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Project Manager

Cairo

  • Organization: UNDP - United Nations Development Programme
  • Location: Cairo
  • Grade: Consultancy - International Consultant - Internationally recruited Contractors Agreement
  • Occupational Groups:
    • Governance and Peacebuilding
    • Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction
    • Project and Programme Management
    • Managerial positions
  • Closing Date: Closed

Background

Over the last decades, the Arab region has been witnessing threats for human security facing Arab peoples that are multidimensional and interdependent, with compound effects. They originate in a diverse array of sources, ranging from armed conflicts, violent extremism, and deficits in governance, marginalization and discrimination to the environment and natural world. And they can be aggravated by universal phenomena, such as globalization, which has increased the cross-border transmission of risk factors affecting development and security.

Since the volatility in the region is expected to continue, UNDP would like to respond with an integrated approach to realize more innovative solutions to foster people’s knowledge, capacities, and capabilities to support resilient institutions that have the ability to anticipate and respond to shocks related to such volatility.

The Project “Fostering capacities in the Arab States for sustaining peace and preventing conflict” aims to contribute to the efforts of achieving peace and stability in the Arab states region through supporting The League of Arab States (LAS) by applying a comprehensive approach that enables the organization to strengthen its internal capacity to help its member states formulate regional responses to the challenges of human security that they are facing.

LAS established in March 1945 is a regional organization of twenty-two-member states, working in a wide range of issue areas from coordination of policy positions to economic integration to measures supporting literacy and the Arabic language and cultural heritage.

UNDP’s intervention is expected to contribute to the enhancement of LAS’ role in initiating and facilitating the thinking of new modalities for cooperation among its member states through strengthening the knowledge, capacities, frameworks and mechanisms of the League of Arab States (LAS) and its Member States, as well as other regional actors.  A key result of this intervention is to deepen and enrich the Japan – Arab Political Dialogue, especially on issues pertaining to achieving peace, stability and accelerate economic growth which is a common high priority among LAS, the Government of Japan and the UN.  

Within this framework, the project will work towards two specific objectives:

  1. Support LAS and its member states in planning its responses to urgent challenges of human security including environmental threats, natural disasters and impacts of global economic and financial crises, and in enhancing their capacities to adopt a development approach with a particular focus on women and youth.
  2. Establish a solid platform for Arab-Japanese cooperation through organizing a series of workshops and roundtables that provide a space for exchange of views and ideas about areas of common interest, which would culminate in a high-level meeting for senior officials.   

Duties and Responsibilities

The scope of work of this project is to support LAS through a comprehensive approach that enables the organization to strengthen its internal capacity to help its member states formulate regional responses to the challenges of human security that they are facing.  To achieve the above, UNDP will work with LAS, in coordination with the Government of Japan, to enhance its capacities by designing activities in the link to a lead-up to the Second Japan-Arab Political Dialogue.  

The project also aims to support and inform the process that will lead to the Second Japan-Arab Political Dialogue and enable capacity development for LAS to contribute to promoting human security in the Arab region. 

Project Manager based in Cairo will be will be responsible for day-to-day implementation of the project and will be hosted by LAS Secretary General’s Office.  Under the supervision of the Project Coordination based at UNDP RBAS HQ in New York, s/he will closely coordinate with LAS SG’s Office and other relevant departments in LAS, LAS member states, UNDP Regional Programme, the Embassy of Japan in Cairo and other relevant parties as necessary, and implement the relevant part of procurement, roundtable organization,  reporting & financial management, and other aspects of the Project in an efficient, effective, and timely manner. 

The three main outputs and related deliverables of this project are:

Output 1: Strengthen the League of Arab States institutional capacity and enhance the staff’s relevant technical knowledge and skills:

The project aims to provide support to LAS Secretary General (SG)’s Executive Office by upgrading and enhancing its internal operations, including the provision of a digital strategy. This will help in strengthening the institutional capacity of LAS and enhance the relevant technical knowledge and skills of LAS staff. A specific implementation plan of this activity will be developed with LAS as part of the project activities.

