ABOUT THE ROLE

The Transparency International Secretariat (TI-S) is currently seeking applicants to join its talent pool for up to two prospective Project Managers (m/f/d) to join our Projects Team, in the anticipation of likely new grant awards in 2024 for projects primarily in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). We are advertising for a pool of skilled, highly motivated suitable candidates who would be interested in working with us, but any firm offer of employment would remain subject to the new awards being confirmed and contracted.

The Project Manager is responsible for the coordination of the workflow, monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL), cross-team coordination, financial and administrative management of projects and ensuring that agreed goals, best practice standards, donor obligations and TI-S regulations are met relating to project implementation by TI-S and partners.

The prospective Project Managers would be assigned to TI-S projects in the MENA region, anticipated as GIZ-funded civil society capacity-building projects for anti-corruption in Iraq and a regional EC-funded MENA regional consortium in the EU Southern Neighbourhood to improve anti-corruption policy, anti-money laundering and asset recovery. The GIZ-funded project(s) would be co-implemented by TI-S with a selection of local CSOs, and other stakeholders from the public and private sector in Iraq. The EC-funded regional project, would be co-implemented by TI-S with the TI National Chapters in Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine (security situation dependent) as well as co-ordinating with the TIEU office based in Brussels.

Please note that this is a call for applicants to join a pool of candidates. Suitable candidates will be invited to apply for specific roles when they are advertised.

MAIN ACCOUNTABILITIES OF THE ROLE

Based in the Projects Team, the Project Manager will:

• Coordinate day-to-day project implementation of the project(s) in line with the donor contractual requirements, logic model and work plan, including work package planning, budget management, monitoring and reporting, ensuring that all phases are consistent with the design and delivery schedule and internal processes and procedures, and striving for high-quality outputs and the greatest possible impact of project activities.
• Coordinate the preparation of all project management tools and processes (project calendar, workflows, team collaboration plans, stakeholder and risk management, reporting documentation and MEL) together with relevant colleagues in other TI-S teams and support implementing partners in their use and upgrade of these tools.
• Work in close collaboration and ensure ongoing communication with the MENA partner organisations to support successful implementation of the project(s), particularly in efforts to monitor and evaluate project impact, plan advocacy interventions and communication/outreach activities, manage any key reputational and security risks, and share knowledge and experience across activities.
• Deliver progress updates and risk management/escalation options to the internal TI-S boards overseeing the successful implementation of the project(s).
• Coordinate the organisation of institutional meetings and events as per the project calendar and ensure the timely and cost-effective execution of project activities and the organisation of related events.
• Collaborate and communicate regularly with the TI-S Finance team to build accurate financial forecasts, including reviewing financial reports and identifying in advance areas of over- or under-spending, checking the quality and compliance of supporting documentation and flagging any urgent budgetary issues.
• Ensure work deliverables meet quality standards and proactively seek input from relevant internal experts as needed.
• Together with the thematic and regional specialists in the Policy and Advocacy, Research and Knowledge, Global Movement and Communications Teams, collaborate on capacity building, network management and regional advocacy efforts related directly or indirectly to the project, procuring and task-managing consultants as needed to complete project deliverables and MEL activities, and contributing to wider impact planning, reporting and co-ordination under the relevant strategic objective.
• Coordinate donor(s) engagement and relationship management in relation to the project, including with delegations in the countries of implementation as required.
• Task management, co-ordination and mentoring of the Project Associate(s).
• Represent the project(s)/organisation at relevant forums and consortium meetings as needed; build relationships and form alliances with external counterparts, communities of practice and stakeholders; contribute to external communications and media work as needed.
• Contribute to the overall functioning of the Projects Team by providing proactive and ad hoc support where necessary and contributing to team strengthening initiatives.

CANDIDATE PROFILE

In order to succeed in this role, candidates will need to meet the following:

• University degree in business administration, management, finance, social science, public administration, economics, or another relevant field
• 5+ years of project management or support experience, preferably with an International NGO or International Organisation, with demonstrated in-depth knowledge of project management best practices and including complex multi-country or multi-partner contexts; experience in project start-up with implementing partners an advantage.
• Knowledge of, or considerable interest in, the work of TI and the field of anti-corruption, illicit financial flows, and dirty money. Knowledge of legal frameworks on transnational financial crimes a plus.
• Experience in managing and reporting on complex donor-funded projects in the civil society field, in multi-country contexts and with multiple civil society implementing partners; project management experience in a consortium context an advantage
• Experience in project management of donor-funded projects in the MENA region essential, previous experience in Iraq a distinct advantage
• Demonstrable experience of supporting civil society partners and delivering sensitive communications, risk management approaches and capacity support solutions in restrictive civic space and fragile contexts essential
• Strong skills in monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) and incorporating inclusive results-based management approaches in a donor-funded project context, supporting cross-team, -country or –partner learning
• Demonstrable experience of gender mainstreaming and incorporating inclusive approaches in project management and MEL familiarity with complex donor rules and regulations, with either GIZ and/or the EC essential. Previous experience specifically with DG NEAR an advantage.
• Demonstrable risk management experience to ensure successful delivery of project scope, quality and impact, including sound judgement and solutions-oriented mindset; experience with supporting security risk management an advantage
• Solid understanding of budget/financial management and grant compliance processes (working in collaboration with Project Accountants and Finance Associates); strong commitment and orientation to compliance management essential.
• Excellent organizational skills, structured approach to task management and ability to effectively manage complex projects in a fast-paced and dynamic environment.
• Strong interpersonal and teamwork skills and ability to communicate effectively with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders and build collaborative relationships for informal influencing for project success.
• Excellent oral and written communication in English; demonstrable working knowledge (written/spoken) of standard Arabic essential, working knowledge of French an advantage
• Strong facilitation skills for both online and in-person multi-stakeholder meetings, workshops and knowledge exchanges
• Results-driven and resilient self-starter, with demonstrated ability to develop creative solutions to complex problems; flexibility to accommodate unforeseen challenges or requests at short notice.
• Commitment to the values and principles of Transparency International.