Project Manager

The client (Government of Democratic Republic of Congo) has identified, with the validation of the Partner (World Bank) 8 erosion sites that are severely threatening the population of the city of Kananga in Congo, Democratic Republic. The World Bank (WB) Urban Development Project (PDU) and the DRC Ministry of Urbanism and Habitat requested the services of UNOPS to support works of public interest in order to protect the urban infrastructure of the city of Kananga against the progress of erosion threatening national roads, universities and public markets etc.

The project has been designed to address emergency and sustainable solutions for these identified erosion sites.

Based in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), since 1991, the UNOPS Central Africa Hub (CDOH) covers eleven countries: Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central Africal Republic, Comoros, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Rwanda. The Hub has forged strong working relationships with international partners, World Bank, United Nations agencies, including United Nations missions, and governments of Central African countries.

It provides technical support and capacity building in areas of strategic national development, including sustainable infrastructure development in the fields of health, education, public works, governance and public administration, as well as in sustainable procurement, project management and sectoral advisory services in the areas of peace and security, preservation and protection of the environment, program/project revitalization among others.

Under the leadership of the Hub Director’s office, CDOH comprises 3 departments in the Kinshasa Head Office:

1. Programme/Programme Management Office (PMO);

2. Support Services Office with its 4 units: Human Resources, Procurement, Finance and Logistics, and

3. Partnership Development Office (PDO).

The Senior Management Team (SMT) – comprising the Head of Programme, the Head of Support Services and the Head of Partnership Development – manages the respective departments. CDOH also has four country offices including Kinshasa and over 18 provincial/field project offices.

1. Project Delivery and Performance

2. Procedures 

3. Monitoring and reporting

4. Stakeholder engagement

5. Quality assurance

6. Knowledge management and innovation

• Implement the approved plan (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 span. 
• Manage the production of the required outputs, taking responsibility for overall progress and use of resources and initiating corrective action where necessary.
• Ensure that quality of work packages and deliverables complies with the quality requirements defined in the Implementation Plan.
• Liaise with any external suppliers or account managers
• Manage acceptance and delivery of work packages
• Monitor project progress ensuring that work packages are being executed properly
• Control project and work packages changes
• Identify, and anticipate in a timely manner, potential risks and issues and advises mitigating measures to senior management/ Project Board so that maximum benefit to partner(s) and other stakeholders is achieved
• Identify and report to the supervisor potential business opportunities for UNOPS

• Comply with all organizational policy and specifically the Project Management Manual Prepare/adapt all relevant plans for approval by the Project Board Manage the reporting obligations defined in the Legal Agreement(s) and in the Implementation Plan Ensure maintenance of the project files and lessons learned are recorded 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 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 For project closure purposes, provide a formal handover of the project to the closure manager Support project audit activities, including planning, preparation and coordination during the audits and follow up on audit observations/recommendations

• Advanced University degree (Master's Degree or equivalent) in Project Management, Civil Engineering, Water Engineering or related field is required.

• First level University degree (Bachelor’s Degree in Project Management, Civil Engineering, Water Engineering or equivalent) with a combination of two (2) additional years of relevant professional experience in Project Management, Construction, Engineering, or related field, may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

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

• A minimum of five (5) years experience in implementing and managing similar infrastructure projects and or project management (roads, damns, bridges, irrigation works, anti-erosion works etc.) is required.
• Experience in developing countries or post conflict environments is an asset
• Previous experience working with UNOPS in managing similar projects is an asset.
• Experience in risk management for infrastructure implementation projects is an asset

• Fluency in written and spoken French Language is required. 

• Intermediary knowledge in  written and spoken English Language is required.

• Professional certification from an accredited institution ( PEng., CEng. , etc) is asset.

• Certification in Project Management ( PRINCE2, PMI, etc.) is Asset

• 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.
• Kinshasa is a Family Duty Station
• 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.

• Contract type: Contrat de Prestataire Individuel International (IICA)
• Contract level: IICA2 (ICS-10)
• Contract duration: 1 an renouvelable en fonction de la performance et la disponibilité des fonds

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.