Project Management Support Senior Officer at UNOPS
Position Title: Project Management Support Senior Officer
Employer: UNOPS
Employment: Full-Time | Contract
Place of Work: Addis Ababa, Addis Abeba - Ethiopia
Posted date: 9 months ago
Deadline: Submission date is over
Background Information - Job-specific
UNOPS Horn of Africa Multi-Country Office is recruiting for this position: Project Management Support Senior Officer to be based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (Family Duty Station)Qualified females and candidates from underrepresented groups in UNOPS are highly encouraged to apply.UNOPS has been operational in Sudan since 2005, with its footprint reaching almost 11 out of 18 states since its operation in Sudan. After the eruption of the conflict in Khartoum and then spread across Sudan, the UNOPS Country Office was relocated to Port Sudan, together with other UN agencies In July 2023. We also have an operational team in Kassala state with plans to expand to Gederef State. The Sudan Country Office is organized around an integrated, portfolio management structure designed to leverage the strength and technical expertise deployed to the various locations. Through a collaborative and integrated structure, UNOPS offers efficiency and standards-based technical expertise at the state and community levels.
In response to a growing demand from several donors to build a coordinated response to the humanitarian and conflict-affected areas in Sudan, a number of infrastructure projects are expected to become operational in late 2024 and early 2025. These include, but are not limited to:
- Health and Water infrastructure (rehabilitation and upgrade) in the states of Kassala and Red Sea
- Rural Communities resilience projects in Kassala, Red Sea and Gedaref States (Roads, agriculture, irrigation infra, etc.)
- Solar Energy (Water and Health) in Red Sea State
- among others
The current vacancy will have the primary responsibility for supporting the Health and Water infrastructure (rehabilitation and upgrade) in the states of Kassala and Red Sea funded by the Government of Japan. However the selected candidate will be assigned to support all projects in the country portfolio.
The Project Management Support Senior Officer has a day to day reporting to the Country Programme Manager for Sudan who is responsible for the performance of all projects in the Country Office and will have a direct working relationship with the Project Manager for the GoJapan project. The position will have a functional line of reporting to the PMS Team Leader, located in Addis Ababa. The role is responsible for supporting the Project Manager(s) with the day-to-day operations of the project and coordinating progress and implementation, including facilitating the project(s) compliance policies and procedures of the organization and ensure data quality in the ERP; Portfolio, Programme and Project Management Platform and other digital tools.
The successful candidate maintains a close eye on the operational and financial performance, identifies probable issues that may need attention, supports in problem analysis and solution identification as necessary, coordinate resolution as per action-items assigned, drafting required correspondences to stakeholders concerned and preparation of mission reports. S/he must be able to perform their role with a high degree of autonomy, establishing strong collaborative relationships with the Support Services departments and may be required to guide the work of other team members on policy and process related matters. The role can often be required to work in complex and challenging environments with limited resources.Duty Station: The position is located in Addis Ababa, remotely supporting the Sudan Country Office Portfolio. Periodic missions to the Sudan Country Office may take place, security conditions permitting.
Functional Responsibilities
- Project Implementation
- Financial and Procurement management
- Project Monitoring and Reporting
- Coordination and Liaison/ Stakeholder Management
- Knowledge Management and Innovation
- Operational and Logistics Support
1. Project implementation
- Alert the Project Manager on UNOPS Policies and Procedures, Financial Rules and Regulations (FR&R) and other requirements for efficient project implementation and progress.
- Monitor project financials and advise the Project Manager accordingly;
- Track expenditure and take relevant action when required to revise budgets (realignment and amendment);
- Monitor and record best practices and innovative approaches within UNOPS FR&R; identify and show alternative options according to Activity needs;
- Managing information flows and overseeing change controls, risk registers and issue management; document and feedback lessons learned and best practices;
- Supporting the project planning process;
- Maintenance of all supporting project financial documents for audit and review processes;
- Management of work packages within the project as and when required;
- Assist the Project manager in monitoring of the project quality indicators and undertaking monthly assurance tasks on behalf of the Project Manager;
- Continuous monitoring of the project quality indicators and undertaking monthly assurance tasks on behalf of the Project Manager;
- Supervise Project Associates and Assistant(s) within the Team, to ensure work efficiency and quality at all;
2. Financial and Procurement Management
- Maintain all supporting project financial documents for audit and review processes;
- Ensure accurate data entry into UNOPS ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system;
- Monitor project budget and financial expenditure and all administrative procedures in line with the work-plan;
- Process direct payments and advance requests and prepare project budget revisions;
- Produce financial reports; including developing financial monitoring and reporting formats as per UNOPS requirements;
- Coordinate with the Finance team to ensure due diligence
- Support the Project Manager by monitoring budgets, cash flow and reporting on expense obligations to ensure that deliverables are met;
- Alert the Project Manager or any financial shortfalls and over-expenditures;
- Propose budget revision and initiate corrective action when necessary;
- Coordinate vendor communications, meetings, and reports as necessary;
3. Project Monitoring and Reporting
- Provide substantive inputs to assist the Project Manager in the preparation of project reports and documents;
- Maintain records of project files and other supporting documents;
- Maintain the following records: Quality Register, Configuration Item Records and all other registers/logs delegated by the Project Manage;
- Support the Project Manager in maintaining the following: (I). Electronic Blue File, (ii). Procurement, HR and Finance files as required by Organizational Directive (OD) 12;
- Manage the compilation, consolidation and analysis of relevant data related to the project(s);
- Assist the Project Manager in the preparation of project completion reports and ensure compliance with contractual obligations;
