Project Officer

The UNESCO Almaty Regional Office is implementing a regional project (hereafter “Project”), funded by the Adaptation Fund, on “Reducing vulnerabilities of populations in the Central Asia region from glacier lake outburst floods (GLOFs) in a changing climate”. The objective of the proposed project is to strengthen adaptation to climate change in Central Asia by reducing societal risks and vulnerabilities associated with GLOFs. The project objective will be achieved by assessing societal risks and vulnerabilities associated with glacier-melting related risks and then addressing these risks and vulnerabilities. The project approach will strengthen the monitoring, analytical and response capacities of institutions and government officials responsible for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), emergencies and UN Common Country Analysis (CCA) through community and gender-sensitive ground-level training and awareness campaigns, and through the establishment of Early Warning Systems (EWS), supported with the necessary state-of-the-art monitoring strategies.

The Project Officer will provide overall support in operational management for the successful execution and implementation of the project. This position’s responsibilities include the daily responsibility for management, coordination and supervision of the implementation of the project and delivery of the results in accordance with the full project proposal and work plans. In addition, s/he will be responsible for overseeing the financial management and disbursements.

 Under the overall authority of the Director of the UNESCO Almaty Regional Office and the direct supervision of the Programme Specialist for Natural Sciences, the incumbent will manage the coordination and overall implementation of the Project by carrying out the following duties and responsibilities:

Background

Coordinate the overall planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting of the Project in compliance with its overall objective, specific objectives, expected outputs, outcomes and activities: 

• Oversee and manage project implementation, monitor work progress, and ensure timely delivery of outputs.
• Report to the implementing partner and respective national and regional stakeholders, in cooperation with the national project focal points, regarding project progress.
• Develop and facilitate the implementation of a comprehensive monitoring and reporting system.
• Ensure timely preparation of detailed annual work plans and budgets for approval.
• Assist in the identification, selection and recruitment of staff, consultants and other experts as required.
• Coordinate and facilitate the work of the project team (consisting of the finance and adminative assistant, national coordinators, implementing partners, and national and international consultants).
• Organize and coordinate the work of the Project Steering Committee and the Project Team according to the agreed schedule for the on-line and face-to-face modes.
• Control expenditures and enssure adequate management of resources.
• Provide input to management and technical reports, and other documents as described in the overall project.
• Support the procurement of goods and services and regularly monitori their deployment.
• Guide the production of Project deliverables, including guidelines, manuals and other technical and/or reporting materials, and ensure their high quality.
• Ensure conformity and compliance with UNESCO’s rules and regulations, policies, communication strategies, and Office procedures and practices.
• Ensure the necessary bi-annual reporting on the Project in the UNESCO CoreManager system.

Ensure the monitoring and evaluation of overall implementation and the reporting on the Project activities by:

• Providing overall coordination on monitoring, evaluation and reporting, in line with established outputs, outcomes and indicators of the Project.
• Contributing to and compiling the reports on the Project activities for UNESCO, and the donor.
• Regularly monitoring the financial status of the Project and developing budget revisions, as needed.
• Coordinating preparation of budgetary and financial reports, verification of overall accuracy and consistency, and crosscheck consistency of figures and by contributing to preparation of budgetary and financial reports, statistics and projections.
• Fostering exchanges of information and experiences and identifying new strategies to improve the joint Project delivery and to achieve its objectives.
• Facilitating the implementation of monitoring/evaluation actions (including identifying issues and instituting timely remedial measures, as appropriate), reporting on and documenting good practices, case studies and lessons learned.

Liaise with relevant national, regional and international governmental and non-governmental partners, counterparts and stakeholders by:

• Providing technical input and guidance to relevant stakeholders, counterparts and authorities.
• Identifying relevant institutions and entities and ensuring their engagement in relevant activities of the Project.
• Developing partnerships to promote synergies with national and regional entities to facilitate the implementation of the Project and its long-term sustainability.
• Contributing to maintaining productive relationships with counterparts and key stakeholders, including ministries, regional and national authorities, Adaptation Fund, relevant UN System partners and others.
• Maintain productive relationships with country coordinators, implementing partners and Project Team.

Skills and Competencies

Oversee and contribute to the development and implementation of the Communication Plan of the Project in close cooperation with the Project Team members:

• Ensuring proper visibility is given to the Project, donor and partners by developing and updating communication plans, objectives, milestones and tools and providing strategic orientation and support to the implementation team.
• Ensuring compliance with UNESCO and Adaptation Fund communication requirements.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in international development, environment, sustainable management of natural resources, climate change and/or other fields closely related to the position.

Work Experience

• A minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible professional experience in implementation of projects and programmes in natural sciences related field.
• Experience working in a multi-skilled/multicultural team.
• Experience engaging with government agencies, partner institutions and/or donors and in developing partnerships.

Skills and Competencies

• Knowledge of Results Based Management.
• Good understanding of the thematic areas covered by the Project.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, as well as ability to set priorities, to ensure compliance to rules and administrative guidelines, to analyse and respond to routine and non-routine issues.
• Ability to establish good working relationships with internal and external colleagues, experts, partners and stakeholders at the national, regional and international levels.
• Strong communication skills.
• Good IT skills, including advanced knowledge of MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.).

Languages

• Excellent knowledge of English and Russian (oral and written).

Source: https://careers.unesco.org/job/Almaty-PROJECT-OFFICER-(SB-4-SC9NOB-Min)/800771202/