for the Component 1 of the project (identification/selection/infrastructure works investments implementation), within an urban/peri-urban development and cohesive community approach/perspective;
• Support the local authorities develop a local development plan;
• Closely work with the Project Site managers and support them with all project implementation activities;
• Contribute to the coordination and collaboration between all key project stakeholders;
• Closely monitor project activities;
• Support PACAD implementing partners by providing guidance for project and infrastructure programme component adjustments to reflect new knowledge, lessons learned and international good practice;
• Coordinate relevant technical meetings and contribute to policy dialogue in the PACAD priority areas;
• Identify and document key lessons and good practices in the project;
• Collaborate actively with the project team and the communications team in the preparation of briefing notes, reports and knowledge products;
• Build and maintain strategic linkages with a wide range of stakeholders including: local authorities, government ministries, departments and agencies; development coordination mechanism, non-governmental organizations and private sector stakeholders; community groups and other organizations;
• Lead and support the reporting and presentation requirements as required;
• Perform other related duties as required.

Deliverables:

Procedures:

• Follow the Project Management Cycle Instructions and ensure that all organizational policy is complied with (Organizational Directives and Administrative Instructions);
• Supports to prepare/adapt the following plans for approval by the Project Board: I. Project Initiation Documentation; II.Stage/Exception Plans and relevant Product Descriptions;

• Supports to prepare the following reports: 

  I.            Highlight Reports (Monthly)

  II.           End Stage Report

  III.          Operational Closure Checklist

  IV.          End Project Report

   V.          Handover Report

  
  

• Advanced University Degree (Master’s or equivalent)  in Engineering, Local Development Planning, Urban Planning, Project Management, or other relevant discipline is required.

• First level University Degree (bachelor’s or equivalent) in Engineering, Local Development Planning, Urban Planning,  Project Management or other relevant discipline in combination with 2 additional years of relevant professional experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

• A relevant combination of academic credentials and/or industry certifications and qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the university education.    

• PRINCE2 Practitioner Certification – Desirable

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in programme/project management or related areas is required.

• Solid experience managing large integrated programmes at a strategic level with financial oversight is desirable.
• Solid practical experience in working with the UN, multilateral donors, Non-governmental organizations, and with public sector is desirable
• Solid experience of working in urban, peri-urban and rural development, on community infrastructure rehabilitation/construction and on cross cutting agendas is desirable
• Working experience and knowledge in Central Africa will be a strong asset. Previous experience in Africa will also be an asset
• Experience and understanding of working in fragile states is an asset
• Experience of sector wide approaches in post conflict contexts, social service infrastructure and local development sector will be an asset.
• Managing previous WB-funded projects would be considered an asset

Fluency in both french and English is required.  

• 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.
• 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
• 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.