Job title

Duty station: Jerusalem, with regional flights, including to Gaza

Job responsibilities

Delivery and performance:

• Develop and maintain project plans and review/update those plans on a monthly/quarterly basis, as appropriate;

• Execute approved project plans (including defining milestones) within tolerances specified by the client and UNOPS;

• Incorporate sustainability dimensions including social, gender, environmental and economic inclusion into the project life cycle;

• Manage production of ordered products, taking responsibility for overall progress and utilization of resources and initiating corrective action(s) as needed;

• Manage and supervise the production of all deliverables and take responsibility for overall progress and use of resources and initiate corrective actions as needed;

• Liaise with external suppliers, as well as with all internal units of the UNOPS Jerusalem Office to plan and implement project activities in a timely manner;

• Delegate work packages

• Inform stakeholders and the Jerusalem Office Director of any deviations from the plan;

• Identify trends and threats to the internal business status of UNOPS and report them to the Jerusalem Office Director and the Regional Office (when necessary).

procedures:

• Comply with all organizational policies and specifically the Project Management Manual.

• Prepare/adapt all relevant plans for approval by the Project Board.

• Manage reporting obligations specified in the legal agreement(s) and in the implementation plan.

• Formulate requirements definitions for procurement processes. Approve non-purchase order payment requests and requests; Evaluate submissions received, if assigned to the evaluation team. (if possible)

• Ensure project files are maintained and lessons learned are recorded.

• Ensure the development and implementation of project financial management guidelines and monitoring mechanisms, in compliance with UNOPS rules and regulations. (if possible)

• Manage budgets, cash flow and commitments to ensure deliverables are met and payments to contractors and employees are received on time.

  • Understand and manage UNOPS overhead, allocable fees and related corporate fees as they apply to the project.

  • Understand the unique structures of the United Nations and appropriate budgeting for staff.

  • Manage expenses against budget (based on accurate financial reports).

  • When the Project Manager does not have authorization as a Compliance Officer, he or she retains these responsibilities and will monitor and direct/request others to implement related commitments and expenditures.

  • For the purposes of closing the project, submit a formal handover of the project to the Closing Manager.

  • Support project audit activities, including planning, preparation and coordination during audits and follow-up on audit observations/recommendations. Ensure compliance with the UNOPS Project Management Manual (PMM) in full compliance with relevant regulatory directives and administrative instructions;

  • Prepare/adapt the following plans for approval by the Project Board: I. Documentation of project initiation; secondly. Phase/exception plans and related product descriptions.

  • Prepare the following reports (including but not limited to):

  I. Highlight reports

  secondly. Final stage reports/stage plan

  Third. Operational shutdown checklist

  Fourth. Final project report

  v. Delivery report

  • To be fully familiar with project management practices and the “OneUNOPS Projects” system.

  • Maintain the following records: i. blue file; secondly. Procurement, HR and Finance files as required by those practices as per OD12.

  • Ensure that all expenditures comply with UNOPS financial rules and regulations (FRR).

  • Manage budgets, cash flow and commitments to ensure deliverables are met and payments to contractors and employees are received on time.

  • Understand and manage UNOPS overhead, allocable fees and related corporate fees as they apply to the project

  • Understand the unique structures of the United Nations and appropriate budgeting for staff

  • Manage expenses against budget and remain accountable (based on accurate financial reports) and ensure project delivery is according to expectations based on work planning.

  • When the Project Manager does not have authorization as a Compliance Officer, he or she retains these responsibilities and will monitor and direct/request others to implement related commitments and expenditures.

  • Ensure timely planning and implementation of project activities, ensuring that goals and objectives are achieved within the specified project time frame and available funding/budget criteria;

  • Study and/or prepare the scope of work, budgets, terms of reference, contracts and all technical requirements for project activities,

  • Analyze and review all project documents, including those of the United Nations and Member States, and ensure compliance with specifications using relevant R&D and laws and standards,

  • Supervising UNOPS project staff and contractors on all relevant implementation issues,

  • Review and approve payment certificates submitted,

  • Approval of submissions and advice on appropriate amendments

  • Follow up and report on project objectives and plans including defining the scope,

  • Preparing budget and scheduling and determining performance requirements,

  • Advising contractors on ways to maximize resource efficiency through procurement of labor, materials, and equipment in accordance with established schedules and plans.

• • Analyze and review key indicators of humanitarian and recovery assistance in Gaza including, but not limited to, statistics, economic forecasts and trends.

  • Ensure that agreements with Member States and stakeholders are properly implemented and reports are submitted on time.

