Project Management Support Associate – Nairobi

Kenya Multi-Country Office (KEMCO) sub-region currently consists of an established Operation Centre in Nairobi, Kenya which manages a portfolio of engagements in multiple countries in East and South Africa. These include Kenya, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Uganda, Tanzania, Eritrea and several island states. KEMC focuses on Infrastructure, Procurement, Project Management, HR and Transactional Services, and Fund Management services in those countries. Our goal is to support countries, help people in need and enable our partners through  delivering on our mandate of infrastructure, procurement and project management in the countries  East and South Africa.

Project Information:

The Project Management Support Associate will assist in the implementation of the transactional portfolio under the broad supervision and guidance of the Transactional Portfolio Manager.

Under the direct supervision of the Project Management Support Officer, the Project Management Support Associate is to support the transactional projects in the day-to-day operations of the projects.  He/she is expected to meet and exceed the organization’s performance and delivery goals, in the area of project management.  She/he must be able to apply, independently, the below duties and responsibilities of the project success criteria.

• Stakeholder Management
• Project Delivery and Performance
• Operations and Procedures
• Knowledge building and knowledge sharing

Stakeholder Management: 

• Establish positive and fruitful working relationships with all members of the Transactional Team & overall Programme Team, Beneficiaries, and Partners as appropriate, providing support and guidance on specific and general administrative and project undertakings at the appropriate level.
• Interaction with colleagues and partners and undertaking of missions, as may be required, to guide operational issues and outline UNOPS service provision.
• Fostering of partner relationships as primary focal point for assigned tasks

Project Delivery and Performance

• Support of assigned aspects of project initiation, implementation and closure in full compliance with UNOPS rules and regulations
• Monitoring of progress for all projects/services agreements under his/her responsibility, anticipating operational and budgetary issues and taking pre-emptive action.
• Review of service requests, assessment of their complexity, level of effort and UNOPS service fee levels for compliance with the UNOPS self-financing principle, and feedback before acceptance of projects for execution and/or service requests.
• Resolution of operational and process issues, referring complex issues to the supervisor to with clear recommendations for courses of action.
• Support in the provision of operational, budgetary and financial guidance to project partners. Assisting in the preparation of project budgets and revisions and other related documents.
• Support in the preparation of contracts for services, memorandum of agreement, inter-agency agreements, and grant agreements.
• Monitoring expenditures and advice to clients/partners and funding agencies on budget status including any need to reallocate resources to meet objectives.
• Support in verification of accuracy of request/transactions and completeness of  documentation
• Initiation of action and certification for approval at the higher level as may be required.
• Any other duties as assigned

Operations and Procedures

• Follow the Project Management Manual Instructions and ensure awareness of and relevant respect for organizational policy compliance (Organisational Directives and Administrative Instructions).
• Contribute to the identification and assessment of risks and issues. Implement mitigation measures in accordance with the different risk management strategies in place. Contribute to the identification and sharing of the project’s lessons learned and best practices.
• Contribute to efficient and effective use of the Transactional Portfolio and UNOPS tools for monitoring project performance, outputs, and benefits.
• Perform other duties as may be reasonably required and in line with the incumbent’s scope of services above.

• Completion Secondary education required.
• Diploma Certificate in Business Administration, Project Management, Supply Chain Management, Accounting, Procurement, Management, International Relations and or other relevant disciplines combined with four (4) years of relevant professional experience may be considered but not mandatory;
• Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Project Management, Supply Chain Management, Accounting, Procurement, Management, International Relations and or other relevant discipline combined with two (2) years of relevant professional experience may be considered but not required.