Programme Management Associate

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-Habitat, is the agency for human settlements. It is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all.  UN-Habitat office in KSA has been working in a number of projects to support the UN-Habitat mandates and to boost the implementation of the NUA and the SDGs especially goal 11 as well as support the implementation of the Saudi Vision 2030 and its different programs that corresponds with the mandate of UN-Habitat. The Saudi Arabia Office is affiliated to The Regional Office of Arab States (ROAS), which is responsible for the implementation of the UN Habitat Work Programme at Regional and at Country level for all domains of change under the UN-Habitat Strategic Plan(2020-2023). The KSA country programmes and projects are establishing a wide program to enhance UN-Habitat's capacity of delivery at the country level.

UN-Habitat has been tasked by the Quality-of-Life Program in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to provide technical and advisory services for the design, development, and promotion of a global Quality of Life Index with a universal, and a standardised method that will provide coherence and alignment for all development partners, including the UN system. The project is composed of three different phases over a period of 36 months. 

The project is composed of three outcomes as follows: 

• Enhanced technical and institutional capacity of participating countries and cities to adapt and use the Global Quality of Life Index as a decision-support system that relies on reliable, timely, and disaggregated data. 

• Enhanced understanding of local, national and global urban Quality of life trends, and challenges that hinder effective implementation of policies/actions and formulate transformative actions.

• Enhanced capacity of local and national governments and development partners to adapt, use and report on Quality-of-Life urban trends, including through the voluntary local and national review processes using the harmonised Global Urban Monitoring framework.

The Project Management Senior Associate will work under the overall guidance of the Project Senior Coordinator/Project Manager of the “Technical Support to Quality of Life Index Project” in cooperation with the Quality of Life Program in Saudi Arabia. They will be responsible for improving the implementation of the project from the project management side. 

• Contribute to building the project charter and maintaining it over the project life cycle.

• Support in planning and development of project activities and deliverables including missions of experts to Saudi Arabia.

• Support the coordination and management of projects by maintaining track of all communications, internal in-house decisions, project in house agreements, project delivery and project charter.

• Keep track of milestones and report on project progress.

• Liaise with relevant departments on the progress of the project.

• Review project goals and ensure they are achievable and on track.

• Liaise with project outcome leads (core project experts) to maintain project schedule.

• Review project implementation and gather data on project execution.

• Prepare bilingual project progress reports that should be shared with the Headquarter (HQ), Regional Office for Arab States (ROAS), and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) as well as with national counterparts (Quality of Life Program).

• Keep track of all project data and coordinate project deliverables on a bi-weekly basis in close coordination with the UN-Habitat senior project management.

• Contribute to research and analysis of information to support team members as needed.

• A first-level university degree (e.g. Bachelor) in Business Administration, Project Management or related field is required.

• An advanced university degree (e.g. Masters) may be considered as a substitute for 2 years of qualifying work experience.

• A minimum of 3 years of work experience in project management or related fields is required.

• Previous experience in project management or a similar role is an asset. 

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and Project Management software (ie. Smart Sheets) is required.

• Fluency in both English and Arabic languages are required.

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.

• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.

• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures,  languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. 

• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.

• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process.  If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

Terms and Conditions 

• 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. For more information on a retainer contract 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.