Categories: Vacancies, May 2026

Project Management Support Associate

Location: Addis Ababa

Organization: UNOPS

Deadline: January 14, 2025

Job Description

Background Information – Job-specific

UNOPS Horn of Africa Multi Country Office is recruiting for this position: Project Management Support Associate based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Established in 2009, Ethiopia Multi-country office, now referred to as the Horn of Africa Multi-Country Office (HAMCO) manages a growing portfolio of engagements, including associated strategic and operational risks within the region. The HAMCO sub-region currently consists of an established Operation Centre in Addis Ababa which manages a portfolio of engagements in four (4) Horn of Africa countries (Ethiopia, Djibouti, Sudan and South Sudan).

HAMCO focuses on Infrastructure, Procurement, Project Management, HR and Transactional Services, and Fund Management services across a wide range of sectors including Health, Education, Agriculture, Resilient infrastructure, among others. Our goal is to support countries, help people in need and enable our partners through delivering on our mandate of infrastructure, procurement and project management in the countries in the Horn of Africa.

UNOPS has signed a project agreement with the Ministry of Health to strengthen the Capacity of the Ministry for the Realization of Health Sector Transformation Plan (HSTP-II) on selected priorities. This project will be implemented in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and the overall objective/purpose is to contribute towards the realisation of selected strategic priorities of the Health Sector Transformation Plan (HSTP-II) which is more on project management focusing on institutional capacity building and technical assistance.

UNOPS is selected to manage and implement the project by creating a project management unit (PMU). This unit will be formed by a group of experts and specialists in the relevant matters and will lay the groundwork for institutional capacity strengthening through the establishment of a Technical Assistance Management Unit (TAMU).

The TAMU will be composed of a group of Technical Assistants and experts, recruited and supervised by UNOPS personnel that would implement part of the project activities. The unit will be managed by the UNOPS for the duration of the project. TAMU will oversee the mapping of the necessary human resource requirements and potential interventions aimed at boosting the capacity of the Ministry.

The Project Support Associate will support the implementation of the project with contract administration and management. The incumbent serves as the first contact for internal and external stakeholders in resolving questions and providing support on all aspects of managing the contracts of technical assistants and consultants.

Functional Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Project Manager, the Project Management Support Associate will undertake the following activities/responsibilities:

Support the TAMU team, and the broader category 2 project portfolio, in the administration of all contracts (Technical Assistants, Procurement, Service Contracts etc) under the project
In consultation with the HR team in Addis, support efficient onboarding of personnel required for project implementation
In consultation with the HR team, inform project personnel on their conditions of service and entitlements according to their contract modality, expediting actions to facilitate their efficient, timely, and client-focused onboarding.
Support in monitoring contract performance, deliverables and preparing contract change notices accordingly
Set up and maintain reference files/records for each technical assistant supporting the ministry under the auspice of TAMU
Track and follow up on the status of pending requests and approaching deadlines in relation to technical assistant contracts including in payment request verification and follow up of payment processing
Act as liaison between technical assistants and HR to ensure the smooth onboarding of incoming personnel including those based in regional health bureaus.
Assist the TAMU team in the development of documents and guidelines related to technical assistant management, particularly in the areas of recruitment and management of contracts, benefits, and entitlements
Research precedents and present recommendations to the TAMU team on a range of technical assistant administration issues, taking into account institutionalized exceptions
Assist in maintaining systems for monitoring performance of technical assistants including the development of relevant KPIs to ensure real time performance tracking
Assist the project team in implementing capacity strengthening activities that are aimed at supporting the MOH apply the systems developed through the TAMU
Supporting partner in any ad hoc request for example Audit related to HR
Assist in organizing training and learning initiatives for personnel on technical assistant management related topics
Support the project team in updating risk register and implementing mitigation measures in accordance with the project’s risk management approach
Contribute to the preparation and dissemination of regular progress updates and reports to internal and external stakeholders
Perform other duties as may be reasonably required and in line with the incumbent’s scope of services above.

Impacts of results

The effective and successful achievement of results by the Project Management Support Associate directly impacts the success of the TAMU project and the promotion of UNOPS’s credibility as an effective service provider in project services and management.

Education/Experience/Language requirements

Education

Completion of Secondary education is required.
A first level University (Bachelor’s) Degree in Human Resource Management, Business Administration, Public Administration, or equivalent disciplines is desirable.

Experience

Minimum of six (6) years of relevant experience in an international and/or national organization supporting projects related to HR/and Admin support/operations is required.
Experience in personnel performance and contract management is an asset.
Knowledge of UN policies, procedures and practices is highly desirable.
Some experience in UN system organizations is an asset.
Proficiency in computers and office software packages(Google suite) and experience in handling web-based management systems is an asset.
Experience in use Enterprise systems including OneUNOPS is desired.

Language