Project Manager

Background Information - Pakistan

The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners' peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Mandated as a central resource of the United Nations, UNOPS provides sustainable project management, procurement and infrastructure services to a wide range of governments, donors and United Nations organisations. With over 6,000 personnel spread across 80 countries, UNOPS offers its partners the logistical, technical and management knowledge they need, where they need it. By implementing around 1,000 projects for our partners at any given time, UNOPS makes significant contributions to results on the ground, often in the most challenging environments.

The Project Manager is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the project and provides services to the different donors, partners and beneficiaries. The Project Manager acts on behalf of the Project Board to manage the project on an ongoing basis during the Implementation Stage. The main responsibility of a Project Manager is to ensure that the project outputs are delivered within the specified project tolerances of time, cost, quality, scope, risk and benefits. He/she is expected to meet the organization’s performance and delivery goals.

The Project Manager has the authority to assign, as per the Project Plan, work packages to Team Managers and approve deliverables produced by them.

The Project Manager is responsible for creating the Implementation Plan, using the Project Initiation Document (PID), Legal Agreement and having a thorough understanding of the terms, conditions, and the respective roles and responsibilities of the partners/stakeholders, to ensure the project(s) outputs are capable of meeting the business cases for both UNOPS and the partner(s). The success of the project and hence of the Project Manager will be based on the defined Success Criteria.

Local Context (Pakistan):

The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) aims to make significant strides in promoting sustainable development, aiding the federal and provincial government in SDGs attainment, and establishing itself as a reliable provider of efficient services for development programming around Climate Adaptation, Basic Service Delivery and Energy Efficiency. Operational since 1999, UNOPS Pakistan (Project Office) is part of the Sri Lanka Multi-Country Office in the Asia Pacific Region.

Project Information:

This is an upcoming project which aims to enhance the operational capacity and effectiveness of law enforcement personnel in Pakistan through the construction of training facilities. ​​ The project will be managed by UNOPS in close coordination with key stakeholders such as the respective Police Departments and Donor. ​ A Project Board will be established to ensure robust internal controls and effective management of the project. ​ The project will also incorporate sustainability measures, gender mainstreaming, and adherence to quality standards. The location of the project is under discussion. The PM will be situated in Islamabad, with their team field based. They will need to conduct frequent travel including to areas of high security risk.

Summary of functions:

Project Delivery and Performance

Procedures

Monitoring and reporting

Stakeholder engagement

Quality assurance

Knowledge management and innovation

Personnel management Project Delivery and Performance

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.

Manage the production 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 packages changes

Accept goods, services or works delivered by suppliers. Lead contract management duties including supplier performance evaluation.

Act as the Employer’s Representative within the FIDIC works contracts.

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

Procedures

Comply with all organizational policy 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. 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

Ensure the development and implementation of project financial management guidelines and control mechanisms, in conformity with UNOPS rules and regulations.

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

Monitoring and reporting

Prepare and issue regular project 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

Stakeholder engagement

Develop stakeholder profiles and facilitate the formulation of stakeholder engagement strategies

Establish solid working relationships with the Project Board (Executive, Senior Users and Senior Suppliers), client and key stakeholders

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

Quality assurance

Work with internal stakeholders to ensure projects comply with audit requirements

Work with procurement/purchasing staff to ensure effective interface with suppliers' quality systems

Coordinate quality reviews of project documents and deliverables

Provide quality control for management outputs (project documents, reports, etc.)

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

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 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, harassment, sexual harassment 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 Engineering or other related topic

Relevant University Degree (bachelor’s degree / first level) with a combination of 2 additional years of relevant professional experience in Engineering or other relevant discipline, may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree

A relevant combination of academic credentials and/or industry certifications and qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the university education Certification:

PRINCE 2 foundation is highly desirable. PRINCE2 at Practitioner level or any other relevant Project Management certification is a preferred qualification.

Registration with Pakistan engineering council as Professional Engineer is highly desirable. Experience:

At least five years' progressive experience in the management of construction related projects is required.

Experience working with development actors well regarded.

Experience working in projects related to rule of law will be preferred.

Experience working across Pakistan will be preferred. Language Requirements:

Fluency in English required.

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.

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. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. 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.