Project Manager (Infrastructure Asset Management Capacity Building Specialist) - Home-based retainer

Project Information - Support to DESA

The “Support to DESA Infrastructure Asset Management Pilot in Six Countries“ project will enhance the resilience, accessibility, and sustainability of infrastructure assets in developing countries in support of the 2030 Agenda. 

The main challenge it seeks to address is the lack of sustained and systematic strategies, policies and actions at the national and local government levels to ensure that infrastructure assets support inclusive, affordable and sustainable essential public services over their entire lifespan. It will train local and central government officials in beneficiary countries in designing, implementing, monitoring, and reviewing forward‐looking, risk‐informed, and data‐driven infrastructure asset management strategies, policies, and action plans in support of essential public services that leave no one behind. It also aims to build capacity at the level of central governments on how to design and implement an improved national policy, regulatory and legislative framework to support infrastructure asset management at the national and local levels.

Key stakeholders for this project include central government ministries (finance, municipal government, urban development), municipal development banks, local government officials (elected and administrative) as well as civil society and the private sector. UNDESA is the main implementation entity with UNOPS and UNCDF as co-implementing partners. 

UNOPS signed a Financial Agreement with UNDESA for the implementation of project activities in six (6) countries, namely, Costa Rica, Kenya, Laos, Nepal, Peru and The Gambia

This position reports to NYSC, PSC, Senior Portfolio Manager / Portfolio Team Lead and requires close coordination with SI in UNOPS and with external partners such as UNDESA, UNCDF and other implementing partners. 

The incumbent of this position will be a personnel of UNOPS under its full responsibility.

The Project Manager will report to the Senior Portfolio Manager / Portfolio Team Lead and perform the following functional responsibilities:

Project Delivery and Performance 

• Provide substantive support to functions and implementation of the “Enhancing the resilience, accessibility and sustainability of infrastructure assets in developing countries in support of the 2030 Agenda” (“Support to DESA”) project activities in close collaboration with the Associate Portfolio Manager and Senior Infrastructure Sustainability, Resilience and Inclusion Specialist, focusing on the development, implementation and evaluation of the project in six (6) selected countries, including the review and analysis of emerging issues and trends and participation in other areas of interest;

• Advise on policy development of resilience, accessibility, and sustainability of infrastructure assets in developing countries to relevant stakeholders, including the review and analysis of issues and trends; 

• Support the development of an assessment tool based on UNOPS CAT-I assessment tool that will focus on infrastructure asset management.

• Coordinate technical infrastructure asset management enabling environment gap assessments in six (6) countries, including provision of guidance to national consultants, government officials and other parties and drafting mission summaries;

• Coordinate, in close collaboration with the Associate Portfolio Manager and Senior Infrastructure Sustainability, Resilience and Inclusion Specialist, national consultants, as well as other project stakeholders, training, workshops, events and conferences to be implemented in the framework of the “Support to DESA” project;

• Prepare written summaries of meetings/visits and ensure relevant team members implement follow-up actions, as appropriate; 

• Manage timely and high-quality reporting on projects, including compiling and preparing post-activity reports, creating presentations, managing surveys, drafting briefing and background notes as well as project activity summaries and updates;

• In collaboration with relevant personnel, document and analyze progress and results against project implementation plans, results matrix, milestones and targets;

• Keep track of donor reporting requirements and timelines and manage timely submissions;

• Draft narrative and review financial reports for donors in compliance with specific donor requirements and seek, compile and analyze relevant inputs from project partners;

• Provide substantial coordination support to the information flow between implementation teams, donors, partners and project teams, particularly related to any deviations that would require revisions to the relevant legal agreement; 

• Review, in coordination with the Associate Portfolio Manager, activities related to budget and funding (programme/project preparation and submissions, progress reports, financial statements, etc) and prepares related documents/reports accordingly (pledging, work programme, programme budget, etc);

• Travel to project locations in support of the project implementation, as required;

• Provide Technical leadership in all aspects of the project implementation;

• Manage the reporting obligations defined in the Legal Agreement(s) and the Implementation Plan;

• Supervise national consultants; 

• Draft the requirements definitions for recruitments and procurement processes, including evaluating submissions received if appointed to the evaluation team and panel evaluation during interviews;

• Ensure maintenance of the project files and lessons learned are recorded.

Monitoring and Progress Controls

• Prepare substantive reports in accordance with Partner and UNOPS requirements for reporting;

• Regularly review project status, evaluating performance criteria (scope, cost, schedule, and quality);

• Maintain diaries and progress reports as required by the organization’s standard procedures;

• Ensure all project team members track and regularly update milestones and targets for the duration of projects' life span;

• Maintain positive relationships with external stakeholders and ensures UNOPS participation in meetings related to the project;

• Develop stakeholder profiles and facilitate the formulation of stakeholder engagement strategies;

• Enable the formulation of project communications plans. Coordinate internal project communications. Monitor the effectiveness of project communications;

• Coordinate stakeholder engagement and communication, ensuring effective timing and interdependency management of communications. Ensure stakeholders are aware of project activities, progress, exceptions and are in a position to accept handover outputs;

• Provide a functional tailored assessment tool based on UNOPS CAT-I assessment tool that will focus on infrastructure asset management;

• Provide quality control for management outputs (project documents, reports, etc.) and ensure that technical reports are up to the standards required by the project;

• Contribute to the oversight of lessons learned procedures, ensuring that lessons learnt are shared in a timely and appropriate manner. Participate in the relevant Communities of Practice;

• Research and logging of lessons learned throughout the project life span.