Project Specialist

Job Purpose

The project will establish a Project Management Unit headed by a Project Specialist to be hosted in the UNDP CO.

• The Project Specialist will be accountable and report to the Programme Analyst Governance, Inclusive Growth and Digitization, and work under the overall guidance of the Deputy Resident Representative. The Project Specialist will be responsible for providing managerial leadership to the project, manage and support the day-to-day activities and resources of the project, with special emphasis on coordination and networking, management, and mobilization of resources.
• The Project Specialist will undertake his/her duties in close consultation with the Statistical Institute of Belize and other participating agencies as well as Participating United Nation Organizations (PUNOs). S/he will also liaise on a regular basis with SIB’s National Statistical System Officer.
• The Project Specialist will work in close collaboration with the Programme Analyst Governance and will be responsible for drafting terms of reference for the consultancies as described in the Project Document, participating in short listing and interviewing candidates, give oversight to the narrative and financial reports prepared by the Project Assistant  who directly reports to the Project Specialist, generating innovative ideas to assist with the development of project knowledge products and deliverables and accountable for the reports.
• UNDP adopts a portfolio approach to accommodate changing business needs and leverage linkages across interventions to achieve its strategic goals. Therefore, UNDP personnel are expected to work across units, functions, teams, and projects in multidisciplinary teams in order to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration.

Impact of Results 

• The key result expected is the successful contribution to the implementation and attainment of the overall targets of the “leaving no one behind in the digital era” strategy, including coordination with/reporting to all stakeholders, and donors. Successful implementation will position UNDP as a strategic partner to assist member states and regional bodies to leverage data and digital innovations to meet the SDGs.

Summary of key functions:

• Lead the implementation and project operational management of the “Enabling of Belize’s Statistical System”.
• Ensure effective management of financial resources and programme delivery.
• Lead and initiate financial and operational donor reporting requirements, focusing on narrative and financial reporting of programme funds.
• Lead knowledge and capacity building, knowledge sharing, and advocacy relative to the assigned thematic area(s) and UNDP.

Duties and Responsibilities

Lead the implementation and project operational management of the “Enabling of Belize’s Statistical System”.

The Project Specialist will manage the “Enabling of Belize’s Statistical System” Project and be responsible for ensuring the delivery of project outputs within the timeframe and budget of the programme as well as be responsible for resource mobilization for the Citizen Security/Social Cohesion Programme. Specific responsibilities will include: 

• Managing the delivery of project outputs. This includes ensuring a 90% delivery rate on project activities as outlined in the Annual Work Plan (AWP).
• Managing the project’s financial resources.
• Managing donor relations.
• Supervising consultants and ensuring the quality of their deliverables.
• Ensure all consultants are hired and milestones achieved.
• Providing logistical support to associated consultancies.
• Providing planning direction and input to the Project Steering Committee, Statistical Institute of Belize, Participating United Nations Organizations and UNDP’s Programme Team.
• Collecting information, producing and disseminating reports and documents as required.
• Maintaining daily communications and working relationships with the Statistical Institute of Belize, other National counterparts, civil society stakeholders and international partners.
• Liaising with the donor on reporting and communication including the preparation of all reports.
• Communicating successes and new developments to Government stakeholders, key donor partners and actively brief them on opportunities for cooperation.
• Develop and strengthen relations for effective CSO networks, donor coordination and Government partnerships.
• Managing the mainstreaming of gender in project implementation in collaboration with UNDP.
• Managing responsible parties responsible for the implementation of project activities.
• Supervise the Project Assistant in preparing and monitoring development project budgets.
• Identifying operational and financial problems and proposing solutions.
• Review and provide feedback on project/programme strategies, documents, and workplans as required.
• Review, update, and report on the annual workplans, project monitoring plans, disbursement delivery, project risks, and other key areas of accountability.
• Work closely with the national partners and PUNOs as well as SIB’s National Statistical System Officer. Project Specialist will also supervise the Project Assistant, who will manage budget revisions, reporting and analysis.

Ensure effective management of financial resources and programme delivery.

• Provide financial and business planning, forecast resources and tracking delivery, helping problem-solve financial, operational and implementation issues to ensure project is on track with its targets.
• Support the review and finalization of agreements and legal documents (including Letters of Agreement, Memoranda of Understanding, Grant Agreements, and Project/Programme budgets).
• Oversee business processes using a web-based enterprise resource management, planning, and sharing system (Quantum) for the smooth and effective implementation of the project, as well as maintaining effective coordination between national implementing partners).
• Ensure consistent and quality programme, finance and operations delivery at the country level, fostering a collaborative, client-oriented approach consistent with the UNDP rules and regulations.

Lead and initiate financial and operational donor reporting requirements, focusing on narrative and financial reporting for programme funds. 

• Review draft proposals prior to submission to Partner UN Agencies and partners to ensure budgets are aligned to, working together all stakeholders.
• Plan and follow-up reporting strategies based on donors’ agreements and corporate requirements for reporting schedules for both programmes and projects. Ensure all reporting requirements are met.
• Draft and finalize donors’ narrative reports, including progress, annual and ad-hoc ones focusing on highlighting progress of targets against agreed-upon indicators, analyzing impacts, reflecting on lessons learned, and operational challenges.
• Review financial reports as per donors’ agreements.

Lead knowledge and capacity building, knowledge sharing, and advocacy relative to the assigned thematic area(s) and UNDP. 

• Provide advice and technical support to the development and implementation of a capacity development/ learning plan on thematic area of the project for Country Office and participate in global/regional learning initiatives.
• Support the process of knowledge capture of national and international know-how in relevant thematic areas and document project lessons, experiences, and best practices that may be useful in design and implementation of similar projects for organizational and external sharing and learning. Produce materials with lessons learned and best practices and other knowledge-based tools.
• Keep abreast of the developments in the thematic area of the project and provide guidance on how to incorporate them into UNDP’s current and future programming in the relevant sector. Provide technical guidance and quality assurance to content development for project knowledge products.
• Support advocacy for and strengthening of national capacity for planning and coordination of development programmes in the sector.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in a relevant area Statistics Management, Project Management, Social Sciences, Political Sciences or related field is required, OR
• A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the areas stated above, in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• A minimum of five (5) years (with master’s degree) or seven (7) years (with bachelor’s degree) of demonstrable experience working on project development and implementation, including financial/budget management, procurement, and reporting is required.
• Demonstrated management experience with project management methodologies including results-based management is required.
• Proven record of mobilizing resources in the private and/or public sectors.
• Proficient computer skills and use of relevant software and other applications is required.
• Working experience with data governance, particularly modernization of national statistics systems is an asset.
• Proven experience and knowledge of Belizean government systems and protocols an asset.
• Experience and knowledge of an ERP such as people soft or SAP an asset.
• Experience with the UN is an asset.
• Prior experience in KOICA projects an asset.

Language requirements:

• Fluency in spoken and written English is required.
• Fluency in spoken and written Korean is desired.
• Working knowledge of another UN language is an asset.

Source: https://estm.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX_1/requisitions/job/19493