Background

UNDP works in Croatia in five main areas: Social inclusion, Sustainable local development and regional disparities, Environmental governance and Climate change, Justice and human security, and Development cooperation and knowledge sharing on European integration. The cooperation with Croatia is covered by the Country programme document for 2007 – 2013 with a shift in emphasis from development activities within the country to the “export” of Croatia’s success stories and other forms of development assistance to other countries in Southeast Europe and beyond, including the possible creation of a regional centre of excellence devoted to European integration. In this context an important part of UNDP work is the area of Development cooperation and knowledge sharing on European integration. The actions in this portfolio have a strategic importance for the future cooperation with Croatia in a post-accession environment, when the country joins the European Union in July 2013. One of these actions is the project - Programme Development of the IMPACT - European Centre for Cross-Sector Partnership. The IMPACT activities are largely funded by the National Foundation for Civil Society Development (NFCSD), which is also the project senior executive. This project was initiated in 2011 and has been revised in 2012 to accommodate for more ambitious objectives with an aim to move from localized impact to national and international scales. and its main objective is to further develop the capacities of the IMPACT Centre so that it becomes a civil society (CSO) knowledge centre. Ultimately it is desired that the centre develops and runs by itself an innovative, cutting-edge and efficient programme directed towards strengthening the international image of Croatia in the region and beyond.
The project has a number of specific objectives, all leading to the creation of positive socio-economic effects and improvement of the capabilities of policy makers, civil society actors and business leaders to engage in meaningful partnerships for development, such as:
-offer a range of training and professional development activities for representatives of civil society, public and business sectors from Croatia and abroad, thus creating an enabling environment for the development of cross-sector and cross-border partnerships;
-facilitate cross-border exchange of expertise and regional cooperation among civil society organizations, public authorities and businesses from EU, South-East Europe, EU Neighborhood countries and countries of Euro-Mediterranean in order to create enabling legal and institutional framework for partnerships based on international best practice;
-enhance the ability of CSOs to co-operate with governments, businesses, and the media, in order to address policy issues, as well as fostering the openness of public and private sector organizations toward partnerships with CSOs;
-provide expertise in EU-related topics, sharing information on EU integration process in its various aspects, ie. project management, EU funds and assistance programmes, EU policies, EU accession negotiation process etc. based on needs of organizations in Croatia and the region;
-offer a platform for regional debates on key global development and EU integration themes.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the UNDP Deputy Resident Representative and in close cooperation with the NFCSD Director, the Project Manager will be responsible to plan, oversee and ensure that the Project is producing the right outputs, at the right time, to the right standards of quality and within the allotted budget.
 
The main tasks of the Project Manager include:
  • Represent and promote the IMPACT’s programmes at local and international levels; develop and maintain relationships with partner organizations, think tanks, donors, key government officials.
  •  Identify and support key actions to increase the visibility of the IMPACT; ensure wide dissemination and visibility of project achievements. Establish and manage mechanisms for exchange of information, experience and lessons learned at the local and national levels.
  •  Contribute to the development of a sustainable international cooperation policy of the IMPACT Centre.
  •  Design and implement the IMPACT’s training programme taking into account professional development and technical support needs, effective learning processes, trainer styles, technology and resources.
  • Oversee the work of designated trainers, consultants and experts; provide them with advice and guidance on quality assurance mechanisms, ‘packaging’ of knowledge and information in ways that best enables its adaptation.
  • Establish, document, and monitor programme metrics to measure productivity and ensure key learning objectives are met. Assess the effectiveness of learning programmes and make recommendations for improvements. 
  • Design and implement a sustainable income generation strategy; identify funding opportunities from the EU and other partners (government and private), ensure synergies, prepare project proposals and coordinate implementation of activities funded by the EC and/or other donors. 
  • Manage procurement, including contractor pre-qualification, preparation of scopes of work, proposal and quote review, leading meetings, managing document control and files maintenance, and preparation of bid packages. 
  • Financial management - analyze budgets, expenditure and cash flow forecasts, balance budgets, conduct budget revisions and implement ERP best practice, prepare financial progress reports.
  • Support UNDP and the NFCSD in strategic programming for the future actions in the area of project intervention, including providing quality advice, needs assessments, inputs into strategic plans, monitoring and evaluation.
 A flexible work approach will be required with a willingness to undertake limited national and international travel.
 

Competencies

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Required Skills and Experience

  • Post-University Degree in international development, economics or social sciences
  • At least seven years of progressively responsible experience at the national or international level in the areas of public administration or international development. 
  • Previous experience in development assistance or related work for a donor organization, governmental institutions, CSO or/and private sector is a very strong advantage. 
  • Strong analytical, drafting and communication skills. 
  • Highly developed coordination and facilitation skills and the ability to negotiate complex agenda with a broad range of national and international partners are essential. 
  • Project management knowledge and proven experience; ability to motivate and manage a team of high-level practitioners and experts. 
  • Professional expertise related to capacity building, knowledge management, corporate learning and training. 
  • Solid knowledge of and working experience in/with all three sectors (public, CSO and private) is a very strong advantage. 
  • Knowledge of the EU policies and Institutions, Instrument for Pre-accession assistance (IPA) and other EC Funding mechanisms is a very strong advantage.
  • Computer literacy is a must. 
  • Fluency in both oral and written English and Croatian is a must; knowledge of other EU working languages is advantage. 
  • Significant international exposure/professional experience is an advantage.