Project Manager (EU CEF Programme)

The Asia Pacific Regional Office, based in Bangkok, Thailand, provides strategic leadership and oversight for UNOPS operations across 17 countries, ensuring high performance, operational excellence, and alignment with organizational goals. Operations currently span Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Pacific Islands. Across these countries, we work closely with key stakeholders to strengthen partnerships and maximize impact through five main operating units: Afghanistan (AFCO), Myanmar (MMCO), South Asia Multi-Country Office (SAMCO), East Asia and Pacific Multi-Country Office (EAPMCO), and the Asia Regional Health Cluster (ARHC). Through these entities, we provide agile, client-focused service delivery across diverse sectors - including infrastructure, health, procurement, and project management - supporting the implementation of sustainable development solutions across the region.

The South Asia Multi-Country Office (SAMCO) supports UNOPS operations across six countries: Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. SAMCO delivers a broad range of services and technical expertise in climate change, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), infrastructure, procurement, human resource management, and fund management. Each country office is staffed with local technical experts and maintains strong partnerships with national governments, ensuring context-specific solutions and effective project implementation.

Since 2003, UNOPS has partnered with the Government of Bangladesh and key development partners to advance national development priorities aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNOPS supports a range of projects focused on capacity development and infrastructure, leveraging its expertise in procurement, human resource management, finance, and project management to deliver efficient, sustainable solutions.

UNOPS has been present in Bangladesh since 2003, establishing formal representation in 2014 to provide substantial support to the Government of Bangladesh and other clients. This support focuses on resilient infrastructure, programme and project management, fund management, procurement, human resources, and financial management, aiming to build national capacities and improve community resilience in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNOPS operates under a Host Country Agreement signed in September 2023. The NAGORIKATA Civic Engagement Fund (CEF) is a multi-donor Trust Fund designed to empower Civil Society Organisations (CSO) and citizens in Bangladesh, supporting CSOs to engage with the Government on policies and laws for SDGs 5 and 16. The CEF provides grants, technical assistance, and capacity development to CSOs, particularly those facilitating the role of women, youth, and marginalized communities. Current Development Partners include SDC and GAC, with the European Union (EU) recently joining to further strengthen the fund and promote inter-Development Partner collaboration and policy dialogue.

The Project Manager will play a key supporting role in strengthening the Civic Engagement Fund (CEF) programme in Bangladesh, under the overall supervision of the UNOPS Country Manager and in close coordination with the European Union (EU) and the Fund Management Agent (FMA) Director. The incumbent will actively engage, coordinate, collaborate, and co-create with the EU to shape and implement programme priorities, advance inter-Development Partner coalition and policy dialogues, and ensure the CEF consistently promotes meaningful civic engagement in national governance and decision-making processes.

1. Project Delivery and Performance 

• Develop, complete and update implementation plan(s)
• Implement the approved plan (including the establishment of milestones) within tolerances set by the Project Board. 
• Embed sustainability dimensions including social and gender inclusion, environmental and economic aspects into project life span. 
• Manage the production of the required outputs, taking responsibility for overall progress and use of resources and initiating corrective action where necessary.
• Ensure that quality of work packages and deliverables complies with the quality requirements defined in the Implementation Plan.
• Liaise with any external suppliers or account managers
• Manage acceptance and delivery of work packages
• Monitor project progress ensuring that work packages are being executed properly
• Control project and work packages changes
• Accept goods, services or works delivered by suppliers.Lead contract management duties including supplier performance evaluation. 
• Act as the Employer’s Representative within the FIDIC works contracts.
• Identify, and anticipate in a timely manner, potential risks and issues and advises mitigating measures to senior management/ Project Board so that maximum benefit to partner(s) and other stakeholders is achieved
• Identify and report to the supervisor potential business opportunities for UNOPS

2. Procedures 

• Comply with all organizational policy and specifically the Project Management Manual
• Prepare/adapt all relevant plans for approval by the Project Board.
• Manage the reporting obligations defined in the Legal Agreement(s) and in the Implementation Plan
• Draft the requirements definitions for procurement processes. Approving requisitions and requests for non-purchase order payments; Evaluating submissions received, if appointed to the evaluation team. Ensure maintenance of the project files and lessons learned are recorded
• Ensure the development and implementation of project financial management guidelines and control mechanisms, in conformity with UNOPS rules and regulations. 
• Manage budgets, cash flow and obligations to ensure that deliverables are met and payments to contractors and personnel are received on time.
• Understand and manage UNOPS overheads, allocable charges, and related corporate charges as they apply to the project
• Understand the unique structures of the UN and budget appropriately for personnel
• Manage expenditures against the budget (based on accurate financial reports)
• Where the Project Manager has no delegation as a committing officer, s/he retains these responsibilities and will monitor and instruct/request others to carry out the relevant commitments and disbursements.
• For project closure purposes, provide a formal handover of the project to the closure manager
• Support project audit activities, including planning, preparation and coordination during the audits and follow up on audit observations/recommendations

