Background
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are core principles at UNDP: we value diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate, we foster inclusion as a way of ensuring all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, and we ensure equity and fairness in all our actions. Taking a ‘leave no one behind’ approach to our diversity efforts means increasing representation of underserved populations. People who identify as belonging to marginalized or excluded populations are strongly encouraged to apply. Learn more about working at UNDP including our values and inspiring stories.
UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.
Office/Unit/Project Description
The full-fledged war that escalated on 24 Feb 2022 led to critical environmental damages throughout Ukraine. Because of this situation, the state authorities joined forces to cooperate in recording the war damage, especially its environmental impacts for Ukraine. Starting from March 2022, Parliamentary Committee on Environmental Policy and Nature Management together with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, the State Environmental Inspectorate and other bodies created State Operational Center on Environmental Damage Assessment (later – SOC).
The SOC operates on the bases of the State Environmental Inspectorate of Ukraine. One of main goals of the Project is support the main beneficiary State Environmental Inspectorate of Ukraine in development of necessary legislation for recording the evidence on environmental damage caused by the Russian military invasion, as well as practical mechanisms to collect the evidence throughout Ukraine. Considering emergency needs to recovery actions and limited capacities of the governmental bodies, the State Environmental Inspectorate needs external support from international partners.
This project aims to establish the Coordination Centre on Environmental Damage Assessment. It will enable the State Environmental Inspectorate and the SOC to execute its mandate, through:
- providing advisory and operational support for the development of the legal framework and institutional capacities;
- elaborating impact assessment methodology;
- training support to increase knowledge of the state officials;
- functioning of the interactive platform on environmental damage (in coordination with other projects/donors);
- development and implementation of communications campaigns to raise awareness amongst the public on environmental damage in general, including on its gendered impacts;
- facilitating gender-responsive assessments of the environmental damage;
- providing and assist in purchasing certified mobile stations/laboratories for measuring environmental data for the State Environmental Inspectorate.
In order to ensure effective project management and achievement of project objectives of this and the other related projects in the Energy and Environment portfolio, UNDP is recruiting a qualified Project Manager. The PM will be responsible for the overall management of the project, including the mobilization of all project inputs, and supervision over project staff, consultants and sub-contractors.
It is the PM’s primary responsibility to ensure that the project produces the results specified in the project document, to the required standard of quality and within the specified constraints of time and cost. The PM will inform the portfolio and office management through regular reporting, and is responsible for securing Project Board review of any delays or challenges as they arise during implementation so that appropriate support and corrective measures can be adopted.
The incumbent will ensure mainstreaming of gender equality within the project, support acceleratation of gender equality and women’s empowerment within the UNDP Energy and Environment Portfolio and promote UNDP’s mandate as a gender-responsive organization with zero tolerance for any kind of discriminatory and abusive behaviour, including sexual harassment, sexual exploitation, and abuse
Duties and Responsibilities
1. Delivery and stakeholders management to ensure effective implementation and achievement of results:
- Leads the day-to-day project implementation and ensures achievement of targets as outlined in the project work plan;
- Ensures that the quality of project inputs meets the expected standards and are sufficient to produce project outputs and targets;
- Leads stakeholder consultations related to the project, including those related to specific project activities at local, regional, and national levels to regularly communicate about project activities, and receives technical feedback from stakeholders;
- Develops and monitors all implementation plans including the gender action plan, stakeholder engagement plan, and any environmental and social management plans, thereby ensuring effective monitoring of project performance, the preparation of high quality and results oriented progress reports including measures to address challenges and opportunities, and of annual project reports (PIRs), in line with the standard template and presents it to the project assurance team on a timely manner;
- Ensures gender-related economic, environmental, public research and analysis, to contribute to the formulation of policies, programme interventions, procedures, guidelines and tools.
2. Project Management:
- Executes project activities by managing personnel, goods and services, training and low-value grants, including drafting terms of reference and work specifications, and overseeing all contractors’ work;
- Prepares project’s work plans and organizes project board meetings to obtain their approval;
- Performs Project Manager duties on UNDP financial management system (Quantum) in line with the PoPP and as outlined in the delegation of authority for Project Managers;
- Implements project work plan and ensures that the project remains within the tolerance level of the approved work plan, coordinating the sequence of project activities according to technical requirements;
- Prepares and represents UNDP at the project board, raising with the national partners for any issues that require their attention, including issues related to deviation from the approved work plans and its tolerance (e.g. deviation from the approved target, and/or budget);
- Conducts regular monitoring to ensure achievement of targets in line with the annual work plan and that project implementation at all levels complies with the approved project SoP;
- Manages and monitors project risks – including social and environmental risks – initially identified and identifies and submits new risks to the Project Board for consideration and decision on possible actions if required, updating the status of these risks by maintaining the project risks log;
- Through constant engagement and leadership manages critical issues, troubleshoots problems and develops solutions to the overall processes of project implementation;Captures lessons learned during project implementation;
- Monitors financial resources and accounting to ensure the accuracy and reliability of financial reports;
- Prepares revisions to the multi-year workplan, as needed, as well as annual and quarterly plans if required;
- Assures implementation of gender equality accountability framework and Gender equality Results Based management at project level.
