Project Manager

Summary of functions: 

1. Project Delivery and Performance 

2. Procedures 

3. Monitoring and Reporting 

4. Stakeholder Engagement 

5. Quality Assurance 

6. Knowledge Management and Innovation 

7. Personnel Management

• Develop, complete and update implementation plan(s).
• Implement the approved plan (including the establishment of milestones) within tolerances set by the Project Board. 
• Embed sustainability dimensions including social and gender inclusion, environmental and economic aspects into project life span, as appropriate. 
• Manage the delivery of the required outputs, taking responsibility for overall progress and use of resources and initiating corrective action where necessary. 
• Ensure that quality of work packages and deliverables complies with the quality requirements defined in the Implementation Plan.
• Liaise with any external suppliers or account managers. 
• Manage acceptance and delivery of work packages. 
• Monitor project progress ensuring that work packages are being executed properly. 
• Control project and work package changes. 
• Accept goods and services delivered by suppliers. 
• Lead contract management duties including supplier performance evaluation. 
• Identify, and anticipate in a timely manner, potential risks and issues and advises mitigating measures to Senior Management/ Project Board so that maximum benefit to partner(s) and other stakeholders is achieved. 
• Identify and report to the supervisor potential business opportunities for UNOPS.

2. Procedures: 

• Comply with all UNOPS Policies and specifically the Project Management Manual. 
• Prepare/adapt all relevant plans for approval by the Project Board. 
• Manage the reporting obligations defined in the Legal Agreement(s) and in the Implementation Plan. 
• Draft the requirements definitions for procurement processes, where applicable. Approving requisitions and requests for non-purchase order payments; evaluating submissions received, if appointed to the evaluation team. 
• Ensure maintenance of the project files and lessons learned are recorded. 
• Manage budgets, cash flow and obligations to ensure that deliverables are met and payments to contractors and personnel are received on time. 
• Understand and manage UNOPS overheads, allocable charges, and related corporate charges as they apply to the project. 
• Understand the unique structures of the UN and budget appropriately for personnel. 
• Manage expenditures against the budget (based on accurate financial reports). 
• Where the Project Manager has no delegation as a committing officer, s/he retains these 
• responsibilities and will monitor and instruct/request others to carry out the relevant commitments and disbursements. 
• For project closure purposes, provide a formal handover of the project to the closure manager. 
• Support project audit activities, including planning, preparation and coordination during the audits and follow up on audit observations/recommendations.

3. Monitoring and Reporting: 

• Prepare and issue regular project narrative and/or financial reports in accordance with Partner and UNOPS requirements for reporting. 
• Regularly review project status, evaluating performance criteria (scope, cost, schedule and quality). 
• Maintain diaries and progress reports as required by the organization’s standard procedures. 
• Provide routine oversight and analysis of delivery data within the dashboard system. 
• Ensure all project team members track and regularly update milestones and targets for the duration of projects' life span.

4. Stakeholder Engagement: 

• Develop stakeholder profiles using stakeholder mapping tool and facilitate the formulation of stakeholder engagement strategies. 
• Establish solid working relationships with the Project Board (Executive, Senior Users and Senior Suppliers), clients and key stakeholders. 
• Maintain regular communication and coordination across the team and with UNICEF Zambia and Kitwe Teaching Hospital (KTH) such as monthly updates to review project progress, and quarterly planning sessions
• Enable the formulation of project communications plans. 
• Coordinate internal project communications. 
• Monitor the effectiveness of project communications. 
• Coordinate stakeholder engagement and communication, ensuring effective timing and interdependency management of communications. 
• Ensure stakeholders are aware of project activities, progress, exceptions and are in a position to accept handover outputs.

5. Quality Assurance: 

• Work with internal stakeholders to ensure projects comply with audit requirements. 
• Work with procurement, HR, and programme offices to ensure effective delivery of services to the best satisfaction of the stakeholders. 
• Coordinate quality reviews of project outputs. 
• Provide quality control for management outputs (project documents, reports, plans etc.).

6. Knowledge Management and Innovation:

• Encourage routine and effective capacity building activities are conducted in order to build the long-term and sustainable capacity of staff. 
• Actively interact with other Project Managers and the wider PM community to share case studies, lessons learned and best practices. 
• Contribute to the oversight of lessons learned procedures, ensuring that lessons learnt are shared in a timely and appropriate manner. 
• Participate in the relevant Communities of Practice. 
• Research and logging of lessons learned throughout the project life span. 
• Provide feedback to Practice Groups on policy, supporting guidance with an aim towards continuous improvement of UNOPS policies.

7. Personnel Management:

• Lead and motivate the project management team. 
• Ensure that behavioural expectations of team members are established.
• Ensure that performance reviews are conducted fairly, accurately and timely. 
• Select, recruit and train a team as required and take into account gender parity and diversity objectives. 
• Ensure safety and security for all project personnel and comply with UNDSS standards. 
• Create, foster and role model a culture of respect and zero tolerance for discrimination, abuse of authority, harrasement, sexual harrasement and sexual exploitation and abuse. 
• Ensure accountability for actions and perform duties in accordance with protection mechanisms and action plans, as expected by UNOPS policies, standards and commitments.

• Advanced University Degree in a relevant discipline (International Relations, Development Studies, Finance, Economics, Human Resources, Supply Chain, Business, Project Management, Architecture, Civil Engineering, Water Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Structural Engineering, etc.) is required.
• A combination of Bachelor’s degree with an additional 2 years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of the education requirements outlined above.