Project Manager

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Kosovo faces a complex development challenge, characterized by persistently high unemployment rates, which disproportionately affect women, youth, and non-majority communities. The private sector, especially small and medium-sized businesses, struggle to compete locally and internationally owing to a range of factors including import dependency, skill shortages, an unfavorable business environment, and limited access to funding and finance. 

Kosovo's creative industries (CIs) as a sector is one of the most promising avenues for economic growth, job creation, improved well-being and women’s empowerment. Kosovo institutions recognize the potential of CI and have highlighted it as an area with high potential both in the Smart Specialization Strategy and Kosovo’s Circular Economy Roadmap. Yet, the sector lacks a cohesive and comprehensive strategy for its development. The growth rate of the sector is higher than the overall economy, and CIs employ 5% of the workforce. Despite the growth potential, CIs encounter many challenges, such as limited technical expertise, insufficient financial support, legal obstacles, and inadequate cultural infrastructure.

The Creative Industries Kosovo project, funded by the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, aims to unleash the full potential of the creative industries as a key driver of economic growth in Kosovo. Evidence-based policies that support the development of creative industries and foster innovation based on protected intellectual rights will be promoted through the project, which will work closely with key institutions, including MIET, MCYS, and MESTI, to catalyze private sector engagement and unlock the transformative power of creativity. Young women and men in all their diversity will be empowered through formal and informal training programs, helping them develop the skills and expertise needed to thrive as future employees, entrepreneurs, or self-employed individuals in the growing sector of CIs. A stronger partnership between academia and the private sector will be established to facilitate the connection between young jobseekers, jobs, and creative entrepreneurship, providing support to private firms and promoting innovation in CIs under MIET. Opportunities to expand Kosovo's creative economy will be created by advancing research, improving access to expertise, establishing collaborative platforms, enhancing access to finance, and promoting private sector growth. By building a more dynamic and innovative creative sector in Kosovo, sustainable economic growth, new employment opportunities, and social inclusion and prosperity for all can be driven.

The project aims to contribute towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework outcome 3: “By 2025, vulnerable groups, particularly youth and women, will have increased access to decent work and will benefit from sustainable and inclusive economic development that is more resilient to the impacts of climate change, disasters, and emergencies.” This will be accomplished through a comprehensive set of interventions, including: a) supporting public institutions in creating an enabling environment for the creative industries to thrive; b) providing support to women and men in developing creative industry skills, generating employment opportunities, and facilitating green transition; c) improving access to finance for private firms operating in core and interdependent creative industries; and d) revitalizing cultural offerings and tourism at the municipal level.
 

• Management of the project, implementing activities through effective coordination of the project team and in accordance with UNDP policies and procedures
  • Prepare annual project work-plans and related sub-plans (procurement plan, others if required); 
  • Develop activities in close coordination with the key beneficiaries, UNDP team – with openness and active engagement, given the new development scope that the Project covers and the potential to scale private sector development and job creation;
  • Ensure timely and qualitative implementation of workplan activities, closely coordinating the work of the project team;
  • Continuously monitor progress against the approved work-plan, identify changes in the external environment and promptly agree necessary solutions or actions with UNDP office and Project Board;
  • Maintain positive working relations with all project stakeholders, including central authorities and agencies, municipalities, and international organizations, finance institutions and CSOs;
  • Mobilize personnel, goods and services, and training activities, including drafting terms of reference and work specifications and overseeing all contractors’ work;
  • Ensure implementation activities are in alignment with UNDP policy and programme management procedures and all project interventions integrate a gender equality perspective/gender equality mainstreaming to the extent local context allows;
  • Monitor financial resources to ensure accuracy and reliability of financial reports; ensue preparation of budget revisions as necessary; follow up with UNDP programme associate and finance staff as required.

• Monitoring of progress and risks; Reporting on progress including measures to address challenges and opportunities:
  • Monitor events as determined in the project monitoring schedule plan, and update the plan as required;
  • Periodically update the project information in the internal online Project Management module;
  • Manage and monitor the project risks initially identified and submit to the Project Board for consideration and decision on possible actions if required; update the status of these risks by maintaining the project risks log;
  • In coordination with the Programme, organize regular donor meetings and prepare corporate, donor and government reports in line with the reporting schedule and UNDP and donor requirements.
  • Prepare progress reports within required frequency and using the template recommended by the UNDP office. Submit the report to supervisor in the UNDP programme team for review and clearance, according to the agreed timetable. Share report with the project board;
  • Ensure reporting to the donor is prepared on time and meets required standards;
  • Review and prepare evaluations as defined in the project document;
  • Ensure proper operational and financial closure of the project.

• Support partnerships and advocacy activities at project level:
  • Liaise with other UNDP projects to identify strategic areas where the project can invest to accelerate the creative economy for Kosovo; 
  • Link up project activities with related and parallel activities internally and externally;
  • Keep updated with the activities of other development projects in the sector, establish contact and keep up-to date with their work;
  • Serve as an effective spokesperson internally and externally and form strong partnerships with institutional counterparts;
  • Ensure and coordinate meaningful participation of all national and international stakeholders in all phases of planning and implementation processes;
  • Support the partnerships and advocacy activities agreed by the UNDP office in the area/sector covered by the project;
  • Support with the implementation of other activities in the portfolio and office 

• Ensure implementation of knowledge management activities:
  • Regular exchange of information/experience with other projects, cross-learning and sharing results and good practices;
  • Ensure the project has the required communication package and preparation, upon request of the UNDP office, of information materials for dissemination within UNDP globally and regionally, and to external stakeholders;
  • Capture lessons learnt during project implementation through a lessons learnt log or another format which is deemed appropriate;
  • Participation in regular internal meetings;
  • Participation in training events, communities of practice, codifying and sharing knowledge, facilitation and organization of training for project staff to enable them to perform at the required level.

Institutional Arrangement

Under the direct supervision of the Inclusive Growth and Climate Resilience Portfolio Manager, the Project Manager has the overall responsibility for achieving the project results (outputs) as defined in the approved project document and annual work-plans through timely and qualitative implementation and monitoring. The Project Manager will collaborate closely with partners and contractors.

People Management 

UNDP People Management Competencies can be found in the dedicated site. 

Cross-Functional & Technical Competencies

• Project Management:   
  • Ability to plan, organize, prioritize and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals.
• Relationship management: 
  • Ability to engage with a wide range of public and private partners, build, sustain and/or strengthen working relations, trust and mutual understanding. 
• Effective Decision Making:         
  • Ability to take decisions in a timely and efficient manner in line with one’s authority, area of expertise and resources.
• System Thinking:             
  • Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system.
• 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 programme performance and results.
• Gender:                
  • Gender Mainstreaming.