3. Knowledge Sharing:
- Serves as the project Focal Point for communication and linkage between the project and relevant stakeholders, including government conterparts;
- Identifies best practices and lessons learnt from the project and from other initiatives that can be helpful to the project in achieving its goals and objectives;
- Organizes and delivers trainings for the operations/project staff on project/programme management issues;
- Conducts internal capacity building training for project staff to facilitate appropriate management and timely delivery of project outputs;
- Leads in generating knowledge products such as best practices and lessons learnt for knowledge sharing; and Contributes to knowledge networks and communities of practice;
- Conducts internal capacity building training for project staff to facilitate appropriate management and timely delivery of project outputs including in gender analysis and gender mainstreaming;
- Effectively contributes to learning and knowledge sharing in gender analysis and gender mainstreaming.
4. Corporate Tasks:
- Support UNDP in partnership building and resource mobilization initiatives;
- Design and supervise of outreach activities of the project including participating in relevant seminars, workshops, conferences;
- Ensure full coordination with other relevant projects and initiatives of UNDP Ukraine;
- Provide support for completion of assessments required by UNDP, spot checks and audits.
- Perform other duties as assigned by supervisor, and UNDP Ukraine management.
Institutional Arrangement
Under the overall guidance and supervision of the Team Leader Energy and Environment (UNDP Ukraine), the Project Manager is fully responsible for making the day-to-day decisions on project implementation and ensures to achieve the project results (outputs) as defined in the approved project document and in the annual work plans through timely implementation and quality monitoring. The Project Manager supports the partners in achieving the results.
Core Competencies
- Achieve Results: LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact.
- Think Innovatively: LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems.
- Learn Continuously: LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences.
- Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands.
- Act with Determination: LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results.
- Engage and Partner: LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration.
- Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity.
People Management
Cross-Functional Competencies
- Business Direction and Strategy: Strategic Thinking: Ability to leverage learning from a variety of sources to anticipate and respond to future trends; to demonstrate foresight in order to model what future developments and possible ways forward look like for UNDP.
- Business Development: Knowledge Generation: Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need.
- Business Management: Results-based Management: Ability to manage programmes and projects with a focus at improved performance and demonstrable results.
- Business Direction and Strategy: Effective Decision Making: Ability to take decisions in a timely and efficient manner in line with one’s authority, area of expertise and resources.
- Business Development: Integration within the UN: Ability to identity, and integrate capacity and assets of the UN system, and engage in joint work; knowledge of the UN System and ability to apply this knowledge to strategic and/or practical situations.
- Business Management: Digital Awareness and Literacy: Ability and inclination to rapidly adopt new technologies, either through skillfully grasping their usage or through understanding their impact and empowering others to use them as needed.
- Business Management: Operations Management: Ability to effectively plan, organize, and oversee the Organization’s business processes in order to convert its assets into the best results in the most efficient manner. Knowledge of relevant concepts and mechanisms.
- Thematic Competency: Environment: Environmental and social impact assessments and safeguard.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- Advanced university degree (Master’s Degree) in Legal Science, Economics, Public Relations, Business Administration, Natural Resource Management, Project Management, Social Sciences, Environment or other relevant field is required.
- A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s Degree) in Legal Science, Economics, Public Relations, Business Administration, Natural Resource Management, Project Management, Social Sciences, Environment or other relevant areas with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.
Experience:
- Minimum 5 years (with Master’s Degree) or 7 years (with Bachelor’s Degree) of relevant experience, on the national or international level, in in project management and/or programme/project coordination, project component coordination, managing team of experts.
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- Desired experience:
– Working experience in the Environment Protection or other related area will be considered an advantage;
– Previous experience with international technical assistance and/or donor projects/programmes is an advantage;
– Experience working with ministries, national or regional institutions that are concerned with natural resource and/or environmental management is an advantage;
– Experience in working with UN agencies, other development partners, the government on programming in sustainable development, environment protection etc. is an advantage.
Required Skills:
- Proficiency in use of office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc) is a requirement.
Desired additional skills and competencies:
- Proven ability to draft, edit and produce written proposals and results-focused reports is an advantage;
Required Language(s) (at working level):
- Fluency in English and Ukrainian is required.
Disclaimer
UNDP is not in a position to provide advice or assistance on applying for US citizenship and therefore applicants are advised to seek the advice of competent immigration lawyers regarding any applications.
Applicant information about UNDP rosters
Note: UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.
Non-discrimination
UNDP has a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual exploitation and misconduct, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.
UNDP is an equal opportunity and inclusive employer that does not discriminate based on race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status.
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