Project Coordination Unit Team Leader

DFID will contract UNOPS to carry out a “Project Coordination Units (PCU)” Project in close cooperation with DFID leadership. The DFID through UNOPS will work closely with the new provincial and local Government to coordinate programmes in the province and provide technical assistance through existing programmes, as appropriate.

The position of Project Coordination Unit Team Leader will be integral to the structure and performance of the Project Coordination Unit. The individual contractor will lead the Project Coordination Unit, managing the three sub-teams at province level to allow DFID Nepal to understand, coordinate and support the new provincial and local Governments by:

• Building a strong relationship with DFID Nepal to understand their needs and objectives for the Project Coordination Unit.
• Providing leadership and overall management of the three sub-teams based at province level.
• Coordinating and collating the political and social trends analysis and reporting from the provincial level, recognising and reporting on the trends and differences across the provinces.
• Developing a good understanding of DFID-funded programmes in Nepal and ensuring the sub-teams understand and follow the progress of all DFID-funded projects in their province.
• Supporting the teams at provincial level to understand the needs of the newly formed Governments, liaise with existing DFID-funded programmes to address those needs and provide technical assistance as appropriate.
• Overseeing risk management reporting from the Risk Management analyst and Provincial Offices, covering the whole of Nepal,
• Providing learning and training events for DFID staff on political and cultural context.

The Provincial Coordination Unit Team Leader will:

• Establish positive and productive work relationships with DFID Nepal.
• Ensure appropriate recruitment of team members regarding skills, diversity and networks.
• Lead, manage and monitor the work of the sub-teams at provincial level.
• Provide methodological guidance and standardization tools to sub-teams for specific tasks (stakeholder mapping, stakeholder engagement strategy, gender action plan, political analysis, government capacity needs analysis, DFID-funded activity mapping).
• Understand and remain up to date on the progress of DFID-funded programmes, and ensure the sub-teams are up-to-date on programmes relevant at the provincial level,
• Coordinate and collate reporting on the political and social trends from the provincial teams.
• Be an active and open recipient of feedback on image and acceptance of DFID and DFID-funded projects and report to / advise DFID Leadership accordingly.
• Inform DFID Nepal on the overall condition of the new Governments across the provinces and gain an understanding of any support required or requested utilising needs assessments developed by provincial offices.
• Coordinate and support sub-teams to facilitate DFID meetings and field trips in the provinces.
• Develop and consolidate a network of contacts among civil society, community, and political parties in Kathmandu who can support the work at provincial level.
• Represent the positions of DFID Nepal appropriately to a wide range of stakeholders as required.
• Ensure quarterly reporting on the projects’ activities, deliverables, finances, risks and issues.
• Providing regular information about the risk landscape in Nepal to DFID.

Monitoring and Progress Controls

The Project Coordination Unit Team Leader is expected to ensure that the project produces the required output within the specified timeframe, cost, quality, scope, risk and benefits (key performance indicators). Progress will be monitored through:

• Relevant and up-to-date logs and registers (risk register, issue log, lessons log, contact lists).
• Quarterly reporting and quarterly assurance meetings.
• Regular visits in the provinces covered by the project.
• UNOPS annual peer review, internal and external audits.

Education

• Master's Degree in political science, sociology, governance, development studies, conflict resolution and peace building, management or another relevant field is required;
• Applicants with a Bachelor’s Degree and two additional years of experience will be considered in lieu of the Master's Degree requirement.
• Management or leadership qualification would be desirable (PRINCE2©, PMBOK© etc.).

• At least 7 years of work experience in development, governance, peace building, management, journalism or a related field is required;
• At least 3 years' experience of working with elected representatives or government officials at the local level is required;
• 3 years' experience of managing teams is required;
• Experience working in Nepal is highly desirable;
• Previous experience of providing or coordinating technical assistance to Government institutions desirable.
• Previous experience with DFID or DFID-funded projects desirable.

• Reputation of impartiality
• Strong networking, communication, representation and negotiation skills
• Good knowledge of computers, MS Office and cloud-based work.
• Readiness to regularly visit provincial teams in rural areas and sometimes with simple facilities.
• Ability to work independently and under pressure.
• Collaborative approach to working in a multi ethnic team and ability to empower teams to do the same.
• Commitment to managing a flexible team that supports a good work/life balance.

• 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 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.