Project Manager (Environmental Engineering)

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 East Asia and Pacific Multi-Country Office (EAPMCO), headquartered in Bangkok, supports UNOPS operations across 24 countries in Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, and the Pacific. Established in January 2023, EAPMCO provides strategic direction, operational support, and quality assurance to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of projects across its portfolio. EAPMCO implements initiatives in priority areas such as energy transition, climate change, and sustainable development, drawing on UNOPS' core expertise in human resources, procurement, infrastructure, fund management, and programme management.

UNOPS has supported Papua New Guinea (PNG) since 2016, initially partnering with the Global Fund to strengthen public health services. In 2020, a dedicated country office was established to manage UNOPS’ growing portfolio, which spans infrastructure, procurement, and project management. UNOPS currently works with the Government of PNG, the World Bank, the European Union, and the Governments of Australia and New Zealand on initiatives in health, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), and sustainable energy, supporting the country’s development priorities through tailored, results-driven solutions.

About the Country/Multi-Country Office:

The South East Asia and Pacific Multi Country Office (EAPMCO) supports, develops and oversees the UNOPS portfolio of projects in South East Asia and the Pacific. EAPMCO was established in January 2023 following the merger of the Thailand Multi-Country Office, which covered 20 countries across North East Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific, and the Cambodia Multi-Country Office, which covered 4 countries South East Asia - 3 countries in the Mekong Sub-region (Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam) and the Philippines. EAPMCO currently covers 24 countries across North East Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific. With its head office in Bangkok, the Multi-Country Office comprises nine business units: EAPMCO Thailand, EAPMCO Indonesia, EAPMCO Pacific Operations Cluster, EAPMCO Papua New Guinea, EAPMCO China, EAPMCO Vietnam, EAPMCO Mekong, and EAPMCO Philippines.

In 2022, the UNOPS EAPMCO implemented projects worth more than USD 95.7 million, in the areas of Energy Transition, Digital Transformations, Sustainable Environmental Management, Climate Change, Waste Management, Rule of Law and Access to Justice, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Post Conflict Reintegration, Emergency Relief, Post COVID19 Economic Transformations, and Health, through HR, procurement, construction, contract management, fund and program management services.

The Multi Country Office head office in Bangkok provides strategic direction, operational support, delivery oversight and assurance of the excellence of business processes and quality standards across all of the entire Multi Country Office locations. It is also responsible for developing, delivering and managing the portfolio of engagements in the country of the MCO location itself.

UNOPS in Papua New Guinea:

The EAPMCO Papua New Guinea was established in early 2020 to support the implementation of design and construction of infrastructure, sustainable procurement, capacity development to support technical and governance excellence, programme management, and to facilitate access to funding sources in Papua New Guinea.

As an established office since 2022, EAPMCO PNG is demonstrating significant growth and portfolio diversification potential in a short period of time. Working with an increasing number of development partners, in 2023 EAPMCO PNG is quickly being recognized as a responsive and quality partner in climate change resilient infrastructure, sustainable procurement and governance support to the Government of PNG in its service delivery obligations to the people. There are a number of projects currently in the pipeline which will expand the portfolio of existing projects for the office.

Job Specific Context:

The project "Repackaging, Collection, Export and Environmentally Sound Disposal of Persistent Organic Pollutants in Papua New Guinea" aims to safely remove, transport, and dispose of obsolete Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) stockpiles and Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB)-contaminated oil in accordance with national legislation and international environmental conventions, including the Stockholm Convention, Basel Convention, and Waigani Convention.

Under the direct supervision of the Senior Programme Manager, and overall guidance of the Country Manager, the Project Manager (Environmental Engineering) will be responsible for the overall planning, coordination, implementation, and monitoring of the project, ensuring delivery within the approved scope, schedule, budget, quality, and ESHSS requirements. The role requires strong technical knowledge of hazardous waste management, project and contract management, procurement of specialized services, stakeholder engagement, regulatory compliance, and risk management.

Given the complexity of hazardous waste disposal and the stringent regulatory requirements governing the movement and destruction of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), the Project Manager ((Environmental) is expected to provide strategic leadership throughout the project lifecycle, ensuring compliance with international conventions, effective management of project risks, and successful delivery of project outcomes while strengthening national capacity for hazardous waste management in Papua New Guinea.

