UNDP Jobs - 55977- Project Manager - (Open to Citizens of Turkmenista

Project Manager - (Open to Citizens of Turkmenistan Only)

Location :

Ashgabat, TURKMENISTAN

Type of Contract :

Service Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

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

Post Level :

SB-5

Duration of Initial Contract :

1 year with possible extension

Languages Required :

English Russian

Expected Duration of Assignment :

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

From cities to remote desert, across the nation’s entire territory, water management plays a defining role in all aspects of life in Turkmenistan. Water management encompasses a wide range of natural and human-managed features, including rivers, other water sources, dams, 15 reservoirs, irrigation networks, interdistrict and interfarm canals, drainage collectors, and a far-flung complex of built structures for diverting and pumping water.

Water resources of Turkmenistan come mostly from four transboundary rivers – the Amu-Darya, the Murghab, the Tejen, and the Atrek – with volumes based on shares negotiated with other countries through which these waterways pass. The Amu-Darya, which is Central Asia’s longest river, provides about 88 percent of Turkmenistan’s water for human use. Water is distributed throughout Turkmenistan via networks of canals, extending over 42,500 km, as well as a collector-drainage network over 35,000 km. The longest among these is the Karakum Canal (known also in the country as the Karakum River), which extends over more than 1300 km across almost all of Turkmenistan’s length and nearly reaching the Caspian Sea.

Management of water resources of Turkmenistan is implemented in three administrative tiers. The Ministry of Water Economy of Turkmenistan (MWE) oversees water management across the country. The Ministry of Nature Protection (MNP) is responsible for implementing state policy in protection and rational use of natural resources, also at the national level. Both Ministries operate under the general authority granted to them by the Constitution and the national Water Codex and Land Codex, as overseen by the President and the Cabinet of Ministers.

Water management in Turkmenistan is centrally planned and implemented by the Government via MWE, largely in isolation from market dynamics. MWE owns essentially all water management infrastructure from canals to pumps, from the source all the way to the farmer or other end user. The state budget is the source for all investment funds for new and upgraded infrastructure. Water is supplied within approved limits free of charge to both agricultural and residential consumers as a benefit contributing to overall social welfare. There are therefore essentially no financial incentives for end users to conserve water within their approved quotas.

The current water management system of Turkmenistan serves its essential purpose of supplying water to end users. But Turkmen officials and scientists note deficiencies. Distribution of water is inequitable over the hydrographic network, with shortages at the ends of canals in water-stressed years. Both within watersheds and in parts of the system that interconnect among various sources, disagreements emerge about management solutions for lack of a sufficiently clear and rational legal framework. Deficiencies in the legal and policy framework also lead to gaps among various levels of government agencies and resource management water users. Greater clarification and integration are needed.

Moving billions of cubic meters of water over thousands of kilometers requires vast inputs of energy. Turkmenistan’s networks of canals and drainage collectors, as well as its wells, are served by approximately 3500 pumping stations with a total installed electric power capacity in excess of 250 MW. Most of this powered infrastructure dates back to the Soviet era and has not been replaced. Due to its sheer size, but also inefficiencies resulting from age, insufficient maintenance, and other factors water management is the second largest power-consuming sector in Turkmenistan, accounting for about 25 percent of total power consumption.

In addition, in remote areas not connected to the electric grid, especially in the Dashoguz velayat, diesel fuel is used to run approximately 1179 pumps. This equipment varies widely in water-pumping capacity and energy consumption rates, with most consuming about 14 liters of diesel fuel per hour of operation. Based on a conservative estimate of 700 hours of operation per year per pump, the project team estimates that diesel-powered water pumps in Turkmenistan collectively consume about 15 million liters of fuel per year.

There are three major ways to raise energy efficiency, reduce energy consumption, and curtail associated GHG emissions from the water management sector. The first is to reduce water losses and consumption, thereby reducing pumping volumes and pumping energy consumption throughout the system. The second is to increase the efficiency of pumps and other energy-using infrastructure. The third is to replace pumps and other infrastructure with more efficient or renewable technology. The proposed UNDP/GEF project will pursue all three of these paths.

