Project Management Office (PMO) - Manager

Contract

This is a IICA-2 contract. This kind of contract is known as International Individual Contractor Agreements. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's an external contract. It usually requires 5 years of experience, depending on education. More about IICA-2 contracts.

Background Information - Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

South Asia Multi Country Office (SAMCO) is located in the South Asia region which consists of the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are now lower-middle- income countries while Maldives, one of the least developed countries in the past, is a middle-income country. Economic Development is the first priority of these countries.

The South Asia region has a population of about 1.8 billion, accounting for about 14% of the global population. A big portion of the population is still living in extreme poverty. Furthemore, the South Asia Region was hit hard by covid-19. South Asia is also one of the most vulnerable regions to climate shocks. The region has intensifying heat waves, cyclones, droughts, and floods.

SAMCO brings in the rich experience and global expertise to support and strengthen the capacity of public service and public institutions via the areas of Procurement, Project Management, Infrastructure, Financial Management and HR services. SAMCOhas worked with the governments, the funding sources, UN agencies and other stakeholders on the sectors of Health, WASH, Energy, Infrastructure and emergency response and disaster risk reduction.

For 2022-2025, SAMCO will focus on the areas of health, WASH project management, climate action, infrastructure and capacity building. SAMCO will be the center of excellence of management and technical capacity. SAMCO will be a well known and recognized resource with governments, donor communities, UN agencies and key stakeholders.

Functional Responsibilities

The primary role of Project Management Office (PMO) is to provide SAMCO with the structures, tools and techniques needed to ensure that it has the right programmes and projects in place, that operational and change priorities are balanced, the governance and decision making is facilitated and it has the resources and capability to deliver them consistently well.

The functions and services of the PMO include:

• Strategic Planning/Portfolio Support: Ensuring UNOPS is focused on doing the right projects by supporting management decision-making.
• Delivery Support: Ensuring UNOPS is doing projects the right way, through the effective delivery of the programme and projects.
• Best Practices: Applying UNOPS standards in project management, encouraging consistent working practices and ensuring appropriate application.

Another primary role of PMO is to also ensure that project management policies, processes and methods are followed and practiced according to the organization standards, while acting as the overall Project Assurance capacity within the business unit on behalf of the Director and Representative (Executive). The PMO strongly contributes to moving the SAMCO toward achieving its mission-focused goals and objectives.

The Summary of Key Functions: 1. Development and planning 2. Set-up and closure 3. Monitoring and reporting 4. Stakeholder engagement 5. Quality assurance 6. Knowledge management and innovation 7. Personnel management

1. Development and planning

- In conjunction with the PMO team, provides appropriate levels of programmatic management and administrative support to the Programme Management regarding all ongoing project activities, while maintaining and implementing appropriate standards and best practices in line with UNOPS policies and procedures. - Directly contribute to strategic oversight, advice and direction on programme and project management activities in line with service agreements and project documents. - Ensure proper development, implementation and, as and when appropriate, amendments, of project budgets and staffing resources, ensuring synergies across the SAMCO. - Leads and coordinates the Development and establishes resource tracking systems for use within the PMO, complementary to UNOPS' online tools, to ensure effective planning, forecasting and tracking of delivery across the SAMCO. - Identifies, and anticipates in a timely manner, potential risks and issues and advises mitigating measures to the Head of Programme.

2. Set-up and closure

- Facilitate the development of high-level programme/project plans, including the collation of lower-level plans into programme/project-level milestones. - Develop, track and maintain dependencies. - Liaise closely and support the Head of Support Services in all project assets and finance related issues. - For project closure purposes, acts as (or nominates and supervises) a focal point between the SAMCO and donors throughout the process. - Oversee and coordinate all project closure activities, ensuring appropriate disposal of project assets, timely and effective final (operational) reporting, initiation of financial disbursements as appropriate during Defects Liability Periods, updating of information on the UNOPS Management Workspace (MWS), and effective handover of closed projects to UNOPS HQ for financial closure processes.

3. Monitoring and reporting

- Manage the regular project reports in accordance with donor guidelines for reporting. - Regularly review project status, evaluating performance criteria (scope, cost, schedule and quality). - Maintain diaries and progress reports as required by UNOPS standard procedures. - Identify and anticipate in a timely manner, potential risks and issues specific to delivery forecasts, and advises mitigating measures to the Head of Programme. - Provide routine oversight and analysis of delivery data within the dashboard system, using UNOPS ERP system as required. - Manage monitoring, evaluation and reporting systems of programme and project activities, in line with logical frameworks. - Within the context of monitoring and evaluation, ensure all projects submit and regularly update specific milestones and targets for the duration of projects' life-cycles, and track progress, or otherwise, against such information. - Provide editorial support to programmes and projects, ensuring effective and timely dissemination of reports, in line with project documentation and clients' expectations. - Provide the Head of Support Services with necessary project analysis reports and information to support areas relevant to the project management team (i.e. Locally Managed Direct Costs projections etc.). - Coordinate and oversee the implementation of requests or initiatives relevant to project management from the Regional Office, IPAS, and HQ Teams, as required.

