Project Manager job at Marie Stopes Uganda | Apply Now

Manage and Support key projects funded by large donors or aggregated donors.

• Drive forward key donor priority areas to fit within the MSUG strategy through effective cross-team facilitation and liaison with programmes and support teams.

• Monitors, analyzes and drives progress against deliverables and major activities: Develop or adapt systems for tracking progress against deliverables and major activities within their project portfolio and develop project-specific action plans to drive acceleration and turnaround performance. Develop an Early Warning System for tracking project performance including (but not limited to0 a monthly performance dashboard of the project’s technical and financial Key performance metrics and logframe indicators. Will proactively identify key project implementation risks early, manage by coordinating with relevant teams to develop solutions, follow up on progress, and if necessary, escalate to the Head of Grants and work with him/her to update the donor.

• Provide guidance on financial management and spending strategy: Oversee respective projects spend and guide implementing teams on project financial management, approve spend to align with donor priorities, ensuring compliance with local policy, and that spend and programmatic deliverables are aligned. Critical oversight that donor funds are efficiently utilized and spent on allowable costs.

• Support monthly finance reviews of spend against budgets: coordinate with the finance team and respective project accountants to review expenditure postings, ensure correct charging of financial expenditure and strategic reallocation of funds.

• Ensure compliance: Be familiar with relevant donor rules and requirements, as well as MSUG policies and procedures and ensure project implementation is compliant through clear communication to field implementation and support teams. Manage projects in compliance with MSI’s Project Cycle Management manual.

• Donor engagement: Represent MSUG with the donor and other potential donors as required; support in preparation for donor calls, pitches for follow-on funding and stakeholder engagement discussions, work with the implementing teams to proactively communicate key learnings, successes, and progress to the donor.

• Identify and mitigate project risks: Work with relevant stakeholders to identify risks to project implementation and in coordination with relevant stakeholders, develop risk mitigation strategies for each project. Timely inform the Head of Grants of any significant risks that will have an impact on MSUG ability to achieve project deliverables. Schedule regular (at least quarterly) monitoring and supervision field visits to all implementing teams to ensure technical and financial compliance. Where necessary flag for internal audits to be conducted.

• Ensure high-quality narrative and financial reports for the donor: Lead project reporting by identifying and linking key successes, lessons, and emerging themes across the project portfolio, and working with teams to compile and edit reports. Critical presentation of program data and information both visually and numerically in an easy-to-understand donor language and format to showcase the work to the donor and external forums. Will immerse in the implementation work, coordinate with implementing teams to respond to donor queries on reports.

• Build strong internal and external relationships: Proactively build relationships with key internal stakeholders within MSUG to facilitate effective cross-team working. This includes working with support/operation teams and technical teams (such as Service Deliver Channel Leads, Data, Research, Monitoring and Evaluation (RME), Clinical Quality, Finance, and others).

• Ensure clear communication: Convene regular review meetings with project staff (and sub-grantees if any) for project coordination; provide written and other guidance as necessary to disseminate vital information. Follow-up to ensure grant performance guidance is followed and implemented.

Lead project specific External Engagements

• Spearhead collection and dissemination of best practice on donor priorities: Work collaboratively with communication and advocacy teams to lead and facilitate feedback and information sharing across departments, implementing teams relating to donor priorities, share across MSUG channels and support follow-up actions.

• Fundraising: work with the Head of Grants to position MSUG for future funding with the donor through identification and communication of compelling learning and successes which can influence donor thinking and future support. Contribute to the design and proposals write-up for future funding.

• Government engagement: Proactively plug into spaces for engagement with government and line ministries/departments at national and implementation level by participating at Technical Working Groups, presenting project-specific performance and showcasing best practices.

• Guide technical teams on areas to showcase individual donor contributions at these forums and utilization of data to showcase MSUG work/respective donor work.

• Any other duties: reasonable additional ad-hoc duties, as requested by the line manager.