Project Manager, Programme and Project Portals – International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

Background

The Programme and Project Portal system (“the portals”) is an online, centralized system that provides a platform for efficient day-to-day management of both individual projects and project portfolios and provides information to support informed decision making. Programme and Project Portal System, as central component of the ERP system needs to be well integrated with IUCN’s CRM and HRMS system, public and internal websites, active directory and document management system.

The system is divided into:

• Project Module

o Manages individual project lifecycle according to Project Guidelines and Standards from ideas to completed projects allowing to measure compliance and effectiveness

o Provide document repository for all project related electronic documents and digital products

o Project information database provides data for future projects, communications and knowledge management

o Project Management tools provide insight into progress in implementation for approved projects (work-plans)

• Programme Module

o Ensure component programme alignment with strategy and priorities, provide information on programme progress (technical and financial)

o Cost centre performance, including resource planning and monitoring

o Allows for planning of resources and tracing usage at portfolio level, monitors health, conversion rates from ideas to completed projects and tracks execution through financial results and technical indicators

• One Programme

o Measure and report alignment with Global organizational strategy alignment and general information on progress of programmes against global results

A working group, comprised of representatives from Information Systems, Finance and Programme, coordinated by PM&E, has been established to guide the process of developing the portals. The Information Systems team will design the portals to the requirements of the Programme.

Specific duties and responsibilities

Working closely with the Information Systems Group and the Portal Working Group on all aspects of the Programme and Project Portal “project” as defined in the project charter and workplan, the project manager is required to complete the following tasks:

1. Develop and facilitate the implementation of the workplans for the development and implementation of a Programme and Project Portal;
2. Define the functional requirements and reporting needs of the system taking into consideration the needs of key stakeholder groups (e.g. project and programme managers, Finance, Communications, Strategic Partnerships, Director General’s Office, etc.);
3. Ensure that the system is aligned with the Project Guidelines and Standards and Project Life Cycle. Propose revisions to such standards where this would lead to overall improvements in systems and processes;
4. Ensure the system is aligned with other IS initiatives and systems, eg finance, project management, CRM, document management;
5. Lead the process of developing the coding and classification system (in close collaboration with the Science & Knowledge unit) for project codes by theme, product and other classes;
6. Develop a methodology for updating historic project data with the new classification system and roll this out across the organisation;
7. Provide day-to-day liaison between the Working Group, Information Systems and other entities responsible for the delivery of the IUCN Programme (e.g. Finance, programme managers, etc.);
8. Act as beta-tester with an established user group, for specific deliverables of the Programme and Project Portal;
9. Organise and manage the user acceptance testing process, including the development of test scripts;
10. Play a role in ensuring buy-in throughout the organization (promote, ensure use and data quality, build capacity) for the programme/project portal project;
11. Responsible for executing change management plans for the roll-out of the system to ensure easy adoption in existing processes and with existing resources. Identify and mitigate change management risks. Resolve or raise issues encountered.

Requirements

• Technical skills

– Minimum 5 years of experience working in planning, monitoring or evaluation related to conservation and sustainable development;

– Demonstrated experience in building and using project management systems;

– Demonstrated experience in working with quantitative and qualitative data sets

• Qualities

– Superior communication (orally, written) and active listening skills

– Flexible and adaptable; able to work in ambiguous situations

– Able to work effectively at all levels in an organization

– Must be a team player and able to work collaboratively with and through others

– Experiences with large-scale organizational change efforts

– Ability to work in a multi-cultural environment

– Highly organized, detail and big-picture oriented

– High degree of comfort in working with new technology and software

• Experience, Education and Language

– At least 7 years of experience working in an international setting

– An advanced degree in business, international development, conservation or a related field

– Fluency in written and spoken English

– Working knowledge of French and/or Spanish an asset

• Knowledge of IUCN an advantage

Location: Gland, Switzerland

Deadline: 30 June 2015

Read more and apply here.