Project Manager

The goal of the project “Greening the future, advancing rights and stability: Spurring an inclusive and green transition with responsive governance in the Eastern Neighborhood region Enhanced Governance in the Republic of Moldova through Multi-Stakeholder Engagement to Accelerate Green and Inclusive Transition”  is to contribute to accelerating inclusive and green transition, and responsive governance in the Eastern Neighborhood region, by leveraging relevant efforts by governments, Denmark, EU, UNDP and other international development actors in Georgia, Moldova, and the Eastern Neighborhood.

In Moldova, the focus is in accelerating a just green transition within the energy and transport sectors, building on UNDP’s experience in enhancing energy security by addressing the impacts of the energy crisis and laying the groundwork for a sustainable transition. Working with the government, the private sector and communities, the project seeks to reduce risks in investments related to Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and Energy Efficiency (EE) while fostering innovation, investments, job creation, and the adoption of green technologies.

At the same time the project is part of a larger Programme on Accelerating a Just Energy Transition in Republic of Moldova which aims to drive a comprehensive and systemic just energy transition in the Republic of Moldova, effectively addressing the root causes of the energy crisis. It strives to promote sustainable development and ensure equitable access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy for all individuals and communities in the country.

The Programme aims to achieve five key ambitions, co-designed with energy stakeholders:

• Accelerate Energy Diversification and Efficiency: By supporting the modernization of infrastructure, buildings, and the grid, the Programme aims to increase access to renewable energy sources, promote energy efficiency, and encourage investment in renewable energy and innovative technologies.
• Decarbonizing Industries and Economic Sectors: sectors The Programme seeks to drive the decarbonization of various economic sectors such as construction, transportation, agriculture, and the private sector. It aims to promote sustainable practices, share green business models, and develop vocational skills for the green energy sector to create equitable employment opportunities and support the transition to a low-carbon economy. 
• Foster Sustainable Consumption Patterns: Through comprehensive public awareness campaigns and educational materials, the Programme aims to deepen understanding of energy efficiency and renewable energy among community members, business leaders, and government agencies. It strives to promote behaviour change towards sustainable energy practices, particularly among vulnerable populations.
• Strengthen Inclusive Energy Governance: The Programme recognizes the importance of inclusive energy governance at both the national and local levels. It aims to strengthen the capacity of relevant institutions and stakeholders to effectively govern and manage the energy sector. By promoting transparency, accountability, and participation, the Programme seeks to ensure that decision-making processes related to energy transition are inclusive, empowering all segments of society, including marginalized groups.
• Addressing Energy Vulnerability and Promoting Resilience: One of the Programme ‘s primary focus is to address energy vulnerability and promote resilience among households and businesses. It will provide further support to the Government in improving and implementing compensation mechanisms, including the established an on-bill compensation mechanism targeting the households by level of vulnerability. This intervention aims to provide immediate relief to energy-poor households and the private sector, while also fostering long-term energy resilience and efficiency. The Programme places a strong emphasis on meeting the energy needs of vulnerable groups, prioritizing affordability, reliability, and sustainability. To this end, it will explore conceptualisation of decentralized energy solutions, off-grid options, and harness the role of energy access in conflict and disaster recovery efforts, livelihoods, and social inclusion.

The Programme duration is envisaged between 2023- 2027.
 

Coordinate effective project planning and implementation.

