Project Management Support - Senior Assistant

General Background    

GHMCO is responsible for managing strategic and operational risks associated with a subset of the regional portfolio of engagements, developing and delivering cost effective services contributing to partners’ sustainable results and achievements of UNOPS management results.  

The core functions of the Operational Hub are to:

• Liaise and develop engagements, and deliver services responding to partner needs.

• Leverage advice and integrate delivery modalities of the three Delivery Practices and the Global Partner Service Office.  

• Maintain appropriate arrangements and capacity for direct transactional support for delivery of the sub-regional portfolio.

Background Information - Sierra Leone 

UNOPS has been established in Sierra Leone since 2000 and currently has over 70 personnel in the country, operating out of 3 main locations with its country office in Freetown.

During the last 15 years, UNOPS has delivered a variety of infrastructure projects nationwide, particularly in the fields of health and security infrastructure, and has procured a variety of vehicles, non-medical health related items and medical equipment.

Background Information – Job Specific

The Rural Renewable Energy Project (RREP) is a first of its kind in scale and scope in Sierra Leone and regionally in Sub-Saharan Africa, implemented by the Ministry of Energy (MOE) with support from the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and grant funded by FCDO. The project is contributing to Sierra Leone’s economic development through increased access to electricity in rural areas while simultaneously reducing Sierra Leone’s future GreenHouse Gas (GHG) emissions. 

This project aims to establish an enabling environment in Sierra Leone for a private sector driven rural mini-grid market and to provide up to 5MW of sustainable renewable power in rural community households; priority institutions such as Community Health Centers (CHCs), schools, agricultural business centers; and other productive uses as well as chiefdom administrative offices through installations of at least 94 solar mini-grids based on a Public-Private Partnership approach. 

The implementation of the project is developed around the following Work Packages (WP): 

1. Work package 1 and 1+ (WP1/1+): Installing stand-alone 6kWp solar photovoltaic (sPV) systems in a minimum of 50 communities by July 2017 (with the ambition to scale up to 80 communities subject to availability of funds). The stand-alone 6kWp solar photovoltaic systems will provide electricity to the Community Health Centres, and subsequently expand these installations into small mini-grids in the 50 villages by the end of 2018, to connect all other public institutions and households in the villages. The 50 small mini-grids (< ~36kW) will be operated by private operators with commercial interests in order to ensure long term sustainability.

1. Work package 2 (WP2): The project will support a range of public-private sector business models for providing rural communities electrification through the installation of environmentally and economically sustainable mini-grids (> ~36kW). A minimum of 40 mini-grids will be completed by October 2020, adding up to 5 MW to the country’s power generation capacity.

1. Work package 3 (WP3): Technical Assistance (TA) and institutional development (capacity building) to both government authorities and the private sector, as part of the holistic approach, to facilitate mini-grid development and long term sustainable operations. 

1. Work Package 4 (WP4): The Freetown Landslide Emergency Earthworks Response and Camp Preparatory Works. The initial project budget for the RREP was amended in 2017 to include the Emergency Earthworks and Temporary works in response to the Freetown Landslide and Flooding. This work package was completed in March 2018. This work package is included in this project just to further clarify budget allocation.

1. Work Package (WP5): Monitoring and Evaluation and communications. A Monitoring and Evaluation plan is in place to ensure that the project meets the expected outcomes and deliverables. The existing Communications Strategy was revised during the third quarter of 2019.

1. Work Package 6 (WP6):  Productive Use (formerly Private sector development). Through this work package, RREP seeks to develop a private sector engagement and strengthening strategy, underpinned by a keen understanding of local market systems, to promote productive use economies in mini-grid catchment areas; supporting both the commercial viability of the privately operated mini-grids and promoting local income improvements and local job creation.

1. Work Package 7 (WP7): Tariff Affordability Support. Tariff subsidy for non-generation assets and elimination of public reserve account payments. Through this work package, additional funds will be used to procure non-generation assets (electricity meters and indoor connection materials e.g. sockets), and to eliminate public reserve account payments by the operators for the first four years of the project. UNOPS will act at the directive of DFID and manage the Fund, disbursing only at agreed times to procure indoor connection materials in-house (for economies of scale) and transferring into the Reserve Account (for the Operators’ procuring their own meters, which are proprietary, and for predictive maintenance) as per the PPP agreement.

A. Education 

• A minimum of a high school diploma is required. 

• A Bachelor's Degree in Project Management, Business Administration, Development Studies, Engineering, Energy Studies or other relevant disciplines will be considered an asset and may substitute some of the required years of experience,

B. Work Experience 

• A minimum of Five (5) years experience providing support in the implementation of projects. 

• Experience working with Government institutions in the delivery of activities is highly desirable.  

• Experience interfacing with service providers and/or contract management is desirable;

• Experience in stakeholder and/or community engagement is an advantage

• Competency  in the use of computer applications for  work (Spreadsheet, Word, Docs and other G-Suite office applications ) is required

• Knowledge of the UN system and familiarity with UNOPS procedures is an advantage; 

C. Language 

• Fluency in English is essential 

• Knowledge of Krio and/or other local languages is an advantage. 

D. Certifications

• PRINCE2 Foundation /Practitioner Certification – desirable 

Contextual Skills 

• International organizations experience 

• Institutional Reform, Capacity Building

• Cross-institutional Knowledge Management 

• Accountability for results

Project Management Skills 

• Project Management

• Budget Management

• Risk Analysis and mitigation

• Stakeholder Engagement

• Contract Management 

• Process compliance

• Monitoring and Evaluation 

• Multistage Reporting 

• Contract type: Local Individual Contract Agreement (LICA)
• Contract level: LICA 5/ ICS 5
• Contract duration: Ongoing ICA – ‘Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance'.

• 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.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• 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
• Freetown is a family duty station
• 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 (around 4 hours) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS.
• 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.

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 4,000 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.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.

Africa Region

AFR helps ensure that projects are executed to the highest standards, providing a shared knowledge base and ensuring that best practices and lessons learned are disseminated between projects across the entire region.