Project Manager

Agriculture plays a major role in the entire Great Lakes region and in the DRC's economy, which has 80 million hectares of arable land, a diverse climate, adapted to agricultural diversity, and extensive areas for agriculture. In addition to having abundant water resources for agriculture, the DRC has many lakes and rivers that offer great opportunities for fishing and aquaculture. Agriculture is the largest sector in terms of GDP and employment, accounting for 42.5% of GDP and employing 70% of the labor force (62% men and 84% women). The sector consists mainly of small family farms based on low-intensity production of crops, livestock and fish. Staple food production remain stagnant and has fallen behind. Some agricultural sub-sectors, including coffee, oil palm, and cassava and maize production, are more dynamic. In addition to cassava and maize, small and large commercial farmers grow rice, sugar cane and banana.

Congolese agriculture is characterized by low productivity. Quality inputs and appropriate technologies are lacking, such as improved seeds (especially hybrids), fertilizers and other agrochemicals, vaccines and sanitary zoo supplies. The emergence of a more productive and dynamic agricultural sector is also limited by the lack of protection of regional watersheds (threatening the sustainability of soil and other natural resources), weak market access, and the lack of information on markets and prices. Poor productive infrastructure and equipment (water, electricity, roads) and limited agri-food processing facilities add to the high costs of production, processing and transaction, in addition to the high post-harvest losses for crop, livestock and fish production. Removing these constraints that limit the performance of the sector should strengthen the contribution of agriculture to food security, employment, household nutrition, and poverty reduction.

Agriculture is therefore a critical economic and employment activity in the Democratic Republic of Congo

With funding from the World Bank, UNOPS CDOH is implementing on behalf of the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC- Ministry of Agriculture) the infrastructure of subcomponent of the project whose objectives is to increase agricultural productivity and marketing in targeted areas in eastern DRC, improve regional integration in the agriculture sector and thereby improve and strengthen the overall agricultural value chains. The project comprises of:

a)       Rehabilitation of 540 kilometers of agricultural feeder roads linking production areas and markets;

b)      The rehabilitation of existing irrigation systems in the Ruzizi Valley River in the Ruzizi and Rugumba                plains and other lowlands and valleys, and;

c)       Rehabilitation of micro hydroelectric power plants (small dams) and access to water (construction /
          rehabilitation of boreholes).

UNOPS will work in close collaboration with the rural infrastructure engineers of the provincial delivery units, the Directorate of Agricultural Servicing (DVDA), the National Rural Hydraulic Service (SNHR). The Ministry of Rural Development in charge of road and water supply programs as well as the Office of Roads (OdR) for long-span bridges on these roads.

The rural roads program will take a regional dimension of the proposed project into consideration and improve connectivity between DRC and Burundi. It will also establish community program focused on road maintenance mechanism and develop institutional capacity of the Directorate of Agricultural Servicing (DVDA), water user associations will also receive training on irrigation project management.

The Project Manager is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the project(s) and provides services to the different donors, partners and beneficiaries. He/she is expected to meet and exceed the organizations performance and delivery goals. The Project Manager is responsible to produce/read the project initiation documents (PID), Legal Agreement and have a thorough understanding of the terms, conditions, and the respective roles and responsibilities of the partners/stakeholders to ensure the project(s) products are capable of meeting the business cases for both UNOPS and the client.The Project Manager is responsible for all aspects of the project life cycle. S/he must be able to apply, independently, the below duties and responsibilities of the project success criteria:

Stakeholder Management:

• Establish solid working relationship with the project board (Executive, Senior Users and Senior Suppliers), client and key stakeholders
• Manage communications and ensure stakeholders are aware of project activities, progress, exceptions and are in a position to accept handover products
• Advise the client on issues that may impact the achievement of their outcomes (including issues of sustainability and post project requirements such as maintenance)
• Manage the information flows between the Project Board/OC Director and the project(s)

Delivery and Performance:

