Back Senior Project Manager, Integrated Workplace Management

Division of Information Systems and Telecommunications, UNHCR Geneva, Switzerland

“UNHCR Integrated Workplace Management Solution” project

Title: Senior Project Manager (P4 equivalent)

Duty station: Geneva

Duration: 8 months

Contract type: Individual Consultant

Closing date of vacancy announcement: 30 January 2022
OPERATIONAL CONTEXT

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people. Every year, millions of men, women and children are forced to flee their homes to escape conflict and persecution. UNHCR strives to ensure that everyone has the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to eventually return home, integrate or resettle.

UNHCR has initiated the Business Transformation Programme (BTP) with the goal to explore and implement new ways of working, address key business pain points and increase capabilities by leveraging modern tools and cloud technologies to support UNHCR’s back-office processes. The programme is focused on elevating UNHCR’s credibility, efficiency and effectiveness.

The Programme is made up of several projects; the Integrated Workplace Management Solution for Facilities Management (FALM) project is one of the projects within Division of Financial and Administrative Management (DFAM)**

The main purpose of this project is to implement a system for the collection of information related to office premises. It will allow UNHCR to have a one-stop-shop for its office premises and to take a holistic view of its real estate portfolio, identify cost saving opportunities, able automated reporting internally and externally, and optimise occupancy rates, among other benefits.

The information that will be gathered is expected to guide decisions to minimise the long-term running costs of each facility (such as designing low-maintenance or energy-efficient premises that cost less to operate and maintain), maximise efficiency gains and improve the quality of all the services.

UNHCR has the largest number of offices in the UN system. Currently, there is no database of UNHCR offices premises, resulting in poor decision-making across the organisation, reduced audience targeting (such as campaigns, projects, branding), business inefficiencies and missed opportunities. In addition, UNHCR must start feeding into the new inter-agency database of UN premises to ensure its commitment to deliver on the promise of the 2030 Agenda. Manual recording of information on office premises is unsustainable and will not work.

The Project is in the Initiation phase, and UNHCR is looking for a Senior Project Manager to manage the project.

· This position is located within the DIST Project Management Office.

· The position reports directly to the Senior Portfolio Management Officer.

· The position requires close collaboration with the FALM Project Owner, the FALM Business Coordinator, Business Process Teams, IT Technical Teams, the System Integrator delivery team and the Change Management team.

· The position coordinates with business owners and stakeholders across many of UNHCR’s Divisions.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Key Responsibilities of the FALM Project Manager include:

1. Under the direction of the Project Owner, manage the implementation of the FALM Project in accordance with the DIST PMO guidelines
2. Prepare an integrated project plan that includes tasks to be performed by both UNHCR internal resources and System Integrator resources
3. Prepare the Project Initiation Document (PID) and other pertinent project management documents
4. Prepare and present Status Reports to the Project Steering Committee
5. Coordinate the business-facing project activities with the Project Business Coordinator and the business advisory group(s)
6. Track dependencies with other projects (Digital HR, Cloud ERP and Integration projects)
7. Engage with the Business Transformation Programme Senior Programme Manager for coordination and alignment with other projects in the Programme
8. Manage internal project resources and assign responsibilities
9. Manage and collaborate with the SI Project Manager and other SI project leadership resources
10. Manage the project scope, budget, schedule, changes, risks and issues
11. Escalate risks and issues to the Project Owner as required
12. Coordinate and facilitate team meetings and other project meetings
13. Manage and coordinate the project workstream leads: Business Process Leads, Technical Lead, Testing Lead, Communications and Change Management Lead
14. Plan and support deployment activities including cut-over plans, change management and training activities

QUALIFICATIONS AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

Skills & Experience

· 15+ years of IT work experience including at least 7 years of large, complex project management experience

· Proven experience in managing System Integrators

· Strong practical knowledge of project management best practices (PRINCE2, PMBOK)

· Experience with Agile project management and development methodologies **

· Proven experience in managing remote and virtual teams **

· Proven experience in managing global and multi-cultural teams, and working with key stakeholders across an Organisation**

Essential Requirements

· University degree in Computer Science, or Information Technology or a related field.

· Recognized project management certification (PRINCE2, PMI).

· Practical experience in managing changes, risks, issues.

· Practical experience in tracking project costs on large, complex projects with multiple external vendors.

· Excellent communication, presentation, facilitation and interpersonal skills.

· Sound experience in senior stakeholder management.

· Excellent written and spoken English.

Desirable Skills/Experience

· Experience in working for UN organizations / International organizations / NGOs / Public Sector.

· Experience in using Microsoft Project Online.

· Spoken French.