Project Support Assistant, Kampala, Uganda, 11.5 Months (Ugandan National)

Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, a fair chance

Uganda is one of the over 190 countries and territories around the world where we work to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease, and discrimination place in a child’s path. Together with the Government of Uganda and partners we work towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals, the objectives of the Uganda National Development Plan, and the planned outcomes of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework.

Visit this link for more information on Uganda Country Office https://www.unicef.org/uganda/

How can you make a difference?

Background and Purpose

Two United Nations Agencies, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), have come together to build a new joint office building in Kampala.

Under the overall guidance and supervision of the Project Manager, the Project Support Assistant will work closely with the Project Manager and the Project Architect to provide administration and liaison support for the design of the new UNICEF/WFP office building. In the first 6 months the assistant will be involved in liaising amongst UNICEF, WFP & the Design company. The person will give support in every respect to the Project Manager.

Justification

From mid-June 2021 a Design company will be engaged and consultation will be underway with

staff from both UNICEF & WFP. Staff in both Agencies will explain their requirements. That is not a one-off process because there will be regular revisions by the Design Company and the need for feedback will be an on-going process. An important task will be to co-ordinate these meetings and attend many of them to report conclusions to the Project Manager. That will be delegated to the Assistant. The appointee will be the ‘go to’ person between Agency staff and the design company.

The design company needs to fully understand the Design requirements and the needs of the project with inputs from both UNICEF & WFP. As design progresses, a multitude of elements will need attention therefore additional support is needed to keep the design work moving and mitigate delays. The appointee will play an important role in this process.

Briefly put, the Project Assistant will allow a final design that best suits the requirements of UNICEF and WFP staff and promote the smooth operation of the process, reducing the ever-present risk of misunderstanding and delay. The way to reduce variations and costly delay in the future is to get the design right from its inception.

When the design is finalised, the important co-ordination will shift to seeking the necessary approvals from the Local Government Authority, the KCCA. There is always the risk of delay here and a member of the team dedicated to answering questions and assuring that the design is compliant with all regulations should reduce the risk of delay.

The next stage will be to evaluate technical submissions from construction companies. The Project Assistant will assist with this. Once a construction company is appointed comes the co-ordination of the work between The Design Team, the Construction Company and UNICEF /WFP management.

The Project Support Assistant will be a key member of a technical team of three - the Project Manager, the Project Architect and a Project Support Assistant. This team will work under the guidance of the Project Management Team Committee consisting of senior staff members from both UNICEF and WFP.

The Major Tasks

1. Coordinate the engagement with the design company, UNICEF stakeholders and WFP stakeholders
2. Gathering information from staff consultation
3. Organize, schedule and support project meetings including setup of ICT equipment, reminders, minutes
4. Work with the designer to prepare suitable input for peer review of submissions
5. Track the key project milestones for the Design Company.
6. Assist with value engineering to reduce costs
7. Assist presentations for the Project Committees
8. Assist in market research on Construction Companies
9. Assess REOI’s from construction companies
10. Assist with the analysis and evaluation of bids received from Construction Companies.
11. Assist organizing Tender Packages for the selected Construction companies
12. Assist with getting a Request for Proposal for Construction companies into the newspapers
13. Assess the quality of the construction proposal
14. Check quantities
15. Participate in visiting the officers of design companies
16. Assist with the preparation of a Technical Evaluation Report
17. Manage and maintain documentation files
18. Support the Project Architect when the Project Manager is on leave
19. Assist in preparation, maintain and disseminate reports on project progress and updates.
20. Check interim payment invoices from third parties.
21. Administrative, Financial and Clerical tasks.
22. Provide a monthly Report

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

The selected Consultant should have:

Education:

Bachelor’s Degree as a minimum. A general degree in Business, Management,

Communication, Law or a related area.

A degree in Architecture, Engineering or a related field would also be suitable but not a requirement,

Work experience:

• Minimum 3 years’ work experience

Competencies:

• Broad skills in Administration & Finance
• Knowledge of Procurement practices
• Efficient in an office environment
• Ability to deliver towards tight work deadlines through organizing and prioritizing tasks.
• Good interpersonal skills and the ability to converse at ease with the stakeholders
• Able to operate as a team player and contribute effectively to team goals
• Able to predict problems/constraints with current processes and propose feasible alternatives and devise innovative ways to solve issues which arise during a project.
• Able to effectively assist the Project manager in managing and directing the Project
• Ability to multi-task and prioritize and adjust work schedules.
• Ability to quickly identify and communicate to the Project Manager and the Project Architect any project related issues that could have an impact on the successful implementation of the project.

• Ability to lead, build and sustain effective working relationships with colleagues and third parties to achieve the effective delivery of the project.

• Demonstrates attention to detail and patience.

• Demonstrates honesty and integrity at all times.

• Ability to carry out duties assigned by the project manager.

Language:

• Fluency in English.

Application Procedure/Call for Proposals

UNICEF is committed to gender equality in its mandate and its staff. Well qualified candidates, particularly females are strongly encouraged to apply.

Letter of Interest (Cover Letter)

Qualified and experienced candidates are requested to submit a letter of interest highlighting why they are interested in the assignment, their attributes, skills and experience that make him/ her suitable for this position as a Project Support Assistant.

This is a national level consultancy and competitive market rates should apply.

Evaluation of Candidate:

The candidates Cover letter and CV will be assessed according to set criteria. Interviews may follow from a desk review of the CV’s

Amongst the things we will assess are

1. Writing Skills

Able to write minutes of meetings concisely and clearly

Able to organise and write reports. Systematic, well ordered and coherent

Prepare an agenda and circulate information by email

2. Interpersonal skills

Able to explain and present a position clearly and confidently to others.

Good communication skills. Able to summarise.

Able to chair small group meetings

3. Analytical skills

Able to identify salient issues and to address them

4. Budget and finance

Able to understand spreadsheets, budgets and present this information as required.

Please note that the remuneration will be negotiated

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

The competencies required for this post are….

View our competency framework at

http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.