• Oversee day-to-day operations and implementation of project activities;
• Ensuring effective content and operational management of the project;
• Exercise close monitoring of project activities and produce monitoring reports; 
• Ensure the timely and efficient delivery of Project outputs and products, as per the Project Document, leading to the achievement of expected results;
• Develop Work Plan, periodic narrative progress and final reports and expenditures status reports and submit to the supervisor; 
• Ensure the implementation of the activities under the Project work plan according to indicators for achieving planned results, as well as the overall management of the Project in line with UNDP rules, regulations and procedures;
• Lead and coordinate the organization of meetings, workshops, conferences, trainings, study visits and related activities relevant to the implementation of the Project;
• Support UNDP CO in effectively managing human resources pertaining to the Project, including staff, consultants and short-term experts; conduct periodic performance appraisals; build, lead and motivate a solid team of professionals; 
• Support the efficient management of the Project financial resources, including budgeting and budget revisions, as well as expenditure tracking and reporting;
• Continuously record and maintain Project issues and risks and suggest mitigation measures;
• Maintain a close collaboration with other related UNDP programmes to ensure synergies and complementarities; 
• Maintain a continuous effective dialogue with the key stakeholders, central and local government authorities, other UN agencies and actors active in the sector, CSOs, partner organizations, international and national experts in the areas of the Project intervention in view of identifying synergies and avoiding overlapping of assistance; 
• Ensure high quality information and visibility of the project activities to the mass media and stakeholders and support; mechanisms for exchange of information, experience and lessons learned at the local, national, and as required at international levels;
• Perform any other duties connected directly with the implementation and evaluation of the Project as required. 

Knowledge Management and Sharing

• Assist in coordinating the exchange of information internally and between relevant project  stakeholders;
• Ensure timely and proper documentation of the programme implementation process and products produced in accordance with the UNDP guides;
• Ensure high quality information and visibility of the programme activities to the mass media and stakeholders and support mechanisms for exchange of information, experience and lessons learned at the local, national, and as required at international levels;
• Capture and disseminate good practices locally, nationally and as required internationally. 

Key Results:

The key results have a direct impact on the overall successful achievement of the Greening the Future Project and the Accelerating a Just Energy Transition in Republic of Moldova Programme. Accurate analysis and presentation of information enhances UNDP’s position as a strong development partner. The information provided facilitates decision-making of the Project Board, the Beneficiary and UNDP management. 

Institutional Arrangement

The Project Manager will work under the supervision of the the Climate Change, Environment and Energy Cluster Lead  and  the Just Energy Transition Programme Manager and will ensure the provision of development services and products commensurate with the scope of the Project and assigned area of responsibility of the highest quality and standards to national and local counterparts and clients through applying HRBA and GE approaches. 

He/she is responsible and accountable to the Project Steering Committee for the Project’s results. 

The Project Manager will coordinate the project team, consisting of several full time employees and part time consultants, as envisaged in project organizational chart.

The Project Manager will work in close cooperation with the the Programme, Operations, Communications and other teams in the UNDP Country Office (CO) for effective achievement of results, anticipating and contributing to resolving complex programme/project-related issues and information delivery. 

He/she also collaborates with other UN projects, national stakeholders and other development partners in supporting the Government in energy related area. The incumbent is expected to exercise full compliance with UNDP programming, financial, procurement and administrative rules, regulations, policies and strategies, as well as implementation of the effective internal control systems.

The Project Manager in close collaboration with the Programme Specialist,  supports UNDP Country Office in developing concept notes and project documents in the energy related area to further develop the programme portfolio of Energy, Environment and Climate Change Cluster.
 

• Results-based Management:
  • Ability to manage programmed and projects with a focus at improved performance and demonstrable results
• Project Management:   
  • Ability to plan, organize, prioritize and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals
• Risk Management:          
  • Ability to identify and organize action around mitigating and proactively managing risks
• Monitoring:         
  • Ability to provide managers and key stakeholders with regular feedback on the consistency or discrepancy between planned and actual activities and project performance and results
• Effective decision making:          
  • Ability to take decision in atimley and efficient manner in line with one’s authority, area of expertise and resources 
• Futures & foresight:        
  • Ability to look at information from the past and present, identify patterns and trends and use them to inform decision making with a long-term view. 
  • Being sensitive and able to scan horizons and pick up weak signals of change, explore their potential implications and assess their impact and urgency. 
  • Using creativity and imagination to communicate insights in compelling and engaging ways to challenge current mental models; ability to develop scenarios, speculative designs to present future visions or by making it experiential. 
  • Being able to facilitate debate and discussion about possible futures; help people to feel comfortable with the discomfort of uncertainty.
• CSO Engagement:           
  • Knowledge and understanding of CSOs and the ability to engage with CSOs