Project Manager (Sustainable Urban Water Supply Services in Darfur)

Since 2010, the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) provided support to implement the “Darfur Urban Water Supply (DUWS) Project” in the four state capital towns of Darfur, namely El Fasher (North Darfur), Nyala (South Darfur), El Geneina (West Darfur), and Zalingei (Central Darfur). The project was successfully completed, resulting to improved access to clean drinking water for an estimated 244,600 people across the four locations. The need to expand the DUWS project quickly became obvious to support the capacity building of the Darfur UWAs, improve monitoring and reporting, implement a pro-poor approach for affordable water access for urban, peri-urban and IDP Camps; and to incorporate hygiene and sanitation initiatives.

The outcome of these initiatives was the development of program referred to as the “Urban Water for Darfur (UW4D) by building on the DUWS project’s achievements and continued partnership with UNOPS.

The project aims at building capacity and providing support for improved long-term strategic planning and implementation of sustainable water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services. The target geographical areas are the two cities of El Fasher (North Darfur state) and Zalingei (Central Darfur State). However, the project also provides catalytic support to two other cities, Nyala (South Darfur) and El Geneina (West Darfur) to improve the performance of their Urban Water Supply Administration through monitoring and analysis of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Being equity-focused, the project is targeting the marginalized, vulnerable and disadvantaged populations in the urban and peri-urban areas as well as the internally displaced persons living in the internally displaced persons (IDP) settlements.

The UW4D project commenced in early 2015 and has a duration of 4 years ending December 2019. The objective is to support and sustain a more equitable access to water for the urban communities in the four targeted State capitals. The project design has 3 components which are: (i) Management support to the Urban Water Authorities to build capacity for cost recovery and better system operations and maintenance, (ii) Development of strategic plans for the short and medium term development and expansion of the water supply systems, and (iii) Implementation of the resulting short-term works to improve equitable access to water for the communities in the un-served peri-urban areas and in adjacent IDP camps. UNOPS works in partnership with UNICEF who will implement complementary sanitation and hygiene components.

Purpose and Scope of Assignment

An urban water supply project involving the completion of Urban Water Supply Master Plans, rehabilitation & upgrade of existing facilities and the design & construction of new additional works in the towns of El Fasher and Zalengei in Darfur, Sudan. It consists of the full spectrum of activities from design to construction, from extraction to storage and distribution to the peri-urban areas.

Keen donor and stakeholder relations are an integral part of managing the project including strict and stringent reporting expectations in addition to fulfilling all UNOPS Project Management Manual (PMM) requirements.

Project Management Related Tasks

The Project Manager is responsible to produce/read 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) products are capable of meeting the business cases for both UNOPS and the client. Success of the Project(s) and hence Project Manager will be based on the Success Criteria of UNOPS engagements which are linked to the given responsibilities.  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 apply, independently, the below duties and responsibilities.

Stakeholder Management:

• Establish solid working relationship with the project board (DIFD, UNICEF and Government) and relevant key stakeholders
• Manage communications and ensure stakeholders are aware of project activities, progress, exceptions and are in a position to accept handover products
• Advise the client 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 Project Board/OC Director and the project(s)

Delivery and Performance:

• Implement approved project plans (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 cycle.
• Manage the production of the required products, taking responsibility for overall progress and use of resources and initiating corrective action where necessary
• Liaise with any external suppliers or account managers
• Authorize Work Packages
• Advise the Project Board and OC Manager of any deviations from the plan
• Identify and manage risks so that maximum benefit to client and stakeholders is achieved
• Manage and review product quality and ensure products are accepted
• Monitor and evaluate performance of service providers
• Identify and report potential business opportunities for UNOPS to supervisor
• Identify and report threats to UNOPS internal business case to supervisor

Procedures:

• Follow the Project Management Cycle Instructions and ensure that all organizational policy is complied with (Organizational Directives and Administrative Instructions)
• Prepare/adapt the following plans for approval by the Project Board: 

I.           Project Initiation Documentation;

II.         Stage/Exception Plans and relevant Product Descriptions

• Prepare the following reports:

                                i.            Highlight Reports

                               ii.            End Stage Reports

                             iii.            Operational Closure Checklist

                             iv.            End Project Report

                               v.            Handover Report

• Maintain the following files:

                                i.            Electronic Blue File; ii. Procurement,

                               ii.            HR and Finance files as required by those practices as per OD12.

• Ensure that all expenditure comply with UNOPS Financial Rules and Regulations (FRR).
• 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 and remain accountable for 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.

Knowledge Management:

• Participate in the relevant Communities of Practice
• Actively interact with other PMs and the PM community to share case studies, lessons learned and best practice on the Knowledge System.
• Provide feedback to Practice Leads on policy, supporting guidance with an aim towards continuous improvement of UNOPS policies
• Complete lessons learned as per reporting format
• Incorporate lessons learned from others as per planning format

Personnel Management:

• Lead and motivate the project management team
• Ensure that behavioural expectations of team members are established
• Ensure that performance reviews are conducted
• Identify outstanding staff and bring them to the attention of the OC Director
• Have a thorough understanding of UNOPS personnel contract modalities (including ICA and Staff)
• Select, recruit and train team as required by project plans
• Perform the Team Manager role, unless appointed to another person(s)
• Perform Project Support role, unless appointed to another person or corporate/programme function
• Ensure safety and security for all personnel and comply with UNDSS standards

Managerial & Advisory Tasks

• Review the team technical and management capacity according to the project objective
• Help in developing key TORs’ that meets to the objective to Senior level staff
• Restructure the project structure to meet the demand of the project with in the budget already approved
• Identify the position reviewed staff for the project.
• Establish key internal and external stakeholder analysis of the project with clear purpose and develop the communication flow for better coordination and result.