Output 2: Establish a platform for dialogue between LAS, its member states as well as the Government of Japan:

Such an engagement will start by organizing two dialogues, one in Cairo in the first half and one in Japan in the second half of 2019 (or the beginning of 2020) to explore the areas of common interest in preparation for and follow up on the Japan-Arab Political Dialogue. This process will enable the prioritization of areas of common interest that is guided by the imperatives of ensuring human security. To achieve this, it would be required to work in with a Think Tank in Japan preferably with knowledge about the Middle East.

Output 3: Support the preparation of the Japan-Arab Political Dialogue scheduled in September 2019:

The Japan-Arab Political Dialogue to be held in September 2019 would be an important opportunity to launch a new partnership to achieve peace and prosperity in the Arab region. The project will support the Dialogue through organizing a side event on a relevant theme and produce a follow-up document containing recommendations for the roundtable in Tokyo/its vicinity.

Competencies

  1. Key Competencies:
  • Corporate
  • Demonstrates integrity and fairness, by modeling the UN/UNDP’s values and ethical standards;
  • Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UNDP;
  • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.
  • Functional

Promoting Organizational Learning and Knowledge Sharing

  • Researches best practices and poses new, more effective ways of doing things;
  • Strong analytical, negotiation and communication skills, including ability to produce high quality reports and knowledge products;

Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise

  • Understands the main processes and methods of work regarding to the position;
  • Possesses basic knowledge of organizational policies and procedures relating to the position and applies them consistently in work tasks;
  • Demonstrates good knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments;

Promoting Organizational Change and Development

  • Demonstrates ability to identify problems and proposes solutions;

Design and Implementation of Management Systems

  • Uses information/databases/other management systems;

Client Orientation

  • Reports to internal and external clients in a timely and appropriate fashion;
  • Organizes and prioritizes work schedule to meet client needs and deadlines;
  • Responds to client needs promptly;

Promoting Accountability and Results-Based Management

  • Gathers and disseminates information on best practice in accountability and results-based management systems;
  • Knowledge Management and Learning
  • Ability to strongly promote and build knowledge products;
  • Promotes knowledge management in UNDP and a learning environment in the office through leadership and personal example;
  • Seeks and applies knowledge, information and best practices from within and outside of UNDP;
  • Demonstrates a strong capacity for innovation and creativity in providing strategic policy advice and direction.

Required Skills and Experience

INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENT

  • The individual is required to exhibit his/her part-time commitment to the Project Board comprised of UNDP Regional Director for Arab States, LAS Secretary-General’s Office, and the Government of Japan (represented by the Embassy of Japan in Cairo).
  • S/he shall perform tasks under the general guidance and direct supervision of the Project Manager based at UNDP RBAS HQ in New York. The supervision will include approvals/acceptance of the outputs as identified in previous sections;
  • The individual is expected to liaise and collaborate in the course of performing the work with other consultants, stakeholders and UN colleagues;
  • The individual is required to maintain close communication with the Project Coordinator based at UNDP-RBAS HQ as well as the Regional Programme in Beirut on regular and needed basis at any period throughout the assignment in order to monitor progress. In the event of any delay, s/he will inform UNDP promptly so that decisions and remedial action may be taken accordingly. Delays that would affect the flow of the collaborative work and the delivery of outputs on schedule will lead to termination of contract; and
  • Should UNDP deem it necessary, it reserves the right to commission additional inputs, reviews or revisions, as needed to ensure the quality and relevance of the work.

DURATION OF THE WORK

The contractor will be expected to start 15 July 2019 and end his/her assignment at the end of the project (expected to be on 31 March 2020) with an estimate of 95 working days.

DUTY STATION

The Project Manager will be hosted by the League of Arab States Secretary General’s Office in Cairo.

TRAVEL PLAN

In the event that any travel is determined to be necessary, UNDP and the individual contractor should agree on the manner in which travel costs, including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses.  Approved unforeseen travel template shall submitted before travel take place.  In such cases, UNDP will cover travel costs in accordance with corporate regulations and rules and policy. 

