Project Manager

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is the UN agency dedicated to promoting socially and environmentally sustainable urban development and adequate housing for all. Mandated by the UN General Assembly in 1978, UN-Habitat brings over four decades of expertise in addressing urban growth challenges. It plays a key role in implementing the New Urban Agenda, adopted at Habitat III in 2016, and advancing Sustainable Development Goal 11 to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.

Since 2015, UN-Habitat Syria Programme has worked closely with Syrian cities and communities to rebuild urban resilience and recover cities in Syria. UN-Habitat supports national and local authorities and communities to (1) undertake urban damage urban data and conduct urban analysis to reach a common understanding on urban recovery needs; (2) to identify neighborhood and municipal area-based recovery priorities and support government and community to co-develop recovery plans; and (3) support rehabilitation and reconstruction infrastructure and basic services, housing, urban environment, and urban cultural heritage.

UN-Habitat Syria currently has offices in Damascus, Homs, Aleppo, and Deir Ezzor. The UN-Habitat Syria programme operationalizes projects across Syria. UN-Habitat also co-leads the Housing, Land and Property (HLP) Rights Technical Working Group and coordinates the UN Joint Programme on HLP together with UNHCR, IOM, UNDP and NRC.

The Project Manager is responsible for the overall planning, implementation, monitoring, and successful delivery of assigned project(s) in accordance with United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) policies, donor requirements, and approved project objectives. The incumbent ensures operational excellence through effective project planning, resource management, risk mitigation, stakeholder coordination, and results-based management. The role requires strong leadership to oversee project execution, maintain compliance with financial, procurement, and administrative procedures, foster collaboration with government counterparts, donors, UN agencies, and implementing partners, and ensure timely delivery of quality outputs while achieving the intended development results.

Under the overall guidance of the Deputy Head of UN-Habitat Syria Programme, daily supervision of the Head of Unit. The Project Manger role should focuses on providing strategic and operational leadership throughout the project lifecycle, overseeing planning, implementation, monitoring, risk management, quality assurance, stakeholder engagement, and reporting to ensure effective, results-based delivery.

Project Planning and Delivery

• Lead the preparation, implementation, and periodic updating of detailed workplans, procurement plans, and activity schedules for all HLP projects/activities.

• Ensure project activities are delivered within agreed timelines, budgets, and quality standards, and in accordance with donor-approved logical frameworks and targets.

• Identify implementation bottlenecks and coordinate timely corrective actions in collaboration with technical and field teams.

• Facilitate regular internal coordination meetings to ensure consistent progress and early resolution of operational issues.

Inter-Agency and Internal Coordination

• Ensure strategic alignment and complementarity with UN-Habitat activities through regular engagement with the Urban Advisory Unit and other Project Managers in the office, as well as Regional Office and HQ.

Financial and Administrative Oversight

• Oversee budget planning, expenditure tracking, and financial reporting, ensuring full alignment with project workplans and donor conditions.

• Coordinate with the operations and finance teams to ensure compliance with UN-Habitat’s financial and procurement procedures.

• Support preparation and review of implementing partner agreements, subcontracts, and other financial commitments.

Strengthened Project Management Systems and Donor Compliance

• Establish and maintain robust project management systems to track delivery, outputs, expenditures, and results across all related projects and activities.

• Ensure all donor reporting (narrative and financial) is accurate, evidence-based, and submitted within agreed deadlines.

• Maintain up-to-date records, performance indicators, and monitoring frameworks in compliance with donor visibility, audit, and communication requirements.

• Coordinate input from field teams, operations, and partners to ensure consistency and quality of all donor deliverables.

• Support unit and office-wise review of and improvements to project and information management systems. 

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Quality Assurance

• Ensure systematic monitoring of project performance through results frameworks, indicators, and progress trackers.

• Coordinate field monitoring visits, verification of outputs, and preparation of monitoring reports.

• Ensure adherence to UN-Habitat’s quality assurance standards, environmental and social safeguards, and gender equality principles.

• Support project evaluations, audits, and donor reviews by ensuring timely provision of documentation and follow-up on recommendations.

Support Partner and Stakeholder Coordination

• Lead coordination with implementing partners, and others such as UN and donors.

• Support alignment of UN-Habitat’s activities with joint programme frameworks, ensuring integration with partner workplans and monitoring systems.

• Establish and lead regular communication with government counterparts at national and local level. 

Required: 

Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in project management, business administration, architecture, urban planning, engineering, public administration, development, construction management or other related field.

A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced degree.

Desired: 

Additional certification or training in project management (e.g. PRINCE2, PMP), results-based management, or M&E is an asset.

Required:  

Minimum of 7 years of progressively responsible experience in project or programme management,ideally with international organisations.

Desired:

Experience managing donor-funded programmes,preferably including work-planning, budgeting, procurement oversight, and donor reporting.

Experience in financial management, monitoring and evaluation, and maintaining compliance ideally with UN or donor regulations strongly preferred.

Familiarity with participatory urban planning, housing or similar urban recovery programming is highly desirable.

• UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. 
• UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
• Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. 
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the selection process, which may include various assessments. 
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of a wide range of nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. We strive to sustain and strengthen this diversity, fostering an inclusive working environment where all personnel are treated with respect and have equal access to opportunities.
• UNOPS evaluates all applications based on the skills, qualifications and experience outlined in the vacancy announcement. We are committed to a fair and transparent selection process and welcome diverse perspectives, including those of women, indigenous and racialized communities, individuals of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, and persons with disabilities.
• We are committed to enabling all candidates to perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require support or reasonable accommodation to complete any assessment, please inform our human resources team upon receiving your invitation.
• UNOPS has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment, and other forms of abusive conduct, including discrimination, abuse of authority, and harassment. To uphold these standards, background checks are conducted for all final candidates to help ensure that individuals with a history of such conduct are not hired. By applying for a position with UNOPS, candidates acknowledge and consent to these verification processes.
  

• 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. 
• For more details about the contract types, please click 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.