Policy Related Tasks

• Provide substantive contribution to continuous improvement; technical leadership, supporting the project activities, developing tools, recommendations and sharing best practices.
• Conduct mission field to provide guidance and identify and solve soft component issues such as Water Market assessment, Institutional Analysis, and Master plan/Strategic plan studies

Leadership for Conduct of Technical Assessments

• Conclude development of the Master Plans (water supply Master plan and intuitional capacity assessment) in two state Capitals of Darfur Zalingei and El Fasher and approval by the Donor (DFID).
• Implement methodology for cost recovery KPI and develop more realistic figures based on the full costs of service and ensure budget is appropriate for operations and maintenance.
• Review the set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to ensure they are valid, and delete, amend or add KPIs as required to strengthen performance measurement of service delivery and guide the team to fully understand the rationale for the each KPI,
• Analyze of Key performance indicators (KPI) to improve management capacity of UWAs and SWCs in four state capitals of Darfur.
• Create mechanism to calculate Full Cost Recovery from data available from network water system
• Create mechanism to finalize the log frame with baselines, targets and annual milestones on completion of the various studies.
• Provide sound and relevant strategic and technical advice on these matters.
• Provide technical justifications and clearance to the partners and client inquiries with regard to the urban water supply strategic plan any other related outputs.

Technical Expert Tasks:

• Building a sound basis of cooperation and trust with the State Governments in particular the State Water Corporations and Urban Water Authorities in the four towns to ensure an effective partnership.  This is essential to be able to tackle challenging issues related to improving management including cost recovery and equitable allocation, as well as improving operations and maintenance.   
• Understanding and managing the complex political, social and economic dynamics in the (largely) post-conflict context in Darfur in order to effectively and efficiently implement the project and to manage risks.  This will include developing practical solutions to address unequal access to water and to better understand and manage the competition for the water business with private sector vendors. 
• Reviewing and defining the institutional development needs of the Urban Water Authorities in four towns, identifying gaps and developing a prioritised programme to enhance capacity on-the-job.  This will build on and expand previous actions, including implementation of a system of key performance indicators to ensure greater use of information and evidence as part of decision making.
• Leading the development of strategic plans for water supply in 2 towns with a focus on increasing the availability and reliability of water supply services, particularly to residents in the peri-urban areas and adjacent long term IDP camps.   This will include assessments of the various water sources, the network, management effectiveness, cost recovery and tariffs, the private sector vendor business, etc.  
• Leading the planning and implementation of targeted works in 2 towns to implement the short term priorities in the strategic plan in addition to institutional development activities. This is expected to include rehabilitation and expansion of the network including the introduction of community managed water points and improvements to vendor water points.   It will not include development of new sources.  
• Oversight of contracting processes and contract supervision.  All major contractors will be selected by open and competitive tender.
• Leading cooperation with UNICEF within the partnership to ensure full coherence between the water supply activities and sanitation and hygiene promotion activities.  This will also involve active liaison with the donor. 
• Managing a team of international and national staff, with targeted support from consultants as required. 

Core Values and Principles

• Understand and respect UNOPS sustainability principles

                                I.            Look for ways to embed UNOPS sustainability principles in day to day project management

                              II.            Seek opportunities to champion gender equality at work place

                            III.            Champion and communicate project’s sustainability aspects with key stakeholders

• Understand and Respect National ownership and capacity

                                i.            Understand the principles of the Paris Declaration on aid effectiveness and mainstream them into the project plans

                               ii.            Seek opportunities to recruit qualified local staff

                             iii.            Look for ways to build capacity of local counterparts

• Partnerships and Coordination

                                i.            Understand the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) and UNOPS, the project’s place in the UN system

                               ii.            Know the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and seek to contribute within the deliverables of the project

                             iii.            Strive to build strong partnerships and effective coordination among relevant project actors (e.g. United Nations, governments, and non-governmental organizations or other relevant partners

• Accountability for results and the use of resources

                                i.            The project management processes are designed to deliver maximum accountability, transparency and results. If a project or processes is not in line with this, it is the responsibility of the PM to raise the issue to a supervisor

• Excellence

                                i.            Contribute to innovation and the adaptation of best practice standards of sustainability and quality.

Monitoring and Progress Controls

General:  The project result at outcome level is to achieve at least 400,000 people with sustainable access to clean drinking water sources.

• Advanced University Degree in Civil Engineering, Project Management, Business Administration, International Relations, Political/Security/Development Studies, or other relevant discipline.
• University Degree (bachelor’s degree / first level) with a combination of 2 additional years of relevant professional experience in Civil Engineering, with specialization in water related discipline is required.
• PRINCE2 Foundation & Practitioner Certifications – Preferred
• Complete the UNOPS Project Management Foundation course (within one year after signing this TOR)

• A minimum of seven years of progressive experience in project leadership, development and management, with focus on delivering results, management of risk, and value for money, in either public or private sector organizations.
• Experience in urban water supply system planning, design, implementation and operation, and national capacity building required.
• Experience of working in fragile and conflict affected areas.
• Experience of leading engagement with partners to deliver results to quality and on time.
• Effective lead leadership and management.

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

1. Contract type: International Individual Contractor (IICA)
2. Contract level: IICA 3
3. Contract duration: Ongoing ICA – ‘Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance.’

Sudan

• 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.
• 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
• 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.