Project Manager - GEF

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action.

The UNEP Europe Office’s main goal is to provide guidance to national governments at various levels, and to take part in the dialogue on environmental issues between governmental authorities, civil society, the private sector and other stakeholders. Europe office is the Executing Agency (EA) for the project “Demonstration of non-thermal treatment of DDT wastes in Central Asia (Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan) (GEF ID 9421)” (Central Asia DDT). The EA ensures that all activities, including procurement of goods and services, are carried out in strict compliance with the rules and procedures of UN Environment and GEF, and ensures coordination between the countries and consistent execution and reporting of national project activities. The EA is responsible for, inter alia, the following required activities to achieve the project objectives, outputs and outcomes:

• Establishing, hosting and supervising the project management team;
• Acting as Secretariat for the PSC;
• Prepare annual workplan, budget forecast, procurement plan and communication plan;
• Ensuring that the project is executed according to the agreed work plan and budget;
• Review and submit required reporting obligations to the IA, including quarterly expenditure and progress reports and annual Project Implementation report (PIR) and co-financing report;
• Ensuring all procurement is done in compliance with GEF Agency standards;
• Carry out project and financial management including producing periodic monitoring reports, legal instruments, and procurement;
• Ensure programmatic coordination between the two countries and with other initiatives in the region;
• Ensure visibility of the project;
• Ensure the risk management plan is implemented and actions taken documented;
• Ensure the gender action plan is implemented and action taken documented;
• Support technical staff and activities, review their reports before submission to the SC/IA for comments;
• Communicating with and disseminating information to the National Delivery Partners and other stakeholders.

The overall objective of the project is to build national and regional capacity for the Environmentally Sound Management (ESM) of hazardous waste including Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) in Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan in line with the requirements of the Basel and Stockholm Conventions. The project is comprised of two Components: (1) Disposal and reduction of POPs and (2) Long term capacity building for improved hazardous waste management. The project duration is established at 5 years. The project will dispose of at least 5,000 tons of DDT and associated POPs wastes from the two main sites using on-site methods of Super Critical Water Oxidation (SCWO).

The Project Manager will support the Executing Agency in execution of the project and providing technical support to various activities of the project. The consultant will be responsible to manage the execution of project under the direct guidance of the project coordinator and overall supervision of Regional Deputy Director and UNEP GEF Task Manager by providing the following list of services.

Project management:

The incumbent will be responsible for overseeing the day to manage of the Central Asia DDT project undertaken by the Regional Coordinator in UNEP Central Asia office. The incumbent will also be responsible for reporting project progress to the project coordinator and the Implementing Agency. including the review the of the following:

• Review of meetings and reports developed by the Regional Project Manager;
• Liaison with Financial Management Officer;
• Review of expenditure and performance reports developed by the Regional Project Manager;
• Review of technical reports developed by technical consultants;
• Review of meeting reports;
• Validation and editing of project management reports;
• Drafting of PIR;
• Coordinate reporting of project on PIMS+ and IPMR, as required;
• Technical backstopping of relevant project activities provided, including review of reports before submission to the Steering Committee/Implementing Agency for comments;
• Coordination is facilitated among national project delivery partners, governments and other relevant stakeholders to ensure effective implementation and coordination of project activities;
• Required communication, incl. correspondence, with national counterparts prepared and delivered;
• Terms of Reference developed of national and international experts related to the implementation of the project, incl. recruitment processes;
• Project relevant information to the national delivery partners and other stakeholders is timely communicated and disseminated;
• Coordinate with technical experts on activities related to Component 1 of the project to ensure integration of Components 1 and 2 wherever necessary.

Technical delivery support:

The incumbent will be responsible to provide technical support in delivery of following outputs of the project:
Output 2.1: Hazardous waste management strategies that include improved legislation and regulations aligned with the Stockholm and Basel Conventions submitted to government for adoption (coordination and technical support.
Output 2.2 Capacity of national environmental inspectors increased
Output 2.3: Stakeholder engagement and awareness raising campaigns
Output 2.4: Risk management at 10 additional sites
Output 2.5: Project results shared to sustain capacity in the region (activities start later)
Output 3.2 Midterm and Terminal evaluations of project impacts shared with project stakeholders (activities start later)

Monitoring and Progress Controls:

The incumbent will be under the direct supervision of the Deputy Regional Director, UNEP Europe Office and UNEP-GEF Task Manager. The incumbent will prepare a workplan for the duration of the contract. Each quarter, in order to account for adjustment of priorities, the workplan will be reviewed jointly with the Deputy Regional Director and the Task Manager. Report on the delivery of the workplan will be prepared at the end of each calendar month in combination with the monthly progress report to monitor and identify issues.

For project supervision, the incumbent will be responsible for preparing required quarterly progress and financial reports as well as providing inputs for the annual Project Implementation Report.