4. Coordination and Liaison/ Stakeholder Management
- Support the PM(s) in establishing solid working relationships with the Project Board (Executive, Senior Users and Senior Suppliers), client and key stakeholders, keeping up-to-date PB meeting agenda, reports and action plans
- Coordination and act as the Secretariate for Project Governance bodies (Project Boards) ensuring meetings take place regularly and decisions are well documented
- Support the PM(s) in the formulation of stakeholder engagement and communications plans and actively contribute to their implementation
- Contract management of all contracts (Procurement, HR, Service Contracts etc) under the Project;
- Pro-actively coordinate/liaise with support units on all administrative matters related to contract management;
- Liaise with the Programme Management Office (PMO) Team Members to complete compliance and project assurance related tasks;
- Support the coordination and management of communications
- Support PMs to consult with partnerships liaison offices (where they exist) and maintain abreast of partner expectations and good practices to meet them
- Serve as the focal point for key interactions with Government of Japan stakeholders
5. Knowledge Management and Innovation
- Participate in relevant Communities of Practice;
- Proactively remain abreast of new developments, innovations and tools related to Portfolio, Programme and Project Management (P3M) practices promoting a common approach and frame of reference;
- Supports the Project manager to implement knowledge and document management policies and guidance;
- Contribute to the mainstreaming of innovation and efficiency initiatives of the organization by facilitating their application at the project level;
- Actively interact with PMs and the wider PM Support community to share case studies, lessons learned and best practices in the Knowledge System;
- Support the compilation of lessons learned as per defined reporting format;
- Contribute to the dissemination and sharing of best practices and lessons learned for planning and knowledge building;
- Contribute to expertise in tools and techniques
6. Operational and Logistics Support
- In consultation with the relevant stakeholders, prepare amendments to Agreements and Budget Revisions when applicable;
- Support the Project Manager in progressing Engagements and Amendments through oneUNOPS Projects;
- Review input of financial information, expenditures etc in oneUNOPS ERP;
- Ensure conformity of project disbursement requests with procedures, work plans, and availability of resources for expenditure;
- Support development and maintenance of UNOPS management information systems to ensure real time tracking and asset management under the project activities;
- Liaise with the Finance Unit to process and monitor all payment requests within the Project;
- Assist the Project Manager in monitoring all HR requirements and related activities under the Project;
- Preparation of Terms of Reference (ToR) for required inputs in the projects (staff, individual and institutional consultancy services, procurement of goods and services, organization of training, seminars, etc.), with expert and/or client support as required;
- Providing induction briefings to newly recruited staff and render support to consultants in the course of their assignment;
- Ensure Project Managers supervise and review submissions for Contracts, Purchase orders, Waivers and related documents prior to final approval;
- In accordance with UN and UNOPS Security Policies, manage travel for all personnel in the Project Team;
- Organize all project and stakeholder meetings as and when necessary, and maintain records of these meetings;
- Maintain records of project files and Activity reports in hard and soft copy;
- Prepare budget forecasts and periodic financial reports as requested;
- Review weekly Activity reports and quarterly financial reports with respect to outputs based on work plans and budget forecasts;
- Liaise with finance and logistics/procurement units in tracking commitments and disbursements;
- Identify operational, administrative, financial and other bottlenecks that may impede project delivery; recommend solutions and take appropriate remedial action;
- On behalf of the Project and as directed by the Project Manager, participate in periodic visits to the project sites to review compliance with recognized procedures as required;
- Establish and monitor an internal control system for all administrative actions;
Impacts of Results
The Project Management Support Senior Officer directly impacts on achievement of project results by supporting the Project Manager to adhere to policy requirements, project management methods and strategies, reduce risks, cut costs and improve success rates. This consequently reinforces the visibility and image of UNOPS as an effective service provider in project services and management and strengthens its competitive position as a partner of choice in sustainable development and project services.
Education/Experience/Language requirements
Education
- A Master's Degree in a relevant field (e.g. Business Administration, Finance, Project Management) is a required
- A combination of a Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (e.g. Business Administration, Finance, Project Management) with an additional 2 years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of the education requirements outlined above.
Certification
- PRINCE2 Foundation certification or equivalent is an advantage.
Experience
- A minimum of two (2) years of relevant and progressive professional experience, specifically in the field of Project Management and Operations Management with focus on monitoring, reporting, development and coordination or related field is required;
- At least one (1) year of experience working with Enterprise Resource Management Systems (ERP), other Management Information Systems (MIS), data analytics and/or reporting is required;
- Experience implementing procedures in Procurement, Finance, HR Management or administrative rules and regulations is highly desirable;
- Experience in humanitarian emergency operating contexts, including humanitarian coordination mechanisms, donors, security, and operations management is an asset;
- Familiarity with cross cutting themes such as capacity building, environmental management, gender equality and social inclusion (GESI), Prevention of Sexual Exploitation Abuse and Harassment (PSEAH), Do No Harm, Leave No One Behind etc is an asset..
- Knowledge of the UN system and familiarity with UNOPS procedures is a distinct advantage
- Proven experience working with Advanced understanding of operational risk management is highly desirable;
- Familiar with web-based applications and Google-Suite products, especially google docs, sheets, slides and forms is an asset
Language
- Fluency in written, spoken and reading English is required
- Working knowledge of Japanese is an asset.
- Other regional language is an advantage
- Knowledge of another UN official language is an asset.
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