DEADLINE: 5th February 2024, 11:59 PM ET

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Job Description

The Position:

Based at the UNFPA Odisha office at Bhubaneshwar, the Project Manager will provide substantial managerial, coordination and technical support to the implementation of the project, namely “Social Empowerment of Women Self Help Groups of Mission Shakti” ensuring that the objectives of the project and the deliverables/results are achieved in time and with quality. He/She will lead a team of professionals based at Project Management Unit (PMU) at Mission Shakti, and will be responsible for the day-to-day management and implementation of the Project, including support to Head of Office in all substantive and administrative matters, work closely with Government counterparts, implementing partners, and will undertake field visits to the project geographies for program planning and management achieving the quality standards set out for this project. 

The Project Manager shall work under the overall guidance of the Head of Office, UNFPA Odisha.

How you can make a difference:

UNFPA is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled.  UNFPA’s strategic plan focuses on three transformative results: to end preventable maternal deaths; end unmet need for family planning; and end gender-based violence and harmful practices. 

In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff, who embody these international norms and standards, and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction.

UNFPA is seeking candidates that transform, inspire and deliver high impact and sustained results; we need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them and who commit to deliver excellence in Programme results.

Job Purpose:

Originating as the flagship programme of the Odisha State government to empower women through Women Self Help Groups (WSHGs), Mission Shakti has evolved and now is a separate Department of Government of Odisha. The Mission Shakti Department endeavors to empower 70 lakh women organized into 6 lakh Self Help Groups through facilitating credit-market linkages for economic and financial empowerment of women. 

Mission Shakti (MS) has created opportunities for WSHGs for better income generation in convergence with different government departments for provisioning of services, procurement of goods and to scale up financial inclusion initiatives thus giving an impetus to economic strengthening and paving way for transformative change in women’s empowerment in Odisha.  The WSHGs have played a pivotal role in creating awareness on social issues, supporting the communities in disaster preparedness and response including in the COVID-19 response. The WSHGs have emerged as a powerful platform for the government to reach out to communities and households even in the most remote locations of the state. 

UNFPA is partnering with Department of Mission Shakti to carry forward the unique initiative of empowerment of women through WSHGs through building in and developing capacities of women on Digital and Financial Literacy as well as on important aspects of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights and on Gender based Violence. The overall goal of the project is to empower Women Self Help Group (WSHG) members in Odisha over a period of three years through:

1. Digital & Financial Literacy (28 Districts; ~600,000 women)
2. Sexual Reproductive Health & Rights, Gender based Violence (30 Districts; ~300,000 women)
3. Collaboration/Partnerships through Knowledge Management and SSTC

The position of the Project Manager is of extreme importance to the overall design and achievement of envisaged results of the project. Reporting directly to UNFPA Head of Office, Project Manager will be responsible for:

You will be responsible for:

Project Management & Coordination

• Prepare and regularly update overall implementation plan for the project with risk framework using Results Based Management tools.
• Support Head of Office in identification of Implementing Partners and prepare required documents for partnerships.
• Support, guide the development of Annual Work Plans of the implementing partners with annual/quarterly budgets. 
• Develop and implement mechanisms for close monitoring of progress on implementation identifying potential risk areas and bringing it to the attention of management.
• Support Management in managing and coordinating project activities, from substantive, administrative and financial points of view, applying strategic planning and systematic coordination of project activities.
• Manage day-to-day project implementation and overall coordination of project outcomes.
• Ensure supervision of the Project personnel and ensure effective communication and coordination between the Project personnel, implementing partners and the management
• Maintain strong relationship with Mission Shakti officials and regularly updating them on project progress as well as soliciting feedback from them
• Prepare reports/materials for the project steering committee
• Ensure timely preparation and compilation of the Project Annual/Quarterly Work Plans and Progress/Final substantial and financial reports and its submission 
• Support in Preparation of monthly reports on key project activities, issues and required action points. Prepare the project semiannual progress reports (progress against planned activities, update on risks and issues, expenditures), annual review report and final review reports as appropriate. 
• Ensure the quality of outputs and results with optimal monitoring mechanisms; establish effective coordination, monitoring, information sharing and reporting systems.
• Guide and orient efforts and contributions of consultants, staff and government counterparts towards achievement of project objectives.  Mobilize goods and services to initiate activities, including drafting TORs and work specifications.
• Identify any support and advice required for the management, planning and control of the Project.
• Provide direction and leadership in advocating project objectives and in ensuring that all interested parties are well informed about the project activities and goals.

 Training & Capacity Building

• Develop a comprehensive training and capacity building plan based on key project areas and execute the plan with support from Resource person
• Develop and/or support development of short training capsules for undertaking training and capacity building of project personnel.
• Undertake induction training of newly recruited project team on project as well as on core competencies
• Develop tools and materials and capacitate field teams to have one voice communication
• Identify execution, implementation, knowledge and skill gaps of project team and proactively plan training and capacity building session for addressing those gaps.

 Policy and advocacy support

• Identify key policy level gaps from implementation and draw upon a policy advocacy plan
• Analyse data from secondary sources as well as from project MIS and prepare analytical reports on policy engagement
• Gather existing knowledge and lessons learned from work on women empowerment/SHGs globally for sharing widely within the state through workshops, consultations and other forums
• Engage in programme and project development and review as required, ensuring the integration of a gender approach

Others:

• Carry out any other related duties as may be requested by UNFPA 

Qualifications and Experience 

Education: 

• Masters Degree or equivalent in any of the following areas: Management, Rural Development, Public Policy, Social Sciences or any related area.

Knowledge and Experience: 

• Two-Three years of work experience of programmes/projects of similar nature. Work experience with Government and/or UN agencies is desirable
• Knowledge of the ICPD and UNFPA mandate issues
• Experience working and mobilizing partnerships with governments, civil society, international organizations and donors
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.)
• Experience developing and delivering capacity building exercises for diverse audiences is an asset

Languages: 

• Fluency in written and spoken English. Knowledge of Odia language will be an advantage.

Required Competencies

Values:

• Exemplifying integrity, 
• Demonstrating commitment to UNFPA and the UN system, 
• Embracing cultural diversity, 
• Embracing change

Functional Competencies:

• Advocacy/ Advancing a policy-oriented agenda
• Leveraging the resources of national governments and partners/ building strategic alliances and partnerships
• Delivering results-based programmes
• Internal and external communication and advocacy for results mobilization

Core Competencies: 

• Achieving results,
• Being accountable,
• Developing and applying professional expertise/business acumen,
• Thinking analytically and strategically,
• Working in teams/managing ourselves and our relationships,
• Communicating for impact 

Compensation and Benefits
 

This position is pegged at Service Contract pay band, (SB-4)

Disclaimer 

UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Fraudulent notices, letters or offers may be submitted to the UNFPA fraud hotline http://www.unfpa.org/help/hotline.cfm

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