For more detailed information about this project as well as other UNDP Turkmenistan environmental projects please visit: http://www.tm.undp.org

Project strategy

As problems of water management, energy consumption, land degradation (salinization), and agricultural productivity are all closely intertwined in Turkmenistan, so too are potential solutions. The project will address these problems through integrated activities, with a goal toward achieving multiple benefits in different areas. Thus improved water management will lead not only to greater water availability, but also to significant energy savings, avoided GHG emissions, and reduced salinization. Application of new renewable-energy solutions in water management will lead not only to avoided GHG emissions, but also to greater water availability in remote populated areas. This integrated approach will be practically applied and technically proven first at specific sites in the Akhal velayat, then replicated across the country through region-specific planning and outreach, as well as supporting policies and investment at the national level.

The project’s activities are organized into four components:

Component 1 will introduce new technologies in irrigated agriculture and pumping for energy efficiency, water conservation, and sustainable land management (SLM);
Component 2 will scale-up investment in new and expanded efficient water-management infrastructure;
Component 3 will deliver local and region-specific planning and educational outreach for IWRM and SLM among farmers and water-sector designers and managers;
Component 4 develops and supports implementation of policy reform for IWRM.

The first two components will constitute the technical foundation of the project. For agriculture and infrastructure, respectively, these components will identify, verify, and document the most promising ways to save water, increase energy efficiency, and reduce water-related root causes of land degradation in Turkmenistan. The components will generate technical and financial performance data and practical experience to be used to plan and provide necessary justification to scale-up public investment and technology deployment nationwide.

While the first two components define the technical opportunity and priorities for replication, the second two components will seek to carry actual replication out on a national scale. The third component supports replication from the bottom up via development of action plans at the regional and district levels across the country, as well as educational outreach and capacity-building among farmers and local water-management personnel. The fourth component will work from the top down, defining and implementing policies, programmes, and investment plans for integrated water management and SLM at the national level.

This project embodies the notions of integration and integrated water resource management (IWRM) in an unusually wide variety of senses. Its most narrow technical meaning applies in the project’s vertical integration of end-use irrigation needs with upstream planning and management, as well as with drainage. The project also reflects integration in a more general sense pertaining to project design, with individual investment projects integrated with strategic approaches for scale-up, and local planning integrated with national policy and investment. Most fundamentally, the project integrates various environmental and social goals of critical importance to Turkmenistan – water availability, water conservation, reduction of land degradation, agricultural productivity, and energy efficiency – with each other, and with the broader goals of sustainable national economic development and protection of the global environment.

Project Management Arrangements

The project will be implemented over a period of six years. The Ministry of Water Economy (MWE) is the government institution responsible for the implementation of the project and acts as the Executing Agency (EA). UNDP is the Implementing Agency (IA) for the project. A Project Board (PB) will be established and serves as the project’s coordination and decision-making body. The PB is responsible for ensuring that the project remains on course to deliver products of the required quality to meet the outcomes defined in the project document.

The MWE will appoint a National Project Coordinator (NPC) for the project implementation. The NPC will chair the Project Board (PB), and is responsible for providing government oversight and guidance to the project implementation.

UNDP Programme Specialist on Environment is assigned with the responsibility for the day-to-day quality assurance of the project implementation.

The day-to-day administration of the project is to be carried out by a Project Manager (PM) and Project Implementation Unit (PIU). The PM, with the support of the PIU, manages the implementation of all project activities.The PM is accountable to the MWE and the PB for the quality, timeliness and effectiveness of the activities carried out, as well as for the use of funds.

Duties and Responsibilities

Overall responsibilities

The Project Manager has the authority to run the project on a day-to-day basis on behalf of the Project Board within the constraints laid down by the Board. The Project Manager is responsible for day-to-day management and decision-making for the project. The Project Manager’s prime responsibility is to ensure that the project produces the results specified in the project document, to the required standard of quality and within the specified constraints of time and cost.

