Organization: UNOPS – United Nations Office for Project Services
Location: Kabul
Grade: Mid level – IICA-3, International Individual Contractors Agreement
Occupational Groups:
Project and Programme Management
Managerial positions
Closing Date: 2025-04-02
Job categories Project Management
Vacancy code VA/2025/B5101/29913
Level ICS-11
Department/office APR, AFCO, Afghanistan
Duty station Kabul, Afghanistan
Contract type International ICA
Contract level IICA-3
Duration Ongoing ICA – ‘Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance
Application period 20-Mar-2025 to 02-Apr-2025
Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement.
Functional Responsibilities
Summary of functions:
- Project Delivery and Performance
- Procedures
- Monitoring and reporting
- Stakeholder engagement
- Quality assurance
- Knowledge management and innovation
- Personnel management
1. Project Delivery and Performance
- Develop, complete and update implementation plans
- 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.
- 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
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2. 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 Agreements 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 Senior 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 or take the role of to the closure manager as per requirements
- Support project audit activities, including planning, preparation and coordination during the audits and follow up on audit observations/recommendations
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3. 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
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4. 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
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5. 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.)
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6. 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
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7. 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 a 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.
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Impact of Results
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| Senior Project Manager directly impacts on achievement of project results by adhering to project management methods and strategies, reducing risks, cutting costs and improving 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. |
Education/Experience/Language requirements
a. Education
- Advanced University Degree (Masters Degree) in Project Management, Business Management, Development Studies, Procurement/Supply Chain Management or other relevant disciplines is required.
- A Bachelor’s Degree in Project Management, Business Management, Development Studies, Procurement/Supply Chain Management in combination with an additional 2 years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of the education requirements outlined above.
b. Certification:
- Certification in Project Management (PRINCE2, MSP or equivalent) is an asset.
c. Experience:
- At least 7 years’ experience in developing and managing projects (including establishing and executing project plans, conducting monitoring and reporting, and managing risks) is required.
- A minimum of 7 years’ experience in developing countries or post-conflict environment is required.
- Experience in working with the UN or other international organizations is an asset.
- Working knowledge of project management software tools and applications is an asset;
- Experience in developing and successfully implementing stakeholder engagement plans is a distinct advantage.
- Knowledge of the UN system and familiarity with UNOPS procedures is an advantage;
Language Requirements:
- Proficiency in English is required.
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