Project Manager, Multiple positions

The Project Manager is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the project(s) and provides services to the donors, partners and beneficiaries.  He/she is expected to meet and exceed the organizations performance and delivery goals.

UNOPS’ mission is to serve people in need by expanding the ability of the United Nations, governments and other partners to manage projects/programmes, infrastructure and procurement in a sustainable and efficient manner. UNOPS provides its partners with advisory and implementation services for projects ranging from building infrastructure, to procuring goods and services. UNOPS works closely with governments and communities to ensure increased economic, social and environmental sustainability for the projects with a focus on developing national capacity.

Working in some of the world’s most challenging environments, UNOPS vision is to always satisfy partners with project services that meet world-class standards of quality, speed and cost effectiveness to advance sustainable implementation practices in development, humanitarian and peace building contexts.

A project manager at this level expected to manage one or more complex and risky projects. The project(s) would rely on a number of external suppliers for its successful delivery and would be working with firm deadlines. The project manager is responsible for all aspects of the project life cycle. S/he must be able to independently perform, the below duties and responsibilities of the project success criteria.

2.1 Strategic and Technical Leadership

• Lead the EU consortium based on the strategic direction and technical implementation agreed as per approved proposal by EU.
• Ensure adequate community capacity building and institution building for effective and efficient implementations of activities are undertaken by consortium members.
• Lead in the development and updating of work plans, budgets,, M&E, work targets etc. and report progress towards the strategy;
• Lead the continuous analysis of EU project needs and ensure that these are appropriately reflected and addressed in regular review meeting as well as higher level strategy meeting
• Ensure adequate staff and partner capacity building for an effective implementation of the EU project components including development of guidelines and technical support during implementation is in place
• Promote knowledge management, innovations and cross learning to build culture of resilience within communities and consortium members
• Lead the documentation of better practices and success stories, better practices, prepare publications, organize round table discussions;
• Represent the project in the county, national or regional meetings related to project; including with EU and all consortium members.
• Foster thematic integration and synergies in programming and implementation;
• Coordinate with consortium members and other key similar project initiative such as DFID food security project and  ensure harmonized approaches and use if synergies and complementarity;
• Lead Risk identification and management as well as the preparation and implementation of the Crisis Management (CM) mechanism;
• Ensure systematic project internal monitoring and management and conduct regular progress review meeting of the project objectives with consortium members and other actors
• Coordinate with partners on identifying opportunities and developing continues development of the project for donors if need be.
• Ensure proper financial management and execution of the project as described in the EU approved budget including the monitoring of expenditures and EU assets are well accounted and reported regularly;
• Ensure the implementation of a M&E system which is oriented toward achieving results and supports strategic and operational management, evidence based learning and accountability for the results achieved
• Ensure that capacity assessments are undertaken by each consortium partners and UNOPS and adequate training programs and skill development are put into place for UNOPS staff, Local Government Authorities, staff of partners
• Liaise with Consortium partners and other stakeholder in providing technical support and advice in accordance with the agreed strategy;
• Provide management support to the EU programme teams on an ongoing basis with regular visits to the projects sites to address progress and assist partners at all time.
• Work closely with the partners and other related projects in the areas on ways to integrate EU project with other sector programmes in order to maximize impact for beneficiaries and contribute to conjoined implementation, research, M+E and reporting of findings and achievements.
• Oversee the organizational development aspects of the EU Programme, document & communicate lessons learned, meet donor requirements, and contribute toward the elaboration of project proposals and donor reports in collaboration with the relevant partners staff.
• Embed sustainability dimensions including social and gender inclusion, environmental and economic aspects into project life cycle.
• Identify and manage risks so that maximum benefit to client and stakeholders is achieved

• Contribute and participate in the ongoing development of policy and good practice in East Sudan and beyond
• Contribute to accountability initiatives, including agreed application of the Common Humanitarian Standard;
• Adhere fully to the commitments and rules of UN’s Programme Participant Protection Policy and Code of Conduct, including the respect of confidentiality.
• Contribute to country team building efforts, help team members identify problem solving options and ensure the integration of all team members into relevant decision making processes.

2.2          Coordination

• Establish, manage and build relationships with key partner organizations. This will include relevant government departments and Ministries, other similar consortium projects funded by other donors, consortium partners and service providers, including training institutions. This will involve serving as a liaison person between the project and these external partners.
• Lead and coordinate EU project technical ‘working group’ effectively participate; plan and share of lessons learned
• Contribute to Government and other key stakeholders’ engagement that will lead to positive result through policy briefs and other interventions;
• Establish solid working relationship with the project board and Technical Advisory Team and other key stakeholders
• Manage full responsibilities of communications with key project stakeholder (EU, Government, and Consortium Partners) and ensure all are aware of project activities, progress, any all issues as well as work in finding solutions for challenges.
• Advise key stakeholder 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 consortium partners, Project Board/UNOPS and the Donor

2.3          Implementation

• Work in close collaboration with the Partners Manager in assuring the programme quality meets beneficiary, donor and organization requirements.

