Programme Management Specialist

The Programme Management Specialist will support the Ghana country programme by leading programme development and implementation, managing financial and resource aspects, building capacity, and engaging stakeholders to ensure alignment with UNDP and UNCDF priorities and donor requirements.

Responsibilities

• Lead the execution of programmes, ensuring alignment with UNDP and UNCDF rules, regulations and priorities.
• Lead on annual work plans, making sure HR and procurement needs are correctly assessed and executed, risks are updated, and indicators are aligned with Prodoc.
• Lead weekly team meetings with project teams, ensuring accountability on follow-up actions.
• Lead on drafting and quality assurance of donors’ narrative reports based on donors’ agreements, UNCDF’s corporate requirements for reporting schedules for both programmes.
• Provide guidance on Responsible Party selection; i.e. provide quality assurance on due diligence on pre-selected candidates, selection packages and agreements (Responsible Party, Performance Based Payment Agreement, Letter Of Agreement, Supplementary guidelines).
• Provide quality assurance support and maintain a relationship with Project Management Support Unit (PMSU) and Operations Effectiveness and Assurance Unit.
• Lead on the overall monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) agenda vis a vis of donor and corporate requirements.
• Establish clear performance targets and indicators with partners, consistent with UNCDF's strategic framework and programmes’ objectives.
• Manage budgets and ensure efficient allocation of resources.
• Lead financial reporting and compliance with donor reporting arrangements.
• Support audits and decentralised evaluations.
• Ensure effective and efficient use of Quantum and Quantum+ in line with the project cycle.
• Ensure appropriate staffing and consultants' support is in place, in liaison with regional and HQ support.
• Organise targets and monitor financial delivery for the programmes.
• Lead and support the management of HR recruitment and procurement processes, including the preparation of TORs, review and selection of candidates.
• Identify capacity building needs and opportunities of the project team’s members and provide coaching, support and mentoring as needed.
• Ensure appropriate training, project workshops and other relevant activities are organised and implemented in a consultative manner, involving technical experts and stakeholders that may include the government, private sector, NGOs, donors, and/or academia.
• Ensure project reports capture results, lessons learned and good practices for possible wider application.
• Participate in and ensure sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice on development and project-related issues.
• Support the establishment of knowledge platforms for the project, facilitate innovative mechanisms for the dissemination of knowledge from the project, and develop knowledge resources and products to share with project partners and to support UNDP’s engagement in this area.
• Act as a focal point in-country vis a vis of main stakeholders.
• Participate in donors’ and stakeholder meetings when and as needed in consultation with the regional office.
• Manage the relationships with immediate project stakeholders such as donors, government and other technical partners.
• Support the UNDP country office in making sure the UNCDF results and value added are adequately communicated.

Requirements

• An advanced university degree (master's degree or equivalent) in Business Administration, Public Administration, Economics, Political Sciences, Social Sciences, or a related field is required, or a first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the areas mentioned above, in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience, will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• A minimum of 7 years (with a Master's degree) or 9 years (with a Bachelor's degree) of progressively responsible experience, including leading roles (e.g. project manager) at the international level in the field of programme management, project management, project coordination or related fields.
• Professional experience in leading teams for the delivery of development projects funded by international donors, including the effective provision of substantive leadership and guidance, oversight, monitoring and reporting for projects/programmes with similar scale, scope and complexity.
• Professional experience in the relevant thematic areas, such as development finance, digital finance, and youth employment.
• Experience in project cycle, budget/financial management and coordination.
• Professional experience within the UN system.
• Experience in fostering networks and partnerships, and ability to provide coordination with the UN Agencies, international and other organisations present in the sector.
• Professional experience in the geographic area (e.g. Africa/West Africa) and understanding of national challenges.
• Experience using Oracle and Salesforce-based systems such as Quantum and Quantum+.
• Fluency in English is required.

Skills

• Programme Management
• Project Management
• Project Coordination
• Development Finance
• Digital Finance
• Youth Employment Promotion
• Project Cycle Management
• Budget Management
• Finance Management
• Team Leadership
• Monitoring and Reporting
• Donor-Funded Projects
• UN System Experience
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Partnership Building
• Network Fostering
• Oracle
• Salesforce
• QUANTUM
• QuantumPlus

Languages

English