QUALIFICATIONS OF THE SUCCESSFUL INDIVIDUAL CONTRACTOR

  1. Academic Qualification: 

Bachelor’s Degree in international development, political science, or any relevant field related to UN development work.  Master’s degree is an asset.

  1. Years of Experience:

     Minimum 7 years of experience in the field of government relations and project coordination/management.

  1. Language Requirements:

     Fluency in both written and spoken Arabic and English is required.   

  1. Technical Expertise
  • 5 years of experience in working/partnering with the league of Arab States and its member states
  • Experience in working/partnering with International organizations
  • Political maturity to coordinate inter-governmental and/or inter organizational cooperation
  • Experiences in working on advocacy campaign, media relations, and donor visibility work.
  • Demonstrated experience working on developmental topics within the Arab Region

Advocacy, communications and visibility

  • Experiences in working on advocacy campaign, media relations, and donor visibility work.

Overall project coordination 

  • Knowledge of UN procurement activities, rules, regulations, policies and strategies including elaboration of the effective internal control, proper design and functioning of a client-oriented PSM system and Quality Assurance requirements;
  • Management of project implementation, assurance of successful completion of the project with the stated outcomes and performance indicators summarized in the Project Results Framework;
  • Regular communication and coordination with the implementing partners, and all other partners and interested stakeholders, with regard to the project activities;
  • Tracking of work outputs throughout the year in light of the Project Annual Work Plan;
  • Tracking and managing of Project spending in accordance with the project budget, as well as UNDP rules and procedures, to ensure transparency, responsibility, and timely fulfilment of both program targets and budget targets;

DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE PROPOSALS

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Candidates that fail to submit the required information will not be considered.

  1. Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP;
  2. Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references;
  3. Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive Deliverables/Outputs based total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided for 95 working days over period of 9 months. The terms “all-inclusive” implies that all costs of professional fees, and any other cost that could possibly be incurred are already factored into the final amounts submitted in the proposal. If there is any travel during the contract period, it will be covered by unforeseen travel. If an Offeror is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the Offeror must indicate at this point, and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP.

Please do not submit financial proposal in this stage.  Financial proposal shall be requested from Candidates who are considered technically responsive only.

Interested candidates shall submit above documents to the Job Advertisement Website: https://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_jobs.cfm  as one document not later than 22nd June 2019.

Interested candidates can find Procurement notice, letter of confirmation of interest and availability and P11 http://procurement-notices.undp.org/

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF THE BEST OFFERS

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodologies:

Step I: Screening and desk review:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology.

Applications will be first screened and only candidates meeting the following minimum criteria will progress to the pool for shortlisting:

  • Bachelor’s Degree in international development, political science, or any relevant field.
  • Minimum 7 years of experience in the field of government relations and project coordination/management.
  • Fluency in both written and spoken English and Arabic is required.

Shortlisted Candidates will be then assessed and scored against the following evaluation criteria.

Technical evaluation Criteria max 100 points (Weighted 70):

  • 7 years of experience in management, supervision project implementation and working/partnering with the Government (30%)
  • 5 years of experience in working/partnering with the league of Arab States and its member states(20%)
  • Political maturity to coordinate inter-governmental and/or inter organizational cooperation (20%)
  • Experiences in working on advocacy campaign, media relations, and donor visibility work (10%).
  • Demonstrated experience working on developmental topics within the Arab Region (20)

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation

For those offers considered in the financial evaluation, the lowest price offer will receive 30 points.                  The other offers will receive points in relation to the lowest offer, based on the following formula:                   (PI / Pn)* 30 where Pn is the financial offer being evaluated and Pl is the lowest financial offer received.

Step II: Final evaluation

The final evaluation will combine the scores of the desk review and the financial proposal with the following weights assigned to each:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the cumulative analysis methodology (weighted scoring method), where the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

  • Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
  • Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Technical Criteria weight: [70%]

Financial Criteria weight: [30%]

Only Individual Consultants obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70%) on the Technical evaluation would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.
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