• In collaboration with the UNOPS departments, plan and coordinate the intervention, develop TOR, tender documents and openly advertise and evaluate proposals for Service Provider contracts, and monitor the contract performance;
• Manage budgets, cash flow and obligations to ensure that deliverables are met and payments to contractors and personnel are received on time.

• As required, support with conducting sector baselines and assessments, including market surveys, value chain studies and stakeholders’ analysis.
• Build and maintain robust review system (complaints) and feedback mechanism for improvement of project performance
• Maintain effective programme planning, monitoring and evaluation and learning systems for the various project activities in line with the M+E framework, plans and member agency and Donor policies.
• Consider innovative solutions for EU project systems across wide geographic areas
• Collaborate with consortium partners on the development of tools to monitor and improve the quality of project activities in the field. Where necessary, organize or support technical training for project staff and partners as required.
• Participate in the design of baseline, mid-term and end of the project. Monitor the evaluation process and provide input and clarification as needed. Review evaluation findings and ensure that lessons and recommendations are captured, and actions are formulated and implemented as per findings.
• Prepare EU project components of proposals and reports and any other documentations in collaboration with Consortium Partners
• Report to the UNOPS Head of Office, all violations or potential violations, monitor regular risk matrix and update all key areas of principled project implementation.

• Manage and remain accountable for expenditures against the budget (based on accurate financial reports
• Undertake any other relevant duties as may be assigned by the Head of Office;

2.4          Team Management

• Provide team members with information, tools and other resources to improve performance and reach objectives.
• Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback via regular performance reviews.
• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where consortium team members strive to achieve excellence
• Manage UNOPS project staff and ensure compliance with donor requirements and staff policy and orient new team members as necessary.

3.0          SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience in consortium management and work in consortium multiyear and multi-disciplinary experience in Sudan in resilience project would be considered as an asset.  
• Experience working with local communities and governmental and traditional authorities preferably in Sudan and working in Darfur will be exceptionally preferred.
• Previous work Experience with key donors including work experience of EU grant management and policy is an advantage.
• Excellent interpersonal communication and networking skills with fluency in English
• Proven leadership qualities, problem solving and negotiation skills and evidence of being a successful team player is a must
• Strong analytical and report-writing skills;
• Ability to provide training and mentoring to project and consortium staff and partners;
• Demonstrate experience of working as part of a team, sharing ideas and working together towards a common outcome;
• Ability to manage own workload and juggle competing priorities in order to meet deadlines
• Ability to analyze information, evaluate options and think and plan strategically;
• Policy influencing and engaging with key stakeholders in resolving issues for positive response is required.
• Preparedness to work and live in East Darfur and travel frequently to project sites including remote locations;
• Demonstrable knowledge of risk deduction and resilience building programming
• Experience of incorporating government in implementation and learning for policy and implementation change.
• Experience of multi sectoral assessment/analysis approaches, and programme design and management 
  
  

• Five years of progressive experience in project development and management, with focus on monitoring, reporting, development and coordination in either public or private sector organizations.

• Professional experience in Project Management, Architecture, Engineering , Agriculture, Developmental Management with experience in transiting complex emergency set up to development is an advantage

• A minimum of 5 years’ experience as supervisor in Multi-disciplinary projects including Natural Resource Management or water Engineering, Health or other devlopment projets are required.
• A minimum of 4 years’ experience working overseas on complex humanitarian project and development program is required. 

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of Arabic is an advantage.

• PRINCE2 Foundation & Practitioner Certifications would be considered as an asset. 
• Completion of the UNOPS Project Management Foundation course is required one year after coming on board. 

• 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.
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• 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.

Sudan

UNOPS supports the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to serve people in need by expanding the ability of the United Nations, governments and other partners to manage projects, infrastructure and procurement in a sustainable and efficient manner.

Working in some of the world’s most challenging environments, our vision is to advance sustainable implementation practices, always satisfying or surpassing our partners’ expectations.

With over 7,000 personnel spread across 80 countries, UNOPS offers its partners the logistical, technical and management knowledge they need, wherever they need it.

A flexible structure and global reach means that we can quickly respond to our partners' needs, while offering the benefits of economies of scale.