Project Management Support-Officer

Background Information – Job-specific

The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian, stabilization and development projects around the world. Mandated as a central resource of the United Nations, UNOPS provides sustainable project management, procurement and infrastructure services to a wide range of governments, donors and United Nations organizations.  

• Located in Kinshasa, DRC the UNOPS Hub in Central Africa covers eleven countries, including DRC. The office has developed strong working relations with international partners, UN agencies including UN Missions and Governments across Central Africa over the years. It provides technical support and capacity building in strategic development areas including infrastructure rehabilitation and development across health, education, public works, governance/public administration sectors, procurement, project management, amongst others.
• In this context, UNOPS is the Management Agent (MA) of the Stabilization Coherence Fund (SCF) a United Nations Multi Partner Trust Fund that aim to support the ‘’Programme de Désarmement, Démobilisation, Réinsertion Communautaire et Stabilisation (PDDRCS). The SCF is funded by Germany, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands and the United Kingdom; and hosted by MONUSCO which serves as its technical secretariat.
• Within the framework of the project in support of the Technical Secretariat of the Fund, UNOPS will recruit a Project Management Support – Officer to support Technical Secretariat in the implementation of the activities planned by the Fund. This post incumbent will be recruited and contracted by UNOPS (ICA Modality) and considered as UNOPS staff seconded to the MONUSCO Stabilization Support Unit, specifically dedicated to the conduct and implementation of the Fund under the supervision of the Program Management Specialist, Technical secretariat and ultimately to the Principal Coordinator of the Stabilization Support Unit (SSU).
• UNOPS will support the technical secretariat in its fiduciary role by administering the allocations of the funds of the Fund allocated to NGOs UNOPS’s main focus will be to manage the administrative and financial procedures required to reach the project objectives by NGO partners.
• The Project Management Support – Officer will report to the Program Management Specialist and maintain a formal and administrative link with the UNOPS Project Manager and will support the Program Management Specialist in the overall management of the projects and programmes within the Technical Secretariat.

Functional Responsibilities

• Under the direct supervision of the Program Management Specialist from partner, the Project Management Support – Officer is responsible for:

Monitoring and Strategy Development

• Support the Program Management Specialist in the development of indicators and a monitoring strategy for projects, and centralization of the Trust Fund unit’s information management capacity.
• Support the monitoring of the unit’s work plan, project information management, lessons learned, best practices, and systematization of operation
• Participate in the development of monitoring and impact indicators for project success; recommend any other improvements.

Project Implementation and Evaluation Support

• Support project implementation, management, monitoring, and evaluation; develop and strengthen project monitoring, inspection, and evaluation; develop and strengthen monitoring, inspection, and evaluation procedures.
• Monitor selected project activities and progress towards achieving project outcomes and sustainability of results. Support the monitoring and evaluation of project effects and impact.
• Propose measures to improve project effectiveness and efficiency by identifying bottlenecks in the implementation of activities and developing plans to minimize/eliminate them.

Facilitation of Project Development and Problem-Solving

• Facilitates project development, implementation, and evaluation; monitors and analyzes specific aspects of project development and implementation relevant documents and reports; assists in identifying problems and recommending corrective measures.
• Provides support to coordination and evaluation functions, including analysis of operational capacities, participates in impact assessment or equivalent studies.

Stakeholder Liaison and Documentation:

• Liaise with stakeholders, including governmental, national, and international institutions for aspects related to visibility and image. Revise project documents, briefings, translations, and other documents and reports.
• Contribute to the preparation of various written documents, e.g., draft reference documents, analytical notes, reports, studies, and contribute to any other publications.
• Participate in the development and organization of training workshops, seminars, and any other meetings. Participate in field missions, including the provision of technical support, training, and data collection.
• Support project cycle activities (preparation and submission of programs/projects, progress/interim/final reports) and prepare related documents/reports (M&E matrix, work program, project document, and budget, etc.).

Education/Experience/Language requirements

EDUCATION

• Advanced University Degree (Master’s degree) in Business Administration, Economics, Project Management, International Relations  or related field is required.
• First level University Degree (Bachelor’s degree) with two (2) additional years of relevant professional experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

CERTIFICATION

• PRINCE2® Foundation is an asset
• Prince2 Practitioner is an asset.

EXPERIENCE

• Minimum (2) years of experience in programme, project management, support service, partner liaison, business administration focused on monitoring, reporting, development and coordination is required.
• Experience in managing development programmes using  results-based management principles and hands-on experience in programme monitoring, evaluation and reporting for documentation of programme results and impact is an asset.
• Experience in project assurance and/or compliance is required.
• Demonstrated knowledge of United Nations rules and procedures in the areas of programme implementation, procurement, finance, and reporting is an asset.
• Experience working on World Bank-funded projects, familiarity with their rules and regulations is an asset.
• Knowledge of GoogleSuite applications is an asset.
• Prior experience in program oversight including coordination with the relevant stakeholders is an asset.

LANGUAGE

• For this position fluency in French, (both oral and written) is required.
• Knowledge of the local language (Kiswahili or Lingala) is an advantage.

Source: https://jobs.unops.org/Pages/ViewVacancy/VADetails.aspx?id=28789