Senior Project Manager (Re-advertisement)

Background on South East Asia and the Pacific Multi-Country Office (EAPMCO):

The South East Asia and Pacific Multi Country Office (EAPMCO) supports, develops and oversees the UNOPS portfolio of projects in South East Asia and the Pacific. EAPMCO was established in January 2023 following the merger of the Thailand Multi-Country Office, which covered 20 countries across North East Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific, and the Cambodia Multi-Country Office, which covered 4 countries South East Asia - 3 countries in the Mekong Sub-region (Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam) and the Philippines. EAPMCO currently covers 24 countries across North East Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific. With its head office in Bangkok, the Multi-Country Office comprises nine business units: EAPMCO Thailand, EAPMCO Indonesia, EAPMCO Pacific Operations Cluster, EAPMCO Papua New Guinea, EAPMCO China, EAPMCO Vietnam, EAPMCO Mekong, and EAPMCO Philippines.

In 2024, the UNOPS EAPMCO implemented projects worth more than USD 80 million, in the areas of Energy Transition, Digital Transformations, Sustainable Environmental Management, Climate Change, Waste Management, Rule of Law and Access to Justice, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Post Conflict Reintegration, Emergency Relief, Post COVID19 Economic Transformations, and Health, through HR, procurement, construction, contract management, fund and program management services.

The Multi Country Office head office in Bangkok provides strategic direction, operational support, delivery oversight and assurance of the excellence of business processes and quality standards across all of the entire Multi Country Office locations. It is also responsible for developing, delivering and managing the portfolio of engagements in the country of the MCO location itself.

EAPMCO Papua New Guinea

Ongoing Projects

Renewable Energy Projects funded by the Australian government (DFAT) and Implemented by UNOPS. The project’s main objectives are to develop practical and sustainable solutions to the provision of energy access in Telefomin, Daru, Buka, Baiyer and Milne Bay. The aim is to provide a framework for an optimal set of technologies for the local mini-grid using solar PV / hydropower hybrid systems.

New Projects

UNOPS PNG office has a number of new projects that are currently being established across the country. These projects have the potential to significantly develop UNOPS profile in key service lines of renewable energy, health infrastructure and sustainable procurement, climate change resilient infrastructure and community development infrastructure projects in PNG.

Business Development

UNOPS PNG office is developing its strategy and a business development plan, aimed at expanding its role in implementation processes in the infrastructure sectors in light of the significant capacity gaps in the government agencies and limited ability for funders to support detailed implementation processes, including procurement, project implementation, designing and program implementation. UNOPS seeks to provide value-adding implementation services in the various infrastructure sectors, predominantly in the energy sector, but also in other infrastructure sectors such as transport, water supply and sanitation.

Background information - Job specific:

The UNOPS PNG Country Office is responsible for supporting the implementation of UNOPS projects in the country. The office works closely with national counterparts and partners to deliver infrastructure, procurement, and project management services.

The Senior Project Manager will provide coordination, assistance and technical expertise in terms of design adjustments, construction, supervision and coordination in the field, ensuring high quality and consistency of work.

In the project team, the Senior Project Manager may supervise a diverse results-oriented technical team, including contracts, construction, and logistics managers, field Engineers, health, safety, security and environmental specialists, and project management specialists. He/she could also provide guidance to other team members ensuring knowledge transfer for capacity building. The Senior Project Manager will perform his/her duties in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

Local Context:

The Senior Project Manager reports to the Country Manager, who provides broad supervision and guidance. The role is responsible for ensuring that UNOPS portfolio of infrastructure projects deliver on their outputs and outcomes, that the projects are fully resourced and implemented with due diligence with respect to UNOPS guidelines and Funders agreements, and that the stakeholders, including the funders are kept regularly and fully informed and engaged in project implementation progress. The Senior Project Manager is responsible for programmatic advice, planning and resource use, day to day activities, performance management, and evaluation against goals.

The Senior Project Manager is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the project(s) and provides services to the different donors, partners and beneficiaries. The Senior Project Manager acts on behalf of the Project Board to manage the project on an ongoing basis during the Implementation Stage. The main responsibility of a Senior Project Manager is to ensure that the project outputs are delivered within the specified project tolerances of time, cost, quality, scope, risk and benefits. He/she is expected to meet the organization’s performance and delivery goals.

The Senior Project Manager is responsible to create the Implementation Plan, use the Project Initiation Documents (PID), Legal Agreement and have a thorough understanding of the terms, conditions, and the respective roles and responsibilities of the partners/stakeholders to ensure the project(s) outputs are capable of meeting the business cases for both UNOPS and the partner(s). Success of the project(s) and hence Senior Project Manager will be based on the defined Success Criteria.

The senior project manager for infrastructure projects will be managing project(s) which ultimate goal is to deliver infrastructure physical assets or technical outputs. Those infrastructures are diverse and range from educational and health facilities to roads, bridges, irrigation systems or ports.

While the complexity of those may vary, maintaining high standards in terms of quality, health, safety and sustainability is always expected.

Depending on the nature and configuration of the project, the senior project manager might be executing technical studies, reviews, designs, supervision or operation and maintenance services of one or several physical infrastructure assets, in one or multiple sites. Depending on the implementation modality, it may involve large volumes of procurement of goods, services, and HR services.

UNOPS operates in complex contexts where resources might be scarce, local capacity low, and where professional judgement and experience in these environments are of uttermost importance.