Site Manager, Multiple positions

The Central African Republic (CAR) is a highly fragile country with a history of recurrent conflict, the most recent of which took place in 2013 between multiple armed groups. The violence that followed the 2013 crisis greatly damaged public assets and infrastructure, disrupted service delivery, and further weakened the social fabric, and exacerbated people’s poverty and vulnerability to shocks. As a result, roughly one-quarter of the population was internally displaced or had to flee as refugees to neighboring countries. Forced displacement has disrupted livelihoods, depleted the assets of the poor, and put an additional strain on service delivery in areas of displacement.

Improvements in the security situation have resulted in the voluntary return of displaced populations, primarily in the northwest and southwest of the country. It is estimated that about 15 to 20 percent of the displaced population has returned spontaneously. However, the return of the displaced to the areas of origin remains fragile and dependent on the overall security situation. The reintegration of displaced populations and provision of social safety nets is a short term priority and essential to the stabilization and economic revitalization of the country.

To this end, the World Bank is supporting the Government of CAR to implement a project to increase access to basic services, infrastructure and social safety needs by communities affected by forced displacement. Among several deliverables in this implementation phase, the project through UNOPS will be constructing/rehabilitating several infrastructure’s project; conducting several socioeconomics’ activities such as conducting the selection of most vulnerable household among the displaced population and conducting also the distribution of funds to the selected population in the following regions: Kaga-bandoro, Batafongo, Bria and Bambari.

The project adopts a multifaceted approach in support of communities affected by displacement in CAR and it entails:

1) support to enhance the delivery of local services and availability of local infrastructure to benefit communities impacted by displacement;

2) financial support to the most vulnerable households among displaced populations and local communities;

3) working with local communities and displaced populations to enhance their capacity to address the impact of displacement and promote peaceful coexistence of different groups; and

4) to enable local authorities (territorial administration and communes) to participate in planning and overseeing the execution of all activities executed under this project

Located in Kinshasa, DRC the UNOPS office in Central Africa covers the DRC, CAR, RC, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. The office has developed strong working relations with the international partners, UN agencies including UN Missions and Governments of Central Africa over the years. It provides technical support and capacity building in strategic development areas including infrastructure rehabilitation and development across health, education, public works, governance/public administration sectors; procurement, project management and sectoral advisory services; peace and security, environmental preservation and protection among others

The Site Manager will be responsible for the organization and, material and logistical management of the local IDP Office. He will ensure the day to day coordination of all activities of the project on the site by: 

•  Providing implementation support to the technical team of PACAD, contractors, consultants and NGOs involved in the activities of component 1 (social services and infrastructure), component 2 (monetary transfers) and component 3 (Community mobilization; capacity building)
•  Providing regular Information on the project activities to local authorities and beneficiary communities, NGO and consulting partners/stakeholders and local construction companies; 
• Collecting data on activities progress and elaborating analytical notes and recommendations to the Project Manager.

He/she will contribute to the objective of deliveringproject activities on time and to a high standard. He/she will be directly supervised by the Project Manager, under the overall guidance of the CAR Head of Program/Head of Office (HoO) based in Bangui.

  1. Purpose and Scope of Assignment:

The Site Manager will be responsible for the overall successful implementation of all project activities including oversight management and coordination of all project aspects in the assigned location in compliance with UNOPS policies and procedures. He/she will be the sole responsible for the control and supervision of the team assigned to his/her locality will report directly to the Project Manager.

Via coordinating and monitoring the team, he/she will be responsible on the field to achieve the project objectives:

• Ensures the smooth operation of the local project office;
• Coordinate the overall organization operation and activities in the assigned region of the project;
• Provide the overall implementation support of all field activities to the team of the project, the contractors, the consultants and ONGs in charge of project implementation activities of the three components of the project;
• Provide regular and updated information on the project activities to the partners;
• Liaise in the field between the project, local government representatives, ministries representatives, beneficiaries representatives, implementing partners/NGO and contractors;
• Collect data allowing the Project Manager to monitor and evaluate the progress of the activities in order to achieve the objectives of the project;
• Supervise the support staff of the project operating on the site.

2. Core Values and Principles:

• Understand and Respect National ownership and capacity:

Understand the principles of the Paris Declaration on aid effectiveness and mainstream them into the project plans. Seek opportunities to recruit qualified local staff.
Look for ways to build capacity of local counterparts.

• Harmonization within the UN and beyond:

Understand the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) and UNOPS; the project’s place in the UN system

Know the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and seek to contribute within the deliverables of the project

• Accountability for results and the use of resources:

The project management processes are designed to deliver maximum accountability, transparency and results. If a project or processes is not in line with this, it is the responsibility of the Site Manager to raise the issue to a supervisor

• Operational Excellence:

Contribute to innovation and the adaptation of best practice standards of sustainability and quality.

3. Monitoring and Progress Controls:

The Site manager will report directly to the UNOPS Project manager on a weekly basis

consolidating the reports from each site on project progress and expenditures:

• Coordinate the detailed technical and financial reports of all ongoing project activities in the assigned region on a weekly basis
• Coordinate the submission of evaluation report of all ongoing project activities in the assigned region including lessons learned

• Advanced University degree (Master’s or equivalent) in Project management, Construction management, Urban development or any other related field is required
• First level University degree (Bachelor’s or equivalent) in Project Management, Construction Management, urban development or any other related field in combination with two (2) additional years of relevant professional experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. 

• Certification of Prince2 (Projects in a Controlled Environment) Methodology or Project is an asset
• Management Professional PMP is a strong asset

• A minimum of two (2) years of progressively responsible experience in the field of Project infrastructure development, urban project development or in the construction management is required for candidate with masters,
• A minimum of four   (4) years of progressively responsible experience in the field of Project infrastructure development, urban project development or in the construction management is required for candidate with Bachelors,
• Strong experience as a Team Leader with previous exposure in developing countries involving high risk environments and/or conflict/post-conflict environments is an asset
• Experience in the planning and building of roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, etc. is an advantage,
• Knowledge of UN/UNOPS policies and procedures will be a definite advantage,
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office programs, MS Project and AUTOCAD is an asset

• Fluency in both written and oral French and English is required. 

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns. Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

UNOPS supports the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to serve people in need by expanding the ability of the United Nations, governments and other partners to manage projects, infrastructure and procurement in a sustainable and efficient manner.

Working in some of the world’s most challenging environments, our vision is to advance sustainable implementation practices, always satisfying or surpassing our partners’ expectations.

With over 7,000 personnel spread across 80 countries, UNOPS offers its partners the logistical, technical and management knowledge they need, wherever they need it.

A flexible structure and global reach means that we can quickly respond to our partners' needs, while offering the benefits of economies of scale.