Background

The UNDP office in Skopje, through its Governance Unit, has been accompanying the improvement of the governance structures for a longer period of time, mainly through support to activities related to the decentralization process and ensuring sustainable local development. Within that framework, the Unit works on several dimensions, such as local development, fiscal decentralization, transparency and accountability, inter-municipal cooperation and public-private partnerships and on other service delivery tools, as well as developing policy products related to issues of good governance. Most recent interventions have been focused on promoting effectiveness of decentralization policies and more inclusive local development planning and programming in supporting the regional development and decentralization agenda of the Ministry of Local Self-Government (MLSG).

Among the recent major policy initiative is the “Supporting consolidation of the local self-government system in its capacities to ensure inclusive governance and growth” project that focuses on a set of measures that derive from the Programmatic Documents as a direct responsibility of the Ministry of Local Self-Government (MLSG) and the Ministry of Finance (MoF). Main activities revolve around three components - consolidation and effective implementation of transferred competencies and resources, facilitation of transfer and successful execution of additional competencies and resources, aimed at ensuring smart, comprehensive and sustainable local development and continuation of fiscal decentralization. In that context, the main objective of the project is to enable the MLSG as a coordinator and a monitoring authority of the issues related to decentralization and local governance to further increase effectiveness of the decentralization policies, to provide more inclusive local development planning and programming, more equitable local service delivery and more accountable public finance management and control and to improve the capacities of municipalities to obtain alternative sources of finances and attract investments. At the same time, MoF will carry out activities to secure the revenues needed for priority public investments through interventions in the fiscal decentralization policy in order to further upgrade the capacities of local institutions.

The project described above is a complex exercise of institutional development with strong soft elements, based on the ever evolving decentralization process and guided by the Programme for Sustainable Local Development and Decentralization for 2015-2020 and other related policies. The implementation of project activities requires strong dialogue with various central and local level institutions and their integration within the larger programmatic structure of UNDP democratic governance unit. Therefore, the project implementation requires support that combines management skills and knowledge of good governance issues.

To support the effective implementation of this project the UNDP intends to hire a Project Manager that will cover management of implementation of assigned project activities within the framework of the „Supporting consolidation of the local self-government system in its capacities to ensure inclusive governance and growth” project. The incumbent will work under the supervision of the Head of Democratic Governance and in close coordination, guidance and oversight provided by the Democratic Governance Programme Analyst, and will be responsible for the management and implementation of the assigned project (including substantive, administrative and financial aspects of the project management) and provision of substantive project inputs specifically linked with the decentralization and local development agenda.

The incumbent will ensure that the assigned project and project activities are efficiently managed to fulfil their outcomes and objectives as set out in the relevant project documents, and in accordance with the UNDP standards and best practices. The incumbent will ensure coordination and synergy of the ongoing project’s activities with the overall objectives of the decentralization reform and sustainable local development principles, as well as other relevant projects within the Governance Unit and relevant initiatives in other units in UNDP. In this context, the incumbent is expected to supervise other project personnel and coordinate the activities of the counterparts to ensure coherence and complementarity. The incumbent will work in close collaboration with the UNDP programme and operations team, government officials, project teams, technical advisors and experts, multi-lateral and bilateral donors, civil society and private sector to provide quality and timely completion of project activities along relevant local government issues and initiatives. Furthermore, it is expected the incumbent to have reasonable knowledge of capacity development, service provision, accountability and transparency on a local level, sustainable growth and local/regional development, citizen’s participation, regional development policies and similar.

Duties and Responsibilities

The incumbent’s duties are outlined below and will be fulfilled in line with the prevailing UNDP rules and procedures as well as with due compliance with the UNDP internal control framework.

Summary of Key Functions:

1. Ensuring effective project management of the assigned project by maintaining the delivery of appropriate technical, operational, financial and administrative outputs, while tracking the project progress by monitoring, evaluation and reporting;

2. Maintaining collaborative working relationships among key project partners and donors, through effective communication, consultation and reporting;

3. Ensuring gender and vulnerability mainstreaming within the projects.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Ensuring effective project management of the assigned project by maintaining the delivery of appropriate technical, operational, financial and administrative outputs, while tracking the project’s progress by monitoring, evaluation and reporting

•  Managing and coordinating the implementation of the respective activities based on the relevant project documents, including, as needed, supervision and guidance of other project staff, consultants and experts with a view to achieving project results;
•  Developing comprehensive/detailed project work-plans that include all project activities and roles and responsibilities of the stakeholders and setting-out corresponding milestones;
•  Monitoring the progress of implementation of project activities and key event schedules observing the work-plans and set deadlines including monitoring of the financial resources and accounting to ensure accuracy and reliability of financial reports;
•  Mobilizing goods and services to support project activities, including drafting TORs and works/product requirements and specifications;
•  Managing and monitoring project risks initially identified, submitting information on the new risks and possible mitigating measures to the Project Board for consideration and updating the status of these risks by maintaining a Project Risk Log;
•  Assume responsibilities in line with the office Internal Control Framework and act as a `first authority` for Project transactions;
•  Ensuring adherence of project activities to the existing financial, procurement and administrative processes that are in line with prevailing UNDP rules and regulations and, at the same time, observing the project timelines;
•  Preparing project progress reports (progress against planned activities, update on risks issues, expenditures…) and ensuring timely submission of the reports to the relevant instances, such as the project boards and relevant donors;
•  Managing project tracking in ATLAS in accordance with UNDP procedures;
•  Managing the transfer of project deliverables to national beneficiaries and other project stakeholders.

