Tiered Approach

In line with the commitment to safeguard capacity and support personnel already in the Organization, a majority of UNDP UNCDF/UNV vacancies are advertised using a tiered application process whereby:

  • Tier 0: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV IP staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments, whose posts will be abolished, or contracts will be terminated or not renewed during 2026.
  • Tier 1: Other UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments
  • Tier 2: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding temporary appointments (TA), personnel on regular PSA contracts, and Expert and Specialist UN Volunteers
  • Tier 3 or no tier indicated: All other contract types from UNDP/UNCDF/UNV and other agencies, and other external candidates

Please make note of the Tier(s) indicated in the vacancy title, if any, and ensure that you satisfy the eligibility to apply.

Background

At UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), we are on a mission to end poverty, build democratic governance, rule of law, and inclusive institutions around the world. UNDP is the United Nations' global sustainable development organization working across 170 countries with 17,000 staff. 

Digital technology is one of the most fundamental drivers of changes this century. Digital not only provides new opportunities and challenges for development, but it is also fundamentally changing the context in which development is taking place. Since the launch of its first Digital Strategy in 2019, UNDP has been on an ambitious transformation journey to harness the potential of digital technology for development. The Chief Digital Officer at UNDP is leading this effort with the goal of embedding digital technology in the development projects that we implement, supporting government partners to build inclusive digital ecosystems, and transforming the organization internally to enable these changes. 

Project Background 

Building on its previous digital programming, the Ghana Country Office is advancing a comprehensive suite of digital initiatives and designing an inclusive digital transformation portfolio in alignment with the government’s digital agenda. These include:

  • A Digital Gateway for MSMEs initiative;
  • A Smart Agriculture project for Ghana, under the Italy Digital Flagship for Africa programme;
  • AI & Digital Capacity Building for Government;
  • Harnessing AI to Improve Health Outcomes in Ghana, and 
  • Strengthening Open Source and Digital Public Infrastructure for Ghana.

Looking ahead, the vision is to finalize and scale up ongoing digital initiatives, develop a robust and inclusive digital transformation portfolio, and deepen collaboration with the government, private sector, and development partners. These efforts aim to align with and support Ghana’s digital transformation agenda. UNDP Ghana is seeking an outstanding candidate as the Digital Project Manager to manage and coordinate the delivery of digital project activities within the country. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Effective planning and implementation of digital projects

  • Lead the development and revision of detailed implementation plans for selected digital projects, including product roadmaps, budgets, procurement activities, etc. in close coordination Country Office colleagues and operations teams; 
  • Oversee and coordinate project implementation to ensure high-quality outputs, timely delivery, and cost-effectiveness, in line with the project document, UNDP’s digital standards and data principles, program management procedures, and applicable government standards, rules, and regulations;
  • Collaborate with programme colleagues to manage adaptive implementation cycles for designing, building, testing, and deploying digital solutions, while integrating digital product metrics into project M&E systems;
  • Ensure the sustainability of digital solutions by leading discussions on technology choices, system architecture and integration, hosting and licensing, intellectual property, data privacy and governance, and timely capacity-building for partners;
  • Conduct technical reviews of project documents produced by the project team and partners, ensuring adherence to high technical standards;
  • Integrate a gender equality perspective and prioritize closing the digital divide in all project interventions, as permitted by the local context;
  • Oversee the proper execution of all administrative activities related to project implementation, including preparing technical requirements and Terms of Reference, completing contracting processes, recruiting consultants and experts, and managing financial arrangements and their correct authorization;
  • Play a key role in building effective partnerships, leading the identification, and onboarding of implementing partners, and driving the adoption of a digital first mindset within the extended implementation team and among stakeholder;
  • Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with implementing and development partners, government officials, businesses, NGOs, national and regional stakeholders, and beneficiaries to ensure accurate interpretation of project objectives and promote inclusive implementation;
  • Support resource mobilization efforts and collaborate with programme and partnership colleagues to develop collaboration opportunities with government, private sector, foundations, and multinational organizations; 
  • Ensure training, project workshops and other relevant activities are organized and implemented in a consultative manner, involving technical experts and stakeholders that may include the government, private sector, NGOs, donors, and/or academia.

Strategic partnerships and stakeholders management

  • Play a key role in building effective partnerships, leading the identification, and onboarding of implementing partners, and driving the adoption of a digital first mindset within the extended implementation team and among stakeholders;
  • Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with implementing and development partners, government officials, businesses, NGOs, national and regional stakeholders, and beneficiaries to ensure accurate interpretation of project objectives and promote inclusive implementation;
  • Support resource mobilization efforts and collaborate with programme and partnership colleagues to develop collaboration opportunities with government, private sector, foundations, and multinational organizations; 
  • Ensure training, project workshops and other relevant activities are organized and implemented in a consultative manner, involving technical experts and stakeholders that may include the government, private sector, NGOs, donors, and/or academia.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Risk Management

  • Provide technical guidance for developing project baselines, indicators, and detailed monitoring, evaluation, and results frameworks. Establish effective systems for data collection, verification, reporting, and information sharing;
  • Utilize KPIs to identify challenges and deviations, implementing course corrections within agreed tolerances to achieve desired outputs and outcomes. Incorporate user feedback loops and conduct ethnographic research through field visits to validate project activities and ensure alignment with stated targets. Provide regular updates to UNDP management;
  • Organize project review and evaluation meetings, ensuring follow-up on decisions, recommendations, and necessary course corrections. Lead mid-term and annual reviews of digital initiatives;
  • Monitor and manage project risks, including political, social, technology, and data-related risks. Update management on emerging risks and propose mitigation measures for action;
  • Ensure proper operational and financial closure of the project, adhering to all UNDP and donor requirements.

