Project Manager

Background on South East Asia and the Pacific Multi-Country Office (EAPMCO):

The South East Asia and Pacific Multi Country Office (EAPMCO) supports, develops and oversees the UNOPS portfolio of projects in South East Asia and the Pacific. EAPMCO was established in January 2023 following the merger of the Thailand Multi-Country Office, which covered 20 countries across  North East Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific, and the Cambodia Multi-Country Office, which covered 4 countries South East Asia - 3 countries in the Mekong Sub-region (Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam) and the Philippines.  EAPMCO currently covers 24 countries across North East Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific. With its head office in Bangkok, the Multi-Country Office comprises nine business units: EAPMCO Thailand, EAPMCO Indonesia,  EAPMCO Pacific Operations Cluster, EAPMCO Papua New Guinea, EAPMCO China, EAPMCO Mekong, and EAPMCO Philippines.

In 2024, the UNOPS EAPMCO implemented projects worth more than USD 80 million, in the areas of Energy Transition, Digital Transformations, Sustainable Environmental Management, Climate Change, Waste Management, Rule of Law and Access to Justice, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Post Conflict Reintegration, Emergency Relief, Post COVID19 Economic Transformations, and Health, through HR, procurement, construction, contract management, fund and program management services.

The Multi Country Office head office in Bangkok provides strategic direction, operational support, delivery oversight and assurance of the excellence of business processes and quality standards across all of 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.

EAPMCO Papua New Guinea

The EAPMCO Papua New Guinea was formed in early 2020 to support the implementation of design and construction of infrastructure, sustainable procurement, capacity development to support technical and governance excellence, programme management, and to facilitate access to funding sources in Papua New Guinea.  As an established office since 2022, EAPMCO PNG is demonstrating significant growth and portfolio diversification potential in a short period of time.  Working with an increasing number of development partners, in 2023 EAPMCO PNG is quickly being recognised as a responsive and quality partner in climate change resilient infrastructure, health infrastructure, sustainable procurement and governance support to the Government of PNG in its service delivery obligations to the people. 

The Position is based in Port Moresby with frequent travel to Goroka in Eastern Highlands Province.

Project Information: 

The role will manage an EU funded Soim Wokabout-EU Gender Based Violence Referral Pathways Programme (referred to here as Soim Wokabout). The project will advance effective the implementation of the PNG National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender Based Violence 2016-2025 and increase access of women, men, girls and boys in all their diversity, experiencing gender-based violence (GBV) to essential quality services, protection and justice, improve advocacy and agency of civil society organisations, women’s rights organisations, social movements, and communities to end GBV; and make more effective the engagement of community leaders, male advocates and influential groups and actors in society in changing discriminatory social norms, gender stereotypes, GBV and harmful practices. UNOPS will develop a model global standard for quality essential services in infrastructure at subnational levels. As a participating agency in the Project, under the leadership of UNWOMEN and UNFPA, UNOPS will construct model infrastructure (a safe house) and refurbish a Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary and Family and Sexual Violence Unit (FSVU) to support operational services including essential child-friendly service provisions combined with the development of operational guidelines, providing a model that can be replicated in other locations. Working with the central government agencies and provincial authorities, UNOPS will provide a prototype for the government to uptake GBV and Sorcery Accusation-Related Violence survivor-centered practices through construction/refurbishment and operationalization of a model cost-effective, functional shelter and FSVUs based on international practices for GBV survivor centered care. Focus of the construction/refurbishment is the Eastern Highlands given the need for model infrastructure to support adoption of good practices and capacity development of service providers. As a participating agency, UNOPS will interact and coordinate all project activities, reporting and consultations with UNWOMEN (lead agency) and UNFPA throughout the Project implementation period as well as with the EU Delegation, the funder of the program.  

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. The 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 a Project Manager is to ensure that the project outputs are delivered within the specified project tolerances of time, cost, quality, scope, risk and benefits. He/she is expected to meet the organization’s performance and delivery goals.

The Project Manager is responsible to create the Implementation Plan, use 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) outputs are capable of meeting the business cases for both UNOPS and the partner(s). Success of the project(s) and hence Project Manager will be based on the defined Success Criteria. 

The Project Manager will be managing projects whose ultimate goal is to provide implementation services that contribute to the achievement of partners’ goals. The variety of projects is quite diverse and can range from management of grants, development of strategies to delivery of training or providing technical assistance. 

Local Context: 

Under the direct supervision of the Country Manager based in the Port Moresby office, as well as in close liaison with various officials based at the East Asia and the Pacific Multicountry Office (EAPMO) head office in Bangkok, Thailand, the Project Manager will be responsible for carrying out the activities listed under the functional areas, during the implementation phases.

• Develop, complete and update implementation plan(s)
• 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
• Accept goods, services or works delivered by suppliers. Lead contract management duties including supplier performance evaluation. 
• Act as the Employer’s Representative within the FIDIC works contracts.
• 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
• Draft the requirements definitions for procurement processes. Approving requisitions and requests for non-purchase order payments; Evaluating submissions received, if appointed to the evaluation team. 
• Ensure maintenance of the project files and lessons learned are recorded
• Ensure the development and implementation of project financial management guidelines and control mechanisms, in conformity with UNOPS rules and regulations.
• 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

• An Advanced University Degree in a relevant discipline (Project Management, Architecture, Civil Engineering or related field) is required.
• A combination of a Bachelor’s Degree with an additional 2 years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of the education requirement outlined above.

• A minimum of five (5) years' working experience in project management, contract management, financial supervision, HR processes, grants management, procurement projects or related fields, preferably in the services of design and technical supervision of WASH  Infrastructures
• Experience working with the UN/UNOPS and EU is an advantage.
• Experience in contracts management and developing Procurement strategies is an asset.
• Experience in risk management is an asset.
• Experience working in conflict and/or post-conflict areas is an asset.
• Experience working with multicultural teams is an asset.

• Full working knowledge (Fluency) of English is essential. 

1. Contract type: Local Individual Contract Agreement (LICA)
2. Contract level: ICS 10 / LICA 10
3. Contract duration: Open-ended, and subject to organizational requirement, availability of funds and satisfactory performance

https://www.unops.org/english/Opportunities/job-opportunities/what-we-offer/Pages/Individual-Contractor-Agreements.aspx 

Note:

This position is open for Papua New Guinea nationality or those who have a valid residence permit in the country of assignment.

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.

• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.

• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures,  languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. 

• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.

• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process.  If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

• Port Moresby is a family duty station.

Terms and Conditions 

• 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 ( they take around 4 hours to complete)  in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here.

• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.

• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.