Project Management Consultant

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CONSULTANT CONTRACT

Terms of Reference

The consultancy is initiated by:

The Project Officer consultant will act as a central focal point for getting visibility on all activities in the Next Generation ERP programme (projects, milestones, risks, deadlines including finances and other services) and keeping track of the overall progress. The consultant will be involved in setting up the programme office, institutionalizing project management processes and standards, coordinating initiatives, reporting on progress and risks, promoting effective communication, overseeing change management and transition to the new system, coordinating training and capacity building efforts, and collaborating with different teams.

IARC is reviewing the options of replacing its current system with a cloud SaaS based Best-of-Breed and vertical solution - offering a modern set of tools using standard best practice business processes and cutting-edge technology. A new standard solution with minimum customizations will allow IARC to avail of modern technology including mobile access, artificial intelligence and business process automation.

• Responsible for the on-going project management and operations of the programme office, consisting of several staff who maybe geographically located in different locations, to ensure team alignment and efficient delivery of expected outcomes in the areas of project management, service management, change management, governance, administration, budget and finance, and capacity building.
• Develop and promote the use of IARC’s Project Management methodology (from the Project Management Centre of Excellence) and its standards, templates, and tools across the whole programme. Ensure that project teams are well-versed on and adhere to the methodology.
• Collaborate with, and participate in, the coordination in the activities of the administration and scientific streams with the aim of having a consolidated view on projects, tasks, issues, timelines, and costs; identifying dependencies and critical paths, reducing duplication of efforts; coordinating progress reporting; and reviewing resource capacity issues. Develop and keep the managers/leads plans up-to-date on project performance, timelines and other indicators.
• Manage the financial performance of the programme by monitoring the workplans and their implementation rates, providing timely budget reports and forecasts, performing financial analysis, escalating financial issues and risks, and identifying mitigating options. S/he is expected to work closely with the Director of Administration and Finance (DAF) and monitor spending rate against planned activities.
• Work closely with the concerned counterparts to ensure clear, appropriate, and timely dissemination of communications of the programme progress and timelines.
• Align project risks with the overall risk management approach and develop mitigating actions for recommendation.
• Provide professional solution or consulting services to members of the programme/project in the areas of planning, estimation, execution, and monitoring of projects, as well as change management.
• Perform all other duties as required.

Qualifications required:

Essential: First level university degree in Project Management, Business Administration, Computer Science or related discipline. Practitioner certification in project management (e.g. PRINCE2, APM, AgileSCRUM, SAFE and/or PMI. etc.).

Desirable:

• An advanced university degree (Masters level or above) in Project Management, Business Administration, Computer Science or related discipline.
• Foundation certification in Portfolio, Programme, and Project Management Office (e.g. AiPMO, P3O, etc.).
• ITIL certifications.
• SAP, Workday, AWS or Microsoft Azure certifications.

Experience required:

Essential :

• A minimum of five years professional experience in managing medium to large scale programmes or projects in a matrix environment, some exposure of which must be at international level.
• A minimum of 2 years professional experience managing complex hybrid and cloud migrations projects including data migrations
• Extensive experience in leading, or being an active and contributing member of, a project management office (PMO).
• Solid experience working within a team environment across business functions and partnering with and managing external offshore/outsourced resources.
• Experience in financial management, budget and work planning related programme activities as well as working in the area of administration.
• Experience implementing tracking systems, reporting mechanisms and improvement initiatives.
• Experience with project management tools (eg. Microsoft Project, Jira, Azure DevOps etc.)

Desirable:

• Experience in leading projects following one of the most common project methodologies (e.g. Prince II, PMI, etc.)
• Experience in providing secretariat services to governance, decision-making or advisory committees.
• Experience with professional business services such as consulting.
• Experience in IARC rules and procedures.
• Experience in IARC computing environment.
• Experience working in UN or other international or multinational organizations.
• People management experience
• Very good understanding of native cloud services and cloud migrations strategies
• Good understanding of DevOps framework
• Experience in service design and operations

Competencies:

1. Teamwork
2. Producing Results
3. Moving forward in a changing environment
4. Communication
5. Respecting and promoting individual difference

Skills / knowledge:

Essential:

• • • Excellent organisation and management skills, high attention to detail.
    • Proven ability to draft technical reports and to prepare project budgets.
    • Effective communication with internal and external counterparts, and writing skills in English.
    • Excellent computer skills.
    • Ability to understand and follow scientific discussions to summarize determine action items and timelines, and communicate key information at all levels.
    • Proven ability to plan, prioritize, work with deadlines and under time pressure.
    • Strong team play with the ability to work independently without supervision; proactive attitude to identify the needs of the principal investigators and solve problems.
    • Willingness to adopt concepts or skills to support responsibilities.
    • Experience in website content development and management, including updating of the Content Management Systems

Desirable:

• Knowledge of Project Management Centre of Excellence framework and tools.
• Knowledge of basic accounting or financial controls

Language requirements:

Expert knowledge of English. Working knowledge of French is an asset.

Indicate proposed contract start and end dates.

Start date: 01/10/2022 End date: 30/09/2023

12 months, corresponds to a Full-Time Equivalent of: 100 % (100% equals 40 hours a week – 4 weeks a month)

Negotiable

IARC, Lyon, FRANCE (teleworking may be required depending on the situation)

The Consultant is expected to travel if meetings with WHO counterparts in Geneva or other locations require attendance, but none have been scheduled at this stage.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.
• A written test and/or seminar presentation may be used as a form of screening.
• Consultants are responsible for reporting to their national authorities for applicable income tax.
• In the event that your candidature is retained for an interview, you will be required to provide, in advance, a scanned copy of the degree(s)/diploma(s)/certificate(s) required for this position. IARC/WHO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed through the link: http://www.whed.net/. Some professional certificates may not appear in the WHED and will require individual review.
• Any appointment/extension of appointment is subject to IARC/WHO Staff Regulations, Staff Rules and Manual.
• Qualified caliber from IARC/WHO or other UN system organization in other duty stations are encouraged to apply.
• For information on IARC’S operations please visit: www.iarc.fr
• IARC/WHO is committed to workforce diversity.
• IARC/WHO's workforce adheres to the WHO Values Charter and is committed to put the WHO Values into practice.
• IARC/WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.
• Applications from women and from nationals of underrepresented Participating States are particularly encourage.