4. Stakeholder engagement

- Develop stakeholder profiles and coordinate the formulation of stakeholder engagement strategies. - Coordinate and Enable the formulation of programme and project communications plans. - Coordinate stakeholder engagement and communication, ensuring effective timing and interdependency management of communications across programmes and projects. - Coordinate internal programme/project communications. - Monitor the effectiveness of programme/project communications.

5. Quality assurance

- Work with internal audit and finance to ensure the programme complies with UNOPS policies and procedures. - Work with procurement/purchasing staff to ensure effective interface with suppliers' quality systems. - Ensure compliance with UNOPS defined standards for programme/project management. - Coordinate quality reviews of programme/project documents and deliverables. - Provide quality control for management products (project documents, reports, etc.). - Represent the Head of Programme in supporting key stakeholders to continuously identify and improve operational processes relevant to project implementation.

6. Knowledge management and innovation

- Act as a focal point for the SAMCO maturity enhancement initiatives, using the P3M3 as a baseline. - Ensure routine and effective capacity building activities are conducted in order to build the long-term and sustainable capacity of national staff. - Participate in, and advocate PMs' participation in, relevant Communities of Practice. - Actively interact with PMs and the wider PM community to share case studies, lessons learned and best practices in the Knowledge System. - Provides feedback to Practice Leads on policy and supporting guidance working to achieve continuous improvement of UNOPS policies. - Contributes to the oversight of lessons learned procedures, ensuring that lessons learnt are shared in a timely and appropriate manner.

7. Personnel management (if managing a team)

- Exercise control of all staffing issues within the PMO team including recruitment, on-boarding and staff performance reviews. - Directly contributes to the development and maintenance of budget and resource availability tables in conjunction with project managers and relevant project staff. - Promote and support a learning culture by empowering individuals and teams to identify critical learning needs and plan/provide easy access to learning opportunities to maintain personnel competency and flexibility. - Foster a positive work environment, respectful of both men and women, and ensure that the highest standards of conduct are observed.

Competencies

Develops and implements sustainable business strategies, thinks long term and externally in order to positively shape the organization. Anticipates and perceives the impact and implications of future decisions and activities on other parts of the organization.(for levels IICA-2, IICA-3, LICA Specialist- 10, LICA Specialist-11, NOC, NOD, P3, P4 and above) Treats all individuals with respect; responds sensitively to differences and encourages others to do the same. Upholds organizational and ethical norms. Maintains high standards of trustworthiness. Role model for diversity and inclusion.

Acts as a positive role model contributing to the team spirit. Collaborates and supports the development of others. For people managers only: Acts as positive leadership role model, motivates, directs and inspires others to succeed, utilizing appropriate leadership styles. Demonstrates understanding of the impact of own role on all partners and always puts the end beneficiary first. Builds and maintains strong external relationships and is a competent partner for others (if relevant to the role). Efficiently establishes an appropriate course of action for self and/or others to accomplish a goal. Actions lead to total task accomplishment through concern for quality in all areas. Sees opportunities and takes the initiative to act on them. Understands that responsible use of resources maximizes our impact on our beneficiaries. Open to change and flexible in a fast paced environment. Effectively adapts own approach to suit changing circumstances or requirements. Reflects on experiences and modifies own behavior. Performance is consistent, even under pressure. Always pursues continuous improvements. Evaluates data and courses of action to reach logical, pragmatic decisions. Takes an unbiased, rational approach with calculated risks. Applies innovation and creativity to problem-solving. Expresses ideas or facts in a clear, concise and open manner. Communication indicates a consideration for the feelings and needs of others. Actively listens and proactively shares knowledge. Handles conflict effectively, by overcoming differences of opinion and finding common ground.

Education/Experience/Language requirements

Education: - A Master’s Degree in Project Management, Business Administration or related field (e.g. International Relations). - A combination of a Bachelor's degree with an additional 2 years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of the education requirements outlined above. - PRINCE2 Foundation Certification is required. - PRINCE2 Practitioner Certification is highly desirable. - MSP certification (Foundation and/or Practitioner) is an advantage.

Experience: - A minimum of at least 5 years of relevant and progressive professional experience, specifically in the field of Project Management with experience of successful implementation and/or oversight of programmes and projects is required. - Previous experience of working within a PMO environment is an advantage. - Detailed knowledge of UNOPS’ project management tools, UNOPS financial and procurement rules and regulations, and financial management tools is desirable. - Strong experience with data analysis, management reporting and project management tools and information management systems is desirable. - Prior UN experience is an asset.

Language Requirement: - Full working knowledge of English is essential. - Fluency in one or more additional official UN languages is an advantage.

Contract type, level and duration

Contract type: International Individual Contractor Agreement (IICA) Contract level: IICA-2 Contract duration: Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance.

Note: The position is open to both local and international candidates; however, in the event that the local national is selected, the contract will be issued as Local Individual Contractor Agreement (LICA) within the same position level as per UNOPS' policy.

For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link: https://www.unops.org/english/Opportunities/job-opportunities/what-we-offer/Pages/Individual-Contractor-Agreements.aspx

Additional Information

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce.
• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.
• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.
• This position is stationed in Colombo, Sri Lanka which is a family duty station.
• The position is open to both local and international candidates; however, in the event that the local national is selected, the contract will be issued as Local Individual Contractor Agreement (LICA) within the same position level as per UNOPS' policy.

Terms and Conditions

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post.
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. For more information on a retainer contract here.
• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.