Working under the supervision of the NPC and the UNDP National Programme Specialist of Environment to whom he/she will report, and in partnership with the project staff and PIU, the PM will be responsible for leading the Project Team in the day-to-day implementation of the Project and managing Project resources effectively and efficiently so as to achieve the Project Objective and Outcomes within the set timescale and available budget.

More specifically, the PM will perform the following duties:

Overall project management:

Management and supervision of project implementation and evaluation across all components. Assurance of successful completion of the project in accordance with the stated outcomes and performance indicators summarized in the Project Results Framework;
Regular communication and coordination with the National Implementing Partner, members of the Project Board, and all other partners and interested stakeholders, with regard to all project activity. Organization of Project Board meetings at least once, or ideally twice, per year, subject to availability of members;
Regular communication with senior UNDP management with regard to all project activity. Assurance of coordination with other UNDP projects and broad strategic initiatives;
Preparation of Annual Work Plans, including monthly targets and deliverables as well as annual spending targets in accordance with the Project Document. Tracking of work outputs throughout the year in light of these Annual Work Plans;
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 fulfillment of both program targets and budget targets;
Preparation and submittal of annual Project Implementation Reviews and other required progress reports to the Project Board, UNDP, and GEF in accordance with applicable requirements, in all required languages (English, Russian, and/or Turkmen, using outside translation as needed);
Supervision of the experts working for the project, including both Project Specialists as well as international and national consultants;
Supervision of regular data collection and analysis, as well as reporting and public outreach via the mass media, events, and other means, to disseminate the results of the project and to promote energy efficiency, sustainable water management, and sustainable land management in Turkmenistan;
Oversight of the overall administration of the project office;
Regular travel within Turkmenistan to organize and monitor project activity; possible travel outside the country for participation in directly relevant international meetings;
Support of independent Midterm and Terminal Evaluations of the project.

Running a project:

Plan the detailed actions according to annual work plans of the project approved by the Project Board and monitor progress against the initial quality criteria;
Mobilize goods and services to initiative activities, including drafting TORs and work specifications;
Monitor events as determined in the Monitoring & Communication Plan, and update the plan as required;
Manage requests for the provision of financial resources by UNDP, using advance of funds, direct payments, or reimbursement;
Monitor financial resources and accounting to ensure accuracy and reliability of financial reports;
Manage and monitor the project risks as initially identified in the Project Document and Inception Report, submit new risks to the Project Board for consideration and decision on possible actions if required; update the status of these risks by maintaining the Project Risks Log;
Be responsible for managing issues and requests for change by maintaining an Issues Log;
Prepare the Project Quarterly Progress Report (progress against planned activities, update on Risks and Issues, expenditures) and submit the report to the Project Board and Project Assurance;
Prepare the Annual review Report, and submit the report to the Project Board;
Based on the review, prepare the AWP for the following year, as well as Quarterly Plans if required.

Closing a Project:

Prepare Final Project Review Reports to be submitted to the Project Board;
Identify follow-on actions and submit them for consideration to the Project Board;
Manage the transfer of project deliverables, documents, files, equipment and materials to national beneficiaries;
Prepare final CDR for signature by UNDP and the Implementing Partner.

More specifically, PM will be in charge of the following:

Project personnel management:

Assume responsibility for all professional staff directly, and for all support staff indirectly (project team and PIU); this includes all Consultants and Contractors;
Endeavour to create a strong team spirit, cohesive and mutually supportive; encourage collaboration between individuals, the sharing of experiences and the solving of problems as a group; organize regular (weekly or fortnightly) staff meetings for this purpose;
Mentor and guide project team to increase their understanding and capacities on project issues;
Assign specific duties and tasks to specific individuals according to their Job Descriptions or Terms of Reference; ensure their full understanding of what is expected through agreement on deliverables and timescales; and agree on the resources and support that will be provided by the Project;
Undertake individual performance assessments on an annual basis (or other period for Consultants/Contractors), acknowledging achievements and providing analysis and advice on problem aspects;
While giving all professional personnel the “space” to carry out their professional duties, ensure that guidance and support are available whenever needed;
Ensure that Project staff enjoy the conditions of employment as stipulated by UNDP, together with the responsibilities of their positions;
Require regular (as agreed), formal and informal reporting on progress with the achievement of assigned tasks.

