Senior Project Manager

Job categories Project Management, Programme Management
Vacancy code VA/2023/B5316/26275
Level ICS-11
Department/office AFR, GHMCO, Nigeria
Duty station Abuja, Nigeria
Contract type International ICA
Contract level IICA-3
Duration Open-ended
Application period 01-Jul-2023 to 16-Jul-2023


Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement.

Please note that UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.

This vacancy has been cancelled.
Apply

Expand all [+]

Organisational Context:

The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners' peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world.  Mandated as a central resource of the United Nations, UNOPS provides sustainable project management, procurement and infrastructure services to a wide range of governments, donors and United Nations organisations. 

Diversity

With over 5,000 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.


Ghana Multi-Country Office (GHMCO)

Established in 2015, Ghana Multi-Country Office (GHMCO) is based in Accra, and spans across West Africa, covering Ghana, The Gambia, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, supporting partners in achieving their development objectives through three main service lines: infrastructure, procurement, and project management.

The Multi Country Office head office in Accra provides strategic direction, operational support, delivery oversight and assurance of the excellence of business processes and quality standards across all the entire Multi Country Office locations. It is also responsible for developing, delivering, and managing the portfolio of engagements in the country of the MCO location itself.



UNOPS in Nigeria 

The UNOPS office in Nigeria has been supporting partners and the government of Nigeria to implement several development projects through its expertise to ensure sustainable project management. UNOPS Nigeria is in the process of expanding its area of engagement in cooperation with its development partners, focusing mainly on a portfolio of projects and programs in the infrastructure, environment, climate change, and governance sectors.


Background Information about the Projects

NEWMAP

The Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) aims to reduce vulnerability to soil erosion in targeted sub-watersheds. The project has been operational in Nigeria since 2013 with funding from The World Bank that ended in June 2022. 

The “Nigeria Climate Adaptation – Erosion & Watershed project” represents a scale-up phase of the World Bank-financed NEWMAP, under a loan from the European Development Bank (EIB). The project consists of financing sub-investments (schemes) of sites affected by land degradation in Nigeria, including both gully erosion and degradation of drylands. The project involves two components – 1) Infrastructure, and 2) Technical Assistance. 

The scheme selection is based on a multi-criterion ranking system, coupled with assessments on the level of readiness of the schemes and the capacity of the implementing state/s. All 23 states wish to participate in the project and are intended recipients of assistance from the project.

The project is implemented by a Federal Project Management Unit (FPMU), located within the Federal Ministry of Environment (FME), in coordination with the SPIUs that are established in each participating state.  



RAAMP

The Nigeria Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP and RAAMP-2) is an initiative that has been financed by the World Bank and the French Development Agency (AFD), along with some contribution from the Government of Nigeria (GoN).

The EIB’s “Nigeria Access to Agri-Markets Framework Loan” consists of a framework loan to finance sub-investments proposed under the existing RAAMP. The purpose of the project is to strengthen the infrastructure related to the agriculture sector by (i) improving and expanding the rural roads network connecting farms to markets, whilst (ii) enhancing infrastructure to transform products and support local farmers to increase productivity. 

The project has so far been implementing schemes across thirteen Nigerian states. The EIB loan may possibly target the six states that have not received RAAMP funding to date viz, Anambra, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Niger, and Taraba, that will involve the rehabilitation and upgrading of rural roads and agro-logistics centers in these pre-selected participating States.

RAAMP is implemented by a Federal Project Management Unit (FPMU), located within the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), in coordination with the SPIUs that are established in each participating state.  

Under a Financing Agreement with the Government of Nigeria, UNOPS has been requested by EIB to provide implementation and oversight support to both projects in the following areas:

  • Screening and verification of schemes - assist EIB in screening the longlist against the set multi criteria and advise on final approval of shortlists to be financed under EIB loan. 

  • Procurement - assist EIB in ensuring alignment with EIB’s minimum requirements through prior and post reviews.

  • Environmental and social risk management of proposed schemes – ensure E&S safeguard compliance through clearance of ESMPs and monitoring their implementation.

  • Implementation Monitoring - oversight of the implementation of schemes and risk mitigating measures in coordination with the FPMU, SPIUs, the EIB, and relevant stakeholders through half-yearly monitoring missions, and Reporting on the implementation of schemes and the overall program performance.

  • Technical Assistance - provision of technical assistance to the FPMUs/ SPIUs on above areas of intervention, as necessary.

The Role 

The Senior Project Manager reports to the Head of Programme who provides broad supervision and guidance. The role is responsible for the overall project management on behalf of UNOPS to assist EIB in the implementation and oversight of the NEWMAP and RAAMP through close coordination with the respective FPMUs and SPIUs, while managing a team of technical specialists and advisors.

The Senior Project Manager is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the project(s) and provides services to the donors, partners, and beneficiaries. The Senior Project Manager acts on behalf of the Project Board to manage the project on an ongoing basis during the Implementation Stage. The main responsibility of the Senior Project Manager is to ensure that the project services and outputs are delivered within the specified project tolerances of time, cost, quality, scope, risk, and benefits. They are expected to meet the organization’s performance and delivery goals.

The Senior Project Manager has the authority to assign, as per the Project Plan, work packages to Team Managers and approve deliverables produced by them.

She/He is responsible for creating the Project Implementation Plan, using the Project Initiation Document (PID), Legal Agreement and having a thorough understanding of the terms, conditions, and the respective roles and responsibilities of the partners/ stakeholders, to ensure the project(s) outputs can meet the business case outcomes for both UNOPS and its partner(s). Success of the project(s) is measured based on the defined Success Criteria.


Summary of functions: Under the overall supervision of the Head of Programme an...

A.  Education An Advanced University Degree, preferably in Inte...

Develops and implements sustainable business strategies, thinks long term and ex...

Contract type: International Individual Contract Agreement (I-ICA) Contract ...

Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. Applic...
This vacancy has been cancelled.
Apply

APPLICATION TIPS

How to send a good application:

TOGETHER, WE BUILD THE FUTURE

UNOPS – an operational arm of the United Nations – supports the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by successfully implementing its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world.

Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve peace and sustainable development.

We are proud of our people. The UNOPS family brings together approximately 160 nationalities, represented by over 5,000 UNOPS personnel as well as some 7,800 personnel recruited on behalf on our partners. Spread across 80 countries, our workforce is rich in diversity and culture – with inclusion at its core.

We understand the importance of balancing professional and personal demands and offer several flexible working options.

Explore what we offer here.