Dutystation: Jerusalem, with regional travel, including to Gaza
Functional responsibilities
Delivery and Performance:
Develop and maintain project plans and review/ update those on a monthly/ quarterly basis, as applicable;
Implement approved project plans (including the establishment of milestones) within tolerances set by the client and UNOPS;
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/s as needed;
Manage and oversee the production of all deliverables taking responsibility for overall progress and use of resources and initiating corrective actions as needed;
Liaise with external suppliers, as well as with all internal units of UNOPS Jerusalem Office for timely planning and execution of project activities;
Authorize Work Packages
Advise the stakeholders and Director, Jerusalem Office of any deviations from the plan;
Identify and report trends and threats to UNOPS internal business case to the Director of Jerusalem Office and the Regional Office (when necessary).
Procedures:
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. (if applicable)
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. (if applicable)
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/recommendationsEnsure compliance with UNOPS Project Management Manual (PMM) while fully adhering to the relevant 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 (including but not limited to):
i. Highlight Reports
ii. End Stage Reports/ Stage Plan
iii. Operational Closure Checklist
iv. End Project Report
v. Handover Report
Being fully informative with Project Management Practices and “OneUNOPS Projects” System.
Maintain the following records: i. Blue File; ii. Procurement, 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) and ensure project delivery in accordance with the forecast based on work planning.
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.
Ensure timely planning and implementation of the project activities, ensuring that goals and objectives are accomplished within the prescribed project time frame and the available funding parameters/budget;
Study and/ or prepare the scope of work, budgets, terms of reference, contracts, and all technical requirements for the project activities,
Analyse and review all project documents, including documents for the UN and Member States, and ensure compliance with specifications utilizing research, development, relevant codes and standards,
Supervision of UNOPS project staff and contractors on all related implementation issues,
Review and certify the submitted payment certificates,
Approve submittals and advice on suitable alterations
Follow up and report on the project objectives and plans including any delineation of scope,
budgeting, scheduling, and setting performance requirements,
Advise the contractors on ways to maximize efficient resource utilization through procurement of labor, materials, and equipment according to the set schedules and plans.
Analyse and review key indicators on humanitarian and recovery aid in Gaza including, but not limited to, statistics, economic projections, and trends.
Ensure agreements with Member States and stakeholders are correctly implemented and reports submitted on time..
Organize and lead team meetings on a periodic basis and follow up on the documented issues.
Maintain accurate and quality and documentations as identified in responsibilities above.
Set up quality management plan, perform quality assurance and perform quality control during all phases of the project.
Monitor and update the project risk register, and escalate any issues and concerns to the Head of Programme and senior management in a timely manner.
Advise on proper maintenance of equipment, compliance with all codes and adherence to occupational health and safety regulations as per UNOPS requirements.
Develop and follow up the plan for monitoring.
Identify and manage issues and risks in a timely manner in order to maximize benefits to the stakeholders.
Stakeholder engagement:
Serve as the focal point for all communication and interactions regarding the UN 2720 Mechanism with relevant coordination bodies of the Parties, donors, UN agencies and coordination bodies, NGOs, and other external stakeholders, in coordination with the Jerusalem Director, Head of Programme, and Head of Partnerships;
Represent UNOPS and the Mechanism in relevant external donor, UN coordination, and other stakeholder meetings;
Keep abreast and assess the developments in Gaza as related to the UN 2720 Mechanism and keep the relevant internal stakeholders;
Establish solid working relationship with key stakeholders, including the beneficiaries and other project partners;
Manage communication and information flows between and across all stakeholders promptly,
Advise the project board on issues that may impact the achievement of project deliverables;
Coordinate and communicate with UNOPS personnel, retainers and other personnel based on clear organization chart and communication plan;
Identify and manage issues and risks so that maximum benefit to the stakeholders is achieved;
Ensure donor visibility as stipulated in the approved project document/ legal agreement
Prepare for Project Steering Committee Meetings, if any
Build client trust of UNOPS as a partner providing unique and valued capacities, by ensuring operational systems meet or exceed partner needs and provide consistentquality in delivery, showcasing UNOPS capacities and modeling organizational standards;
In coordination with the Partnerships team, produce monthly donor narrative reports, and progress/final narrative and financial reports for individual donors, as stipulated in contribution agreements
Knowledge Management:
Lead and enhance the UN 2720 Mechanism Reporting Team.
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 Systems;
Provide feedback 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:
Select, recruit, and train team as required by project plans;
Lead, motivate, and develop the project management team;
Ensure that behavioralexpectations of team members are established;
Ensure that performance reviews are conducted in a timely manner;
Identify outstanding staff and bring them to the attention of the Hub management;
Ensure safety and security for all personnel and comply with UNDSS standard
Education/Experience/Language requirements
Master’s Degree preferably in Project Management, Business Administration, International Relations, Law, Political/Development Studies, or any other relevant discipline.
Bachelor’s degree / first level in Project Management, Business Administration, International Relations, Political/Security/Development Studies/law or other relevant discipline, may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree, with a combination of 2 additional years of relevant professional experience.
A Technical/Professional Diploma in combination with an additional 4 years (14 in total) relevant, international and national experience OR
Secondary Diploma in combination with an additional 6 years’ (16 in total) relevant, international and national experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced degree.
Successful candidates will be required to complete the UNOPS Project Management Foundation course within the first year of their assignment
A relevant combination of academic credentials and / or industry certifications and qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the university education
Ten years of progressive experience in project development and management, with a focus on monitoring, reporting, development, stakeholder management and coordination in either public or private sector organizations.
Track record of professional experience with increasing managerial responsibilities is required
Experience in complex operational environments and/or conflict/post-conflict countries is required.
Previous experience in the humanitarian/ post-conflict / development context in the Middle East region is preferred.
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 and embrace diversity and are committed to equal employment opportunities. Our workforce brings together approximately 160 nationalities, represented by over 5,000 UNOPS personnel as well as some 7,800 personnel recruited on behalf of our partners. Spread across 80 countries from a range of backgrounds, and languages and have different gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities.
We encourage women and candidates from underrepresented groups in UNOPS to apply. These include candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.