Financial resources management:

Act as financial manager and retain the ultimate responsibility for financial resources for accountability purposes;
Ensure total accuracy and the highest level of transparency in the management of the Project financial resources in accordance with UNDP and national regulations and procedures;
Work with the project team and PIU to prepare all necessary financial reports to accompany Project quarterly and annual work plans and reports.

Project outreach:

Serve as the Project’s ambassador and advocate within the broader Central and Local Government systems and with local communitie;
Create and foster a good working relationship with the media (print, radio and television);
Represent and promote the Project at national and international meetings;
Contribute to the production and publication of public information material;
Establish and maintain good working relationships and cooperation with peer project managers from other related projects within Turkmenistan and the Central Asia region.

Project planning and implementation:

Lead the process of quarterly and annual planning of project activities, with the participation of all Project personnel; retain the ultimate responsibility for the finished plans and submit them to the NPC and UNDP for their concurrence;
As noted under A.6 above, professional staff should be given the “space” to carry out their assigned tasks; but be alert to needs for support and advice; require progress reporting and accountability for resources used;
In cooperation with relevant Project personnel build effective working relationships with the Project’s key partners at the local level (Local Government, village leaders, communities, locals NGOs, the private sector, etc.);
Work closely with co-funding partners to ensure that their activities/programmes are integrated and complementary with those of the EERE project.

Monitoring and adaptive management:

Lead the implementation of the Project M&E Plan;
Carry out monitoring visits to Project sites on a regular basis; survey (informally) the intended beneficiaries and other stakeholders;
Collate the results of monitoring, analyze them, and formulate proposals for adaptive management measures for consideration by the PB;
Implement the decisions and advice of the PB.

Reporting and accountability:

Provide a report to each PB meeting noting progress and achievements, acknowledging difficulties and proposing possible solutions for consideration and guidance by the PB;
Assume the lead responsibility for the preparation and content of the annual Project Implementation Review (PIR), with the full participation of relevant Project personnel;
Delegate to the PIU the task of preparation of implementation reports for UNDP (such as Atlas reports) but retain a supportive role;
Jointly with the project team and PIU, prepare quarterly and annual project plans and reports and present them to the PB;
Respond to request for reports on Project management and performance from any key stakeholders, through the NPC;
Report to the NPC and the UNDP on any aspect of Project management whenever required.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Technical expertise to appreciate project aims, ability to speak the “language” with experts;
Good analytical and planning skills; ability to set forecasts and refine/review them in the light of experience and further analysis;
Excellent inter-personal skills; good communicator at all levels from political decision-makers to grassroots communities;
Demonstrated ability to work effectively with a broad range of stakeholders;
Strong managerial skills, results-orientation, team-building and leadership skills;
Decisiveness, independence, good judgement, ability to work under pressure;
Demonstrated ability to work effectively under close supervision, as well as under minimal supervision.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

University degree in management, economics, water management, engineering, agriculture, natural resource management, or another field with direct relevance to the project.

Experience:

At least 5 years of experience in managing projects on climate change mitigation, energy efficiency, water management, and/or sustainable land management and development issues in Turkmenistan;
Close familiarity with the roles, activities, and priorities of the Government of Turkmenistan, and particularly the Ministry of Water Economy and other national partners, with regard to energy efficiency, water management, agriculture, and sustainable land management;
Basic technical understanding of water management, irrigation, sustainable land management, and energy efficiency;
Superior skills in organization and management, including past experience with planning, tracking, evaluation, and supervision of consultants and/or employees;
Strong skills in financial tracking and budget management; training/ certification in finance is an asset;
Ability to use information technology as a tool and resource;
Demonstrable skills in office computer use - word processing, spread sheets, etc.

Languages:

Fluency in Russian and English, in reading, writing, and speaking;
Fluency in Turkmen will be a strong asset.