• Implement approved project plans (including the establishment of milestones) within tolerances set by the project board
• Embed sustainability dimensions including social and gender inclusion, environmental and economic aspects into project life cycle.
• Manage the production of the required products, taking responsibility for overall progress and use of resources and initiating corrective action where necessary
• Liaise with any external suppliers or account managers
• Authorize Work Packages
• Advise the Project Board and OC Manager of any deviations from the plan
• Identify and manage risks so that maximum benefit to client and stakeholders is achieved
• Manage and review product quality and ensure products are accepted
• Monitor and evaluate performance of service providers
• Identify and report potential demand for UNOPS services to the supervisor
• Identify and report threats to UNOPS internal business case to supervisor

Procedures:

• Follow the Project Management Cycle Instructions and ensure that all organizational policy is compiled with (Organizational Directives and Administrative Instructions)
• Ensure preparation and maintenance of all project planning, monitoring and reporting requirements.
• Ensure that all expenditure comply with UNOPS Financial Rules and Regulations (FRR).
• Manage budgets, cash flow and obligations to ensure that deliverables are met and payments to contractors and personnel are received on time.
• Understand and manage UNOPS overheads, allocable charges, and related corporate charges as they apply to the project
• Understand the unique structures of the UN and budget appropriately for personnel
• Manage and remain accountable for expenditures against the budget (based on accurate financial reports)
• Where the Project Manager has no delegation as a committing officer, s/he retains these responsibilities and will monitor and instruct/request others to carry out the relevant commitments and disbursements.

Knowledge Management:

• Participate in the relevant Communities of Practice
• Actively interact with other PMs and the PM community to share case studies, lessons learned and best practice on the Knowledge System.
• Provide feedback to Practice Leads on policy, supporting guidance with an aim towards continuous improvement of UNOPS policies
• Complete lessons learned as per reporting format
• Incorporate lessons learned from others as per planning format

Personnel Management:

• Lead and motivate the project management team
• Ensure that behavioral expectations of team members are established
• Ensure that performance reviews are conducted
• Identify relevant performance issues are brought to the attention of the OC Director
• Have a thorough understanding of UNOPS personnel contract modalities (including IICA and LICA staff)
• Select, recruit and train team as required by project plans

• Perform the Team Manager role, unless appointed to another person(s)
• Perform Project Support role, unless appointed to another person or corporate/programme function
• Ensure safety and security for all personnel and comply with UNDSS standards

Monitoring and Progress Controls

Ensure that the project(s) produces the required products within the specified tolerance of time, cost, quality, scope, risk and benefits. The Project Manager is also responsible for the project producing a result capable of achieving the benefits to the satisfaction of UNOPS and the Client. Contribute to the overall business targets and needs.

• Advanced University Degree (Master's or equivalent) in Architecture, Engineering, Project Management, or other relevant discipline is required
• First level University degree (Bachelor's or equivalent) in Architecture, Engineering, Project Management areas 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 minimum of seven (7) years of project management (infrastructure) experience is required
• Experience in stabilization, transition, post –conflict environments is an asset
• Experience with management of operations in remote locations is an asset.
• Experience with government and/or private sector infrastructure development is an asset.

• Leadership – Ability to lead, build and sustain effective work relationship with subordinates and peers to achieve common goal.
• Planning & Organizing – Ability to plan, organize, manage and implement work assignments, juggle competing demands and work under pressure of frequent and tight deadlines.
• Judgment – Demonstrated ability to apply good judgment and decision making skills.
• Teamwork – Strong interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relations with people in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity.
• Commitment to Continuous Learning – Willingness to keep abreast of new developments in the organizational operations and project management field.
• Proven ability to recognize potential market opportunities and challenges to support UNOPS' business development in Somalia / East Africa.
• Capacity for persuasive communication, consensus building and obtaining commitments from clients/partners and UNOPS personnel.
• Proficiency in the usage of computers and office software packages.

Contract type: International Individual Contract Agreement
Contract level: IICA-3
Contract duration: Ongoing ICA –  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.
• 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
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post.
• Nationals of Democratic Republic of Congo are strongly encouraged to apply. If selected, the local salary grid will be applied to them.
• 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.