International Opportunity Project manager / Governance Job at UNDP

Deadline : 02 February 2024

Duty Station/ Location : Djibouti, Djibouti

Brief Background about the Position

In its “Vision 2035,” the government aspires to solidify the country’s position as a major commercial and logistics hub of the continent, with economic growth, human capital development, good governance, regional integration, and peace as its primary priorities. In this context, the establishment of a transparent, responsible, and reliable governance system, as well as the strengthening of institutions, are seen as essential factors to contribute to the socio-economic development that Djibouti aims for, by restoring trust in institutions and unleashing the potential of the private sector for human capital development.

Djibouti is ranked 39th out of 54 countries according to the Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) in 2021 and is among the countries that have shown overall improvement over the past decade. Djibouti is also the country that has ratified the most fundamental human rights conventions in the Arab region. Significant progress has also been made in decentralization with the establishment of a ministry responsible for decentralization in 2016 with increasing responsibilities. Despite these advancements, Djibouti’s overall governance system is hindered by a lack of effective implementation, limited capacity, and weak public accountability.

The strengthening of governance is one of the main strategic priorities of Djibouti’s new National Development Plan for the period 2020-2024, through which the government of Djibouti commits to enhancing political, judicial, financial, and administrative governance, as well as consolidating institutional capacities. Consequently, the UNDP’s national office in Djibouti has significantly increased its support to the government of Djibouti in governance reform and is allocated more resources through its governance program in the areas of rule of law, justice, financial governance, decentralization, and public accountability.

In this regard, the UNDP’s national office in Djibouti is seeking to recruit a Project Manager to provide substantial support for the successful implementation of the strategy and activities of its governance program.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct guidance and supervision of the Governance Program Specialist, the Project Manager contributes to the implementation and development of the UNDP’s governance program strategy and activities through projects under their responsibility. The sectoral areas primarily include but are not limited to: support for public accountability and transparency, local governance and decentralization, rule of law, justice reform, corruption prevention, financial governance, peace consolidation, civic and democratic participation, and gender equality. The Project Manager will be responsible for:

1.Ensure effective project management for projects under their responsibility within the governance program, with a focus on achieving the following results :

• Substantive and financial project monitoring, identification of operational and financial issues, and development of solutions.
• Successful preparation and implementation of project activities.
• Coordination of project activities and enhancement of synergies for better knowledge and resource optimization.
• Fruitful collaboration and establishment of strong working relationships with national authorities, NGOs, civil society organizations, UN agencies, donors, and other relevant partners.
• Establishment and regular monitoring of an effective monitoring and evaluation system based on the project’s results frameworks.
• Drafting activity, product, and result reports for donors and headquarters.
• Quality control of technical documents developed within the projects.

2.Contribute to the effective management of the country program in assigned sectoral areas, with a focus on achieving the following results :

 Formulation of robust project proposals in support of the governance program.

• Contribution to the establishment of strategic partnerships and the implementation of the resource mobilization strategy.
• Contribution to the development of comprehensive annual/periodic reports on program activities, results, impacts, and priorities.
• Effective application of results-based management tools.
• Contribution to in-depth analysis and research of the country’s political, social, legal, and economic situation and the preparation of substantial inputs for the Common Country Assessment (CCA), United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF), Country Program Document (CPD), and other documents.

3.Contribute to the facilitation of knowledge development and management, focusing on achieving the following results :

•  Effective contribution to knowledge networks and communities of practice in the assigned sectoral areas.
• Identification of information sources related to best practices and lessons learned, directly linked to the objectives of the country program.

The holder performs other tasks within their functional profile that are deemed necessary for the smooth operation of the Office and the Organization.

Institutional arrangements

The Project Manager will work under the direct supervision of the Governance Program Specialist (NOC) and will be based 100% at UNDP in Djibouti.

Required Qualifications, Skills and Experiences

Education:

Advanced University Degree: (Master’s degree or equivalent) in international relations, law, human rights, public policy management, social sciences, development cooperation, or a relevant discipline. A first level university degree (Bachelor’s degree) with additional two additional years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of Master’s degree.  

Experience

A minimum of 5 years (with Master’s degree or equivalent) or 7 years (with Bachelor’s degree) of professional work experience in project management in the field of governance, including anti-corruption efforts, local governance, SDG financing, rule of law, human rights, justice, and conflict prevention is required

Education:

Required Skills

Experience as a project manager in the field of governance

Required Languages   

Proficiency in written and spoken French is required. 

Desired  Languages

Proficiency in written and spoken English is an asset. 
 

Professional Certifications   

Possession of PMP and/or PRINCE2 certifications or equivalent would be an advantage.