Functions / Key Results Expected

1. Project Delivery and Performance

• Lead the overall implementation of the GEF funded DDT and PCB Disposal Project, ensuring delivery within the approved scope, schedule, budget, quality, and HSSE requirements.
• Develop, implement, monitor, and regularly update the Project Implementation Plan, including detailed work plans, procurement plans, resource plans, risk management plans, quality management plans, stakeholder engagement plans, and implementation schedules.
• Manage the delivery of all project outputs, including site assessments, hazardous waste inventories, procurement of specialized disposal contractors, contractor mobilization, hazardous waste packaging and transportation, international shipment, final disposal, and project closure.
• Ensure project implementation complies with the Basel Convention, Stockholm Convention, Waigani Convention, IMDG Code, FAO Environmental Management Toolkit (EMTK), and all applicable national legislation and regulatory requirements.
• Oversee contractor performance and ensure compliance with contractual obligations, technical specifications, HSSE requirements, environmental and social safeguards, and quality standards.
• Monitor project performance against agreed milestones and key performance indicators, identify implementation risks and issues, and implement timely corrective actions.
• Identify, anticipate and advise senior management and the project board on mitigating measures against project risks to ensure that benefits to partners and other stakeholders are maximized.
• Promote sustainable hazardous waste management practices and strengthen institutional capacity through stakeholder engagement, knowledge transfer, and implementation of international best practices
• Advocate and promote UNOPS service offerings, identify and report potential growth opportunities for UNOPS.
• Support the Conservation and Environment Protection Authority (CEPA) in preparing their proposal for the ninth replenishment of the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

2. Procedures

• Comply with the organization’s policies and standards, and ensure project information is kept updated in project management systems.
• Be aware of applicable local laws and regulations, and ensure adherence. This includes international regulations and standards, where applicable, as well as technical standards.
• Prepare and adapt all relevant plans for approval by the project board, and manage baselines
• Prepare and submit permits, notifications, and regulatory documentation required for site activities, hazardous waste transportation, export, and international disposal.
• Manage the reporting obligations defined in the implementation plan and legal agreements.
• Maintain project documentation in an orderly manner for accessibility and audit support when needed.
• Manage project reporting obligations in accordance with the legal agreement and UNEP reporting requirements.
• Understand and apply the UNOPS financial rules and regulations. Be accountable for the use of delegation of authority (where applicable) and ensure compliance with relevant policies and standards of ethics.
• Provide a formal handover of the project to the closure manager when applicable.
• Support project audit activities, including planning, preparation and coordination during audits and follow-up on audit observations/ recommendations.

3. Monitoring and Reporting

• Include a results framework and M&E plan in the project implementation plan with clearly defined indicators and agreed targets, ensure regular monitoring and tracking of project results.
• Prepare and issue regular project and financial reports in accordance with partner and UNOPS requirements for reporting.
• Regularly review project status and evaluate performance criteria (scope, cost, schedule, and quality)
• Maintain diaries and progress reports as required by UNOPS standard operating 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 the project life span.

4. Stakeholder Engagement

• Develop stakeholder engagement strategies and plans. Actively engage stakeholders, take feedback, and adjust as necessary.
• Establish solid working relationships with the project board (executive, senior users and senior suppliers); clients; and key stakeholders.
• Enable formulation of project communication plans and monitor 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, and 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 personnel to ensure effective interface with suppliers’ quality systems.
• Coordinate multidisciplinary technical reviews of project deliverables, including site assessments, HSSE documentation, transport plans, disposal plans, and completion reports.
• Coordinate quality reviews of project documents and deliverables.
• Provide quality control for management outputs (e.g. project documents, reports, etc).

6. Knowledge Management and Innovation

• Create a learning environment for the project team, encourage knowledge sharing and training to contribute to longer-term capacity building.
• Actively interact with other project managers and the wider project management (PM) community, share case studies, lessons learned and best practices.
• Stay abreast with latest updates and good practices of the profession, participate in training and learning activities for self to advance proficiency and competency.
• Ensure lessons learned are shared in a timely and appropriate manner.
• Provide feedback to corporate practice groups on policy and systems, when needed.
• Provide feedback to functional groups on policies and related guidance to support the continuous improvement of UNOPS policy framework

7. Personnel Management

• Organise and structure the project team, ensure clearly defined roles and responsibilities. Provide regular guidance and direction, as needed, and support the team in effectively performing their tasks.
• Lead and motivate the project management team, and manage performance.
• Ensure performance reviews are conducted fairly, accurately, and on time.
• Select, recruit, and train project teams as required, taking gender parity and diversity objectives into account.
• Ensure safety and security for all project personnel in compliance with the UN Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) standards.

Required

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in Environmental Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Environmental Science or Waste Management with 7 years of relevant experience OR

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

Desired

• Professional certification from a reputed institute in the technical topic relevant to the job area is desired.

Required

• Experience in project management related to environmental management, hazardous waste management, waste management, contaminated site remediation, or environmental infrastructure projects.

• Demonstrated experience in managing multidisciplinary projects through the full project lifecycle, including planning, implementation, procurement, contract management, monitoring, and project closure.
  

Desired

• Knowledge of the Basel Convention, Stockholm Convention, and Waigani Convention, including transboundary movement of hazardous waste.

• Experience managing hazardous waste logistics, including international shipment and disposal.

• Experience of working in multicultural environments or UN system organizations in a developing country is desired.

• Experience working in the Pacific region or in developing countries with complex stakeholder environments.

• Experience leading high-risk environmental or remediation projects requiring strong HSSE management.

• Professional certification in project management (e.g., PRINCE2 Practitioner or PMP) or environmental/occupational health and safety is an advantage.

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