PROJECT MANAGER/COUNTRY REPRESENTATIVE MONGOLIA (M/F)

CONