Project Manager

Background information – Cities Alliance (CA)

Cities Alliance, which is hosted by UNOPS, is a global partnership for the promotion of cities in poverty reduction and sustainable development. Headquartered in Brussels and supported by a Secretariat, it is a unique partnership with a diverse membership including – global organisations of local authorities, national governments, international non-governmental organisations, foundations, knowledge networks and multilateral organisations – which have come together to strengthen both impacts and coherence in urban development. Cities Alliance is a global leader, with a strong track record in grant making, that supports strategic city planning, slum upgrading strategies and national policies designed to make cities more inclusive and sustainable. Members promote longer-term and integrated work programmes, while actively promoting gender equality throughout all activities.

Background information – European Union

This programme is funded by the European Union and is a small part of a bigger cooperation in Africa. The Member States of the European Union have decided to link together their know-how, resources and destinies. Together, they have built a zone of stability, democracy and sustainable development whilst maintaining cultural diversity, tolerance and individual freedoms. The European Union is committed to sharing its achievements and its values with countries and peoples beyond its borders.

The most long-standing cooperation is with the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group with close collaboration with 48 states of sub-Saharan Africa. In this context, "treating Africa as one" has become a priority for both sides. Both continents therefore decided to put their relations on a new footing, and to conclude a strategic, trans-continental partnership. At the Lisbon Summit in 2007, the European Union and 54 African countries adopted the Joint Africa-EU Strategy (JAES) with the ambition of:

Moving 'beyond development', by strengthening the Africa-EU dialogue on issues of common concern and expanding their bilateral cooperation into promising new areas of common interest such as governance and human rights, trade and regional integration, energy, climate change, migration, mobility and employment, or science, ICT and space applications;

Moving 'beyond institutions' by working towards a people-centred partnership, ensuring the participation of civil society and the private sector and delivering direct benefits for African and European citizens.

Moving 'beyond Africa', by jointly addressing global common challenges such as climate change peace and security.

Background information – job specific

Within the scope of the Uganda Country Program, Cities Alliance is managing an EU-funded project  entitled “The Kampala - Jinja Expressway - Implementing the Resettlement and Livelihood Restoration Plan (RLRP) - No One Worse Off”, (2019 - 2020)’.  The Ugandan Ministry of Land, Housing and Urban Development (MLHUD) and the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) acts as the lead partner agencies for the Project while working directly with civil society and NGOs. The Project Manager will join a  team of international and local specialists and in the short term will be accountable the Director based in Brussels.

Cities Alliance is seeking a highly motivated, experienced and skilled professional to manage the implementation of the various components of the project as a coherent programme ensuring time, quality and cost criteria. The project manager will be supported by the national office based in Kampala and by a task manager based in Brussels. The candidate will have strong Prince 2 project management experience. In addition, the candidate will have experience in project implementation involving local communities across multiple dimensions and relationship building skills. It will be advantageous to understand urban development and management, resettlement and security of land tenure. 

Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluation, Stake Holders Management and Partnership Building  

In consultation with the Cities Alliance country office and under the overall guidance of the Project Steering Committee, the Project Manager will guide and support the implementation and management of the project:

• Manage and motivate the different implementation organisations and procured consultants.
• Prepare quartely work plans with activities, performance targets, human resource allocations and budgets. 
• Manage and oversight all aspects of project implementation according to the projects’ grant agreements and annual work plan ensuring delivery of activities and outputs;
• Working with the Programme Support Officer ensure that a monitoring and evaluation plan is developed and all relevant data is collected.
• Working with the Programme Support Officer ensure that all project reporting is undertaken in accordance with the quality requirements of the funder.
• Ensure the Projects' governance structures are opearational ;
• Organize all project-related meetings and events, including but not limited to Steering Committee meetings and workshops.
• Support the Urban Advisor in representing the Cities Alliance and its activities within the country and engage with a wide range of national, local government, international development, private sector and civil society actors. Most specifically, ensure that the EU-Funded project is fully integrated with the programming of Cities Alliance members and partners  in Uganda;
• Provide support to the Urban Advisor in analyzing in-country donor funding patterns and practices and identify opportunities to leverage additional funding. Oversee the preparation of funding proposals, donor briefings and presentations in support of the project’s goals and more broadly Cities Alliance’s mission and vision;
• Support the Urban Advisor and the Cities Allance secretariate in engaging the International financial Institutions and private sector linking them to the activities planned in the programme with the view of promoting follow-up investment in the project identified during the programme planning processes;
• Working with the Urban Advisor develop a network of contacts and scope out potential opportunities for the project or other related CA activities in Uganda;
• Liaise with the UNOPS Kenya Operational Hub to support oversight and implementation of the Programme as appropriate;
• Support fiduciary management  and monitor fiduciary risks in line with UNOPS policies and procedures;
• Procurement of goods and services with assistance from the CA Secretariat – drafting TORs, contract management and ensuring service providers deliver on-time and to quality standards;
• Budgeting, reporting against budgets and using UNOPS ERP systems to track, monitor and produce reports;
• Identifying, together with CA-S, solutions for operational and programmatic challenges and managing the implementation of solutions which ensure accountability, compliance and efficiency.

Advanced university degree in management, engineering, international development or environmental studies; economics; or related disciplines. A bachelor’s degree with a combination of two (2) additional years of relevant experience may be accepted in lieu of the master’s degree.

• At least 5 years of progressive experience in project development and management, with focus on monitoring, reporting, development and coordination in either public or private sector organizations.
• Experience of promoting constructive dialogue between diverse stakeholders and of communicating clearly and respectfully at the highest levels of government and with civil society is required.
• Experience managing operational aspects of project management required – preferably in UN context.
• Experience in Resettlement and Livelihood Restoration is desirable.
• Experience in managing EU-funded projects and/or working in country delegation is desirable.
• Familiarity with the work of the Cities Alliance and other multilateral, bilateral and civil society development partners in urban development is desirable.

• Contract type: Individual Contractor Agreement
• Contract level: Local Specialist Level 10
• Contract duration: Ongoing ICA – ‘Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance.

• 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
• 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.

APPLICANTS SHOULD SUBMIT A MOTIVATION LETTER.

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.