• Monitoring and reporting

• Organizing and leading team meetings on a regular basis and following up on documented issues.

• Maintain accuracy, quality and documentation as defined in the responsibilities above.

• Prepare a quality management plan, conduct quality assurance and conduct quality control during all phases of the project.

• Monitor and update the project risk register, and escalate any issues and concerns to the Program Head and senior management in a timely manner.

• Providing advice on proper maintenance of equipment, compliance with all rules and adherence to occupational health and safety regulations as per UNOPS requirements.

• Develop and follow up on the monitoring plan.

• Identify and manage issues and risks in a timely manner in order to maximize benefits to stakeholders.

Stakeholder engagement:

• Serve as the focal point for all communications and interactions related to the UN 2720 Mechanism with relevant coordination bodies of Parties, donors, UN agencies, coordination bodies, NGOs and other external stakeholders, in coordination with the Jerusalem Director, Program Head and Head of Partnerships;

• Represent UNOPS and the Mechanism in relevant external donor, UN coordination, and other stakeholder meetings;

• Keeping abreast of and evaluating developments in Gaza in relation to UN Mechanism 2720 and keeping internal stakeholders involved;

• Establish a strong working relationship with key stakeholders, including beneficiaries and other project partners;

• Promptly manage communications and information flow between and across all stakeholders,

• Provide advice to the project board on issues that may affect the achievement of project deliverables;

• Coordinate and communicate with UNOPS staff, governors and other staff based on a clear organizational chart and communication plan;

• Identify and manage issues and risks so that maximum stakeholder benefit is achieved;

• Ensure donor vision as stipulated in the approved project document/legal agreement

• Preparing for project steering committee meetings, if any

• Build customer confidence in UNOPS as a partner that provides unique and valuable capabilities, by ensuring operational systems meet or exceed partner needs and provide consistent quality in delivery, showcasing UNOPS capabilities and modeling organizational standards;

• In coordination with the Partnerships team, produce monthly narrative reports for donors, and final progress/narrative and financial reports for individual donors, as stipulated in contribution agreements

Knowledge management:

• Lead and strengthen the UN Mechanism 2720 reporting team.

• Participation in relevant communities of practice;

• Actively interact with other project managers and the project management community to share case studies, lessons learned, and best practices on knowledge systems.

• Provide policy feedback and support guidance for the continuous improvement of UNOPS policies;

• Completing lessons learned according to the reporting template;

• Incorporate lessons learned from others into planning format.

Personnel management:

• Select, hire and train the team as required by the project plans;

• Lead, motivate and develop the project management team;

• Ensure behavioral expectations are set for team members;

• Ensure performance reviews are conducted in a timely manner;

• Identify outstanding employees and draw them to the attention of the center’s management;

• Ensure safety and security for all employees and compliance with UNDSS standards

Education/Experience/Language Requirements

education:

• Master’s degree in project management, business administration, international relations, law, political/development studies, or other related discipline is preferred.

• A Bachelor’s/A-Level degree in Project Management, Business Administration, International Relations, Political/Security/Development Studies/Law or other related discipline may be accepted, in lieu of an advanced university degree, with a combination of an additional two years of relevant professional experience.

• Technical/vocational diploma with an additional 4 years (14 in total) of relevant international and national experience or

• A secondary diploma with an additional 6 years (16 in total) of relevant international and national experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced degree.

• Successful candidates will be required to complete the UNOPS Project Management Foundation Course within the first year of their assignment

• A relevant combination of academic credentials and/or industry certifications and qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of university education

expertise:

• Ten years of progressive project development and management experience, with a focus on monitoring, reporting, development, stakeholder management and coordination in public or private sector organizations.

• A proven track record of professional experience with increasing managerial responsibilities is required

• Experience in complex operational environments and/or conflict/post-conflict countries is required.

• Previous experience in a humanitarian/post-conflict/development context in the Middle East region is preferred.

language
Fluency in English is required

About the organization

Together we build the future

UNOPS – the operational arm of the United Nations – supports the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world.

Our mission is to help people build better lives and help countries achieve peace and sustainable development.

We are proud of our people, embrace diversity and are committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce includes approximately 160 nationalities, represented by more than 5,000 staff from UNOPS as well as approximately 7,800 staff recruited on behalf of our partners. They are spread across 80 countries from different backgrounds and languages ​​and have different sexual identities, orientations and abilities.

We encourage women and candidates from underrepresented groups at UNOPS to apply. This includes candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.