3. Monitoring and reporting

• Prepare and issue regular project and/or financial reports in accordance with Partner and UNOPS requirements for reporting.
• Regularly review project status, evaluating performance criteria (scope, cost, schedule and quality).
• Maintain diaries and progress reports as required by the organization’s standard procedures.
• Provide routine oversight and analysis of delivery data within the dashboard system.
• Ensure all project team members track and regularly update milestones and targets for the duration of projects' life span

4. Stakeholder engagement

• Develop stakeholder profiles and facilitate the formulation of stakeholder engagement strategies
• Establish solid working relationships with the Project Board (Executive, Senior Users and Senior Suppliers), client and key stakeholders
• Enable the formulation of project communications plans. Coordinate internal project communications. Monitor the effectiveness of project communications
• Coordinate stakeholder engagement and communication, ensuring effective timing and interdependency management of communications. Ensure stakeholders are aware of project activities, progress, exceptions and are in a position to accept handover outputs

5. Quality assurance

• Work with internal stakeholders to ensure projects comply with audit requirements
• Work with procurement/purchasing staff to ensure effective interface with suppliers' quality systems
• Coordinate quality reviews of project documents and deliverables
• Provide quality control for management outputs (project documents, reports, etc.)

6. Knowledge management and innovation

• Encourage routine and effective capacity building activities are conducted in order to build the long-term and sustainable capacity of staff.
• Actively interact with other Project Managers and the wider PM community to share case studies, lessons learned and best practices 
• Contribute to the oversight of lessons learned procedures, ensuring that lessons learnt are shared in a timely and appropriate manner. Participate in the relevant Communities of Practice
• Research and logging of lessons learned throughout the project life span.
• Provide feedback to Practice Groups on policy, supporting guidance with an aim towards continuous improvement of UNOPS policies

7. Personnel Management

• Lead and motivate the project management team
• Ensure that behavioural expectations of team members are established 
• Ensure that performance reviews are conducted fairly, accurately and timely
• Select, recruit and train a team as required and take into account gender parity and diversity objectives.
• Ensure safety and security for all project personnel and comply with UNDSS standards
• Create, foster and role model a culture of respect and zero tolerance for discrimination, abuse of authority, harassment, sexual harassment and sexual exploitation and abuse. Ensure accountability for actions and perform duties in accordance with protection mechanisms and action plans, as expected by UNOPS policies, standards and commitments.

Required

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in business administration, public administration, international relations, development studies, economics, political science, law, social sciences or a related field with 7 years of relevant experience OR

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in any of the above with 5 years of relevant experience is required.

Desired

• A globally or nationally recognized professional certificate in Project Management (e.g., PRINCE2, PMP) is desired.

Required:

• Relevant experience is work in project/program management, particularly multi-stakeholder projects/programs that included government liaison, coordination and engagement with Civil Society Organizations. 
• Proven experience in the design of development projects/programs related to one or more of the following areas: civil society, governance, civic space, facilitation of consultations, structured and policy dialogues, strategic communications, resource mobilization, and donor relations is required. 

Desired:

• Previous experience working in the NGO/CSO sector, the United Nations, the European Union or any other international organizations is highly desirable. 
• Experience at policy level and in government engagement is desirable. 
• Experience in managing EU contracts is an asset.

• UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. 
• UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
• Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. 
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the selection process, which may include various assessments. 
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of a wide range of nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. We strive to sustain and strengthen this diversity, fostering an inclusive working environment where all personnel are treated with respect and have equal access to opportunities.
• UNOPS evaluates all applications based on the skills, qualifications and experience outlined in the vacancy announcement. We are committed to a fair and transparent selection process and welcome diverse perspectives, including those of women, indigenous and racialized communities, individuals of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, and persons with disabilities.
• We are committed to enabling all candidates to perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require support or reasonable accommodation to complete any assessment, please inform our human resources team upon receiving your invitation.
• UNOPS has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment, and other forms of abusive conduct, including discrimination, abuse of authority, and harassment. To uphold these standards, background checks are conducted for all final candidates to help ensure that individuals with a history of such conduct are not hired. By applying for a position with UNOPS, candidates acknowledge and consent to these verification processes.
  

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here. 
• For more details about the contract types, please click here.
• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda. 
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.