Project Coordination Officer

Background Information - UNOPS

UNOPS supports the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to serve people in need by expanding the ability of the United Nations, governments and other partners to manage projects, infrastructure and procurement in a sustainable and efficient manner.

Working in some of the world’s most challenging environments, our vision is to advance sustainable implementation practices, always satisfying or surpassing our partners’ expectations.

With over 7,000 personnel spread across 80 countries, UNOPS offers its partners the logistical, technical and management knowledge they need, wherever they need it.

A flexible structure and global reach means that we can quickly respond to our partners' needs, while offering the benefits of economies of scale.

UNOPS East Africa Hub

The UNOPS East Africa Hub is located in Nairobi and oversees the organizations operations in Somalia, South Sudan and Burundi. The Hub covers a large geographic spread, including Eritrea, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Mauritius, Seychelles and Comoros, in addition to those mentioned above. UNOPS in Kenya implements a large portfolio of projects in partnership with other UN agencies and various donors on the ground, ranging from physical infrastructure to transactional projects.
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Somalia Office**

The UNOPS Somalia Office was established in Mogadishu. At present UNOPS manages a significant portfolio of projects in Somalia through a hybrid system that combines a light country footprint and resources provided by the Nairobi based East Africa Hub.

UNOPS works with multiple partners including the Governments of Somalia, bilateral and multilateral donors, and United Nations Agencies, Funds and Programmes. In keeping with the New Deal architecture UNOPS is particularly interested in strengthening its coordination and liaison capacity with relevant Government institutions, Government led mechanisms and emerging trust fund instruments.

Current Somalia operations are largely focused on assisting partners with the implementation of physical infrastructure projects including construction and rehabilitation of rule of law infrastructure, transport infrastructure (roads, airports) and public administration infrastructure. UNOPS also plays a leading role in supporting the Somali Government and the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia in Rule of Law Programming, including through the delivery of police stipends projects.

Background Information - Job-specific
The purpose of the project is to support Somali security institutions, Government stakeholders and international community working under the general oversight of the Human Resources System (HRS) Steering Group to build and, systematically and efficiently manage an accountable and transparent human resources system that supports the security institutions stipend payments and benefits of the security forces and veterans. Under the direct operational supervision and guidance of the Project Manager and in close collaboration with other EAH personnel, the Project Coordination Officer provides project management support to the HRS Project Team and project assurance functions as delegated by the relevant Project Board and/or Project Manager as applicable, ensuring high quality, accuracy and consistency of work.

Functional Responsibilities
Project Development

• Support the Project Manager in his/her role in establishing contacts with potential partners in the region in relation to specific project/s;
• Draft project document briefs and or talking points for discussion with potential partners;
• Maintain close interaction with programme / project staff to share information and knowledge, and to provide proactive support and follow-up in building and maintaining effective partner relations

Project Formulation and Approval

• Provide substantive inputs and assist the Project Manager in the preparation / finalization of documents for approval, including i.e. MOA’s, Letters of Agreement or Exchange of Letters (EOL) with clients, project documents and detailed project budgets;
• Proactively coordinate and liaise with relevant teams on project amendments and budget revisions.

Project implementation

• Act as OiC (Officer-in-Charge) for projects in the absence of the Project Manager;
• Supporting the project planning process;
• Advise the Project Manager in ensuring UNOPS Policies and Procedures, Financial Rules and Regulations (FR&R) are adhered to for efficient project implementation and progress;
• Managing information flows and overseeing change controls, risk registers and issue management; document and feedback lessons learned and best practices;
• Management of work packages within the project as and when required;
• Supervise Project Assistant(s) within the team, to ensure work efficiency and quality at all times.

Coordination and Liaison

• Contract management of all contracts (Procurement, HR, Service Contracts etc) under the project

Operational and Logistic Support

• In consultation with the relevant stakeholders, assist in preparing amendments of Agreements and Budget revisions when applicable;
• Assist the Project Manager in monitoring all HR requirements and related activities under the project;
• Preparation of Terms of Reference (ToR) for required inputs in the projects (staff, individual and institutional consultancy services, procurement of goods and services, organization of training, seminars, etc.), with experts and/or client support as required;
• Providing induction briefings to newly recruited staff and render support to consultants in the course of their assignment;
• Supervise and review submissions for Contracts, Purchase orders, Waivers and related documents prior to final approval;
• On behalf of the project and as directed by the Project Manager, participate in periodic visits to the project sites within Somalia to review compliance with recognized procedures;
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Project Manager.

Impact of Results The Project Coordination Officer directly impacts on achievement of project results by assisting the Project Manager to adhere to project management methods and strategies, reduced risks, cut costs and improved success rates. This consequently reinforces the visibility and image of UNOPS as an effective service provider in project services and management and strengthens its competitive position as a partner of choice in sustainable development and project services.**

Core competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional competencies:

• Ability to work under extreme pressure, on occasion in a highly stressful environment (e.g. civil strife, natural hazards and humanitarian crisis);
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relations with people in a multi-cultural environment;
• Ability to manage, organize, plan and implement work assignments;
• Cope effectively with competing demands and work under pressure of frequent and non-negotiable deadlines;
• Strong analytical and problem solving skills and ability to handle a range of management and coordination issues.

Required Skills
At least 3 years in each of the following skills

• Budget Management
• Contracts Negotiation
• Procurement Administration
• Reporting
• Financial Rules and Regulations
• Client Management
• Project Management Support
• Knowledge Management
• Microsoft Office

Education

• A master’s degree in accounting, business administration, management, finance, law or related field is required;
• 2 additional years of relevant work experience in combination with a relevant bachelor’s degree may be substituted in lieu of the master’s degree;
• Secondary education with additional 6 years of relevant experience may be substituted for a degree

Experience

• At least 5 years of experience in project management support and/or financial management is required
• Experience working in a project – based environment is required;
• Experience in humanitarian emergency operating contexts, including humanitarian coordination mechanisms, donors, security, and operations management is preferred;
• Experience and demonstrated knowledge of UN rules and procedures in Procurement, Finance, HR Management and administrative rules and regulations will be an advantage;
• Working experience in Somalia will be an added advantage

Languages

• Excellent written and spoken English.
• Knowledge of Arabic, French or the local language (Somali) is an asset

Contract type, level and duration
Contract type: International Individual Contractor Agreement
Contract level: IICA 2
Contract duration: 1 year renewable subject to the availability of funds

For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link:
https://www.unops.org/english/Opportunities/job-opportunities/what-we-of...

Additional Considerations

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time (CET)
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns.
Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

HOW TO APPLY:

https://gprs.unops.org/Pages/ViewVacancy/VADetails.aspx?id=10671