UNDP Jobs - 54140- Re-advertisement - Project Technical Director

Re-advertisement - Project Technical Director - National Traffic and Transport Strategy Project

Location :

Kuwait, KUWAIT

Type of Contract :

Service Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

02-Jun-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

SB-5

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

Arabic English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

12 Months

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.

Background

The Government of The State of Kuwait and UNDP is keen to enhance the strategic planning function of the State in order to ensure the optimal use and best distribution of available resources to support social and economic progress thereby leading to improved economic growth and enhanced quality of life of its citizens.

The unsustainable transport system in Kuwait together with the increasing demand for movement of people and goods on the limited road network has generated negative implications such as congestion resulting into waste of time and energy, accidents confusing health and social life, economic cost, vehicle emissions, security issues, and devastating community wellbeing.

To remove bottlenecks and improve accessibility, the National Traffic and Transport System (NTTS) has been developed for the period of 2010-2020, under agreement of the UNDP, General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development (GSSCPD), and Ministry for Interior (MOI).

Key Project Outputs

The National Traffic and Transport Strategy project is part of the priority areas of the NTTS which include the needs of MOI and relevant Ministries and organisations. The project includes 3 key outputs with several sub outputs as follow:

Output 1

Establishment of a National Traffic Information System (NTIS), with Geographical Information System (GIS) functions, for gathering, analysis, reporting and dissemination of relevant data, to permit the true scale, nature and characteristics of traffic problems to be properly defined and remedial measures adopted by the relevant Government agencies.

Output 2

Establishment of a national Black Spot System (NBSS) to introduce more efficient “safety-conscious” road design and traffic management schemes and enhance road safety.

Output 3

Capacity Building and training of the national cadres of the GDT and other agencies and provide support for establishment of National Centres of Excellence in partnership with well-regarded international bodies, to provide decision-makers and practitioners with efficient capability to promote leadership in various traffic, enforcement and transport areas including:

Within this context, UNDP and MOI are seeking to recruit a full time Project Technical Director to lead the project implementation, in close collaboration with project counterparts and other institutes as appropriate. The Project Technical Director will be responsible for the overall management of the project consistently with UNDP rules and regulations.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of UNDP and MOI and in close coordination and collaboration with GSSCPD the Project Technical Director will assume the following tasks:

Planning, implementation and monitoring:

Responsible for the day-to-day implementation of the project starting with the preparation of the annual work plans and ensuring their timely implementation;
Leads the support to MOI Project team (project staff and consultants) and works closely with MOI for the implementation of the project planned activities;
Provides leadership and an overall strategic vision with a view to building national capacities, for strategic planning to support the overarching objectives of the MOI;
Builds solid relationships with key national partners supported by the project;
Ensures systematic and effective analysis, monitoring and evaluation, including the preparation and participation in Project Board and/or other related meetings;
Directly supervises project staff and provides effective leadership;
Manage and monitor the project risks initially identified, submit new risks to the project board for consideration, provide advice on mitigation strategies if required and update the status of these risks by maintaining the project risks log;
Prepare all required project reports (quarterly, annual, and other specific requested reports);
Prepare all required documentation for the project board meetings ;
Prepare for the project’s evaluation and;
Develop the project sustainability plan.

Financial and Administrative management of the project:

Prepare and implement the annual project budget and the recruitment and procurement plan;
Mobilize personnel, goods and services, training and initiate activities, including drafting terms of reference and work specifications and facilitating all contractors’ work;
Coordinate the recruitment and selection of the project consultants ;
Monitor and synergize the performance of the project’s staff and experts;
Assist the implementing partner in fulfilling the responsibilities of the project and budget monitoring, using best practices;
Monitor financial resources and accounting to ensure the accuracy and reliability of financial reports and that all financial and budgetary processes are in accordance with UNDP standards and procedures and submitting financial reports to UNDP on a quarterly basis;
Perform regular financial reporting to the project board on quarterly basis;
Prepare annual financial report;

Capacity building and Knowledge building:

Assess the capacity development needs and priorities of the MOI staff relevant to the project, with special focus on strategic planning and monitoring and evaluation functions.
Develop and support the implementation of a capacity building plan to address those needs.
Act as a recourse person for building the capacity of the designated relevant MOI team members on project management, monitoring and evaluation with effective training in line with UNDP procedures and regulations.
Facilitate knowledge sharing activities within and between MOI and other relevant counterparts.
Monitor the MOI staff capacity building plans’ development, implementation and reporting by the project’s technical experts.
Ensure the identification and synthesis of best practices and lessons learned from the project
Actively participates in UNDP knowledge networks and takes advantage of best practices and lessons learned that are available in the region and globally for the benefit of the project and the national counterparts.

Follow up, coordination:

Coordinate all tasks between UNDP and MOI.
Perform stakeholder’s analysis as required.
Coordinate and follow up with deferent departments within MOI to guarantee the synergy of all administrative processes relevant to the project.
Coordinate and follow up with local, regional, international, and other UN agencies relevant to the project’s activities.
Develop and implement a stakeholder’s communications plan.
Any other tasks/assignment relevant to subject of the consultancy.

Competencies

Ability to apply conceptual models in support of implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development programmes and projects;
Monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the stakeholders’ environment, keeps them informed of progress or setbacks in projects and meets timeline for delivery of products or services;
Proves integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards and diversity;
Identifies stakeholders’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions;
Demonstrates analytical, managerial, negotiation and leadership Skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

A minimum of Master’s degree in the field of transport planning and road and traffic engineering, road safety, or a relevant field.

Experience:

Minimum of 10 years of proven practical experience in management of similar projects, 5 of which with international organizations (UNDP and/or others);
Experience in working with government institutions preferably in the Arab region;
Proven experience in financial and human resources management;
Registration with the relevant Professional-Charted bodies, and Memberships of relevant global institutes;
Strong drafting, presentation and reporting skills through development of quality documents and reports;
Strong IT and office software use skills and the ability to lead implementation of new systems.

Language:

Written and spoken proficiency in both Arabic and English are required.