Reporting, Communications and Knowledge Sharing 

  • Ensure timely and high-quality reporting by preparing donor and management reports according to agreed schedules and standards. Capture results, lessons learned, and good practices in project reports for potential replication and wider application. Provide ad hoc updates to stakeholders as required;
  • Substantively contribute to project communications and visibility efforts, advocating for UNDP’s role in addressing digital development challenges in coordination with communications staff, project partners, and stakeholders;
  • Actively participate in and contribute to knowledge networks and communities of practice related to digital development and project implementation. Facilitate innovative knowledge-sharing mechanisms and develop resources and products to disseminate insights to project partners and strengthen UNDP Ghana's engagement in this area.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization

Institutional Arrangement

The Digital Project Manager will be based in Accra, Ghana and will report to the Digital Portfolio Lead under the general supervision of the Head of Inclusive Growth and Governance in the UNDP Ghana Country Office. 

Competencies

CORE

  • Achieve Results: LEVEL 2: Scale up solutions and simplifies processes, balances speed and accuracy in doing work 
  • Think Innovatively: LEVEL 2: Offer new ideas/open to new approaches, demonstrate systemic/integrated thinking 
  • Learn Continuously: LEVEL 2: Go outside comfort zone, learn from others and support their learning 
  • Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 2: Adapt processes/approaches to new situations, involve others in change process 
  • Act with Determination: LEVEL 2: Able to persevere and deal with multiple sources of pressure simultaneously 
  • Engage and Partner: LEVEL 2: Is facilitator/integrator, bring people together, build/maintain coalitions/partnerships 
  • Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 2: Facilitate conversations to bridge differences, considers in decision making  
     

People Management 

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

Cross Functional & Technical Competencies

Business Direction & Strategy: Systems 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

Digital & Innovation: Digital Inclusion    

  • Knowledge of how digital inclusion works; opportunities and challenges for governments and society

Digital & Innovation: Digital Ecosystem    

  • Knowledge of how they work, understanding of the opportunities and challenges for governments and society.

Digital & Innovation: Digital product management    

  • Ability to design and lead digital product development including testing, ongoing product iteration, product strategy and delivery.

Business Management: Project Management    

  • Ability to plan, organize, prioritize, and control resources, procedures, and protocols to achieve specific goals

Business Management: Communication    

  • Ability to communicate in a clear, concise, and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience. 
  • Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media, and other appropriate channels. 

Partnership management: 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

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • Advanced university degree (master's degree or equivalent) in Business Administration, Public Administration, Economics, Management Information Systems, Computer Science, Information Technology or related field is required, OR 
  • A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the areas mentioned above in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

  • Minimum 2 years (with master’s degree) or 4 years (with bachelor’s degree) of progressively responsible relevant experience at the national or international level in project management, digital transformation, hands-on experience in design, monitoring and evaluation of development projects with digital technology components, and/or leading and managing large scale ICT projects.

Required Skills

  • Demonstrated knowledge of sustainable development issues, development trends in the field of ICT policy, and digital in a development context, particularly within Ghana or similar developing contexts;
  • Proven knowledge of digital technologies, digital system architecture, digital public infrastructure, e-government and eCommerce principles and platforms;
  • Superb project management skills and proven experience of successfully managing complex projects from inception to completion, including project planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation;
  • Experience in working, liaising, and collaborating with UN agencies, governments, NGOs, civil society organizations, and public international organizations;
  • Proficiency in the use of computers, office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and web-based management systems. 

Desired Skills

Digital Transformation Expertise:

  • Excellent understanding of design thinking, inclusive digital transformation, and digital inclusion;
  • Proven experience in the implementation of complex digital technology solutions or projects and change management;
  • Understanding of Artificial Intelligence (AI) concepts, their application in public service delivery, associated governance frameworks, data privacy, and ethical considerations;
  • Familiarity with AgTech solutions, climate-smart agriculture practices, and digital tools for agricultural value chains is an asset;
  • Familiarity with open-source software and open data principles, and their application in government and public service delivery is an advantage.

Strategic abilities:

  • Proven ability to handle confidential and politically sensitive issues in a responsible and mature manner, coupled with exceptional problem-solving abilities; 
  • Experience in resource mobilization or partnership development with government, private sector, or development partners to support project sustainability.

Required Language

  • Fluency in English is required. 
  • Knowledge of another UN language is desirable. 

Professional Certificates

  • Project Management Certification would be an advantage.

Equal opportunity

As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination. 

UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.

Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority

UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles. 

Right to select multiple candidates

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.

Use of AI by candidates

Applicants are invited to read UNDP’s guidance for candidates on using AI responsibly in UNDP recruitment and selection

Scam alert

UNDP does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process. For further information, please see www.undp.org/scam-alert. #LI-DNI

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