2. Maintaining collaborative working relationships among key project partners and projects’ donors, through effective communication, consultation and reporting

•  Maintaining strong relationships with the implementing partners, the Ministry of Local Self-Government, Ministry of Finance, municipalities, and other relevant partners and donors;
•  Maintaining regular coordination and quality assurance of expert inputs and products as well as among project partners to ensure coherence and complementarity of project activities;
•  Identifying opportunities for deepening the cooperation and recommending adequate approaches to dealing with different stakeholders based on information on all relevant stakeholders gathered during projects’ implementation;
•  Maintaining regular communication on relevant project issues with the local and international counterparties, consultants and experts and ensuring quality and timely delivery of all agreed outputs;
•  Maintaining effective linkages with current and potential donors;
•  Submitting reports to UNDP, partners and donors in a quality and timely manner.

3. Ensuring gender and vulnerability mainstreaming within the project

•  Ensuring that gender is effectively mainstreamed throughout the activities of the projects, work plans, budgets, reports, researches and, where specifically relevant, analyzed in detail;
•  Ensuring that gender equality and needs of vulnerable groups are mainstreamed throughout team, consultant and staff management activities.

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS FOR EVALUATION OF RESULTS:

•  Project activities executed in line with UNDP corporate principles
•  Project staff/ team(s) effectively and efficiently guided and backstopped, as needed
•  Enabling legal and policy environment improved
•  Implementation of the transferred competencies and resources is consolidated and effectively carried out
•  Additional competencies and resources, aimed at ensuring smart, comprehensive and sustainable local development are successfully transferred 
•  Links with other relevant projects/initiatives established and joint objectives effectuated
•  Delivered funds in accordance to the planned Annual Work Plans 
•  Timely and qualitative reporting in line with the programme needs and Country Office/national partners’ requirements

Competencies

Core Competencies:

Leadership - ability to persuade others to follow

•  Inclusive in decision making
•  Seeks and recognizes individual contributions;
•  Encourages dialogue and acts in accordance with team inputs
•  Anticipates and resolves conflict
•  Embraces differing opinions seeing them as opportunities for improvement
•  Gives credit to others
•  Determines appropriate resources, methods, partners, information and solutions

Job knowledge and Technical Expertise:

•  Has sound knowledge of project management tools and utilizes these regularly in work and assignments.
•  Has strong knowledge of project area and keeps abreast with new developments in areas of professional discipline and seeks to develop herself/himself professionally;
•  Has proven track record of thematic knowledge and practical experience of managing projects of similar nature and complexity pertinent to local development and decentralization; 
•  Possess ability to work with and influence stakeholders in government, multi-lateral and bi-lateral partners, and the private sector.

Delivery - ability to get things done

•  Makes new ideas work
•  Critically assesses value and relevance of existing thinking and policy
•  Embraces difficult obstacles that interfere with getting work done
•  Anticipates constraints and identifies solutions
•  Strives to improve team reputation with clients
•  Expands capacity of team to deliver on time and on target
•  Accountable for project implementation and/or team deliverables

Innovation - ability to make new and useful ideas work

•  Adapts deliverables to meet client needs
•  Interprets policy within context and applies with judgment
•  Anticipates obstacles and applies practical solutions
•  Embraces new methods
•  Continually seeks improvement  
•  Collaborates to improve methods and delivery

Communication - ability to listen, adapt, persuade and transform 

•  Advocates, able to change mind of self, peers and partners
•  Persuades others to embrace new ideas, even when controversial
•  Empathizes with client perspectives and needs
•  Prepares and presents authoritative advice
•  Represents team in formal settings
•  Expands expertise of team through sharing expertise

Client orientation

•  Ability to establish and maintain productive partnerships with beneficiaries and partners;
•  Pro-active approach in identifying beneficiaries’ and partners’ needs, and identifying appropriate solutions

Corporate Competencies

•  Integrity: Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values
•  Respect of diversity: Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability; treats all people fairly without favoritism

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

•  University Degree in Public or Business Administration, Law, Economy, Social Sciences or other relevant field.
•  Master degree is a strong asset.

Professional experience:

•  A minimum of 5 years (3 for candidates with Master’s degree) of relevant professional experience in local governance development projects 
•  Experience in project management, programme/project coordination and monitoring and/or provision of advisory services or similar
•  Experience on projects with a focus on decentralization processes, fiscal decentralization and similar capacity development issues 
•  Reasonable knowledge of the policies and institutional frameworks relevant to the local/regional development and decentralization processes, service delivery, inter-municipal cooperation and comparative experiences/models, as well as capacity development at local level;
•  Demonstrated experience in liaising and co-operating with government officials, municipal authorities, academic institutions, NGOs and the private sector;
•  Excellent communications, report writing and analytical skills. 

Language Requirements:

•  Language proficiency in both written and oral English and Macedonian. 
•  Knowledge of Albanian language and/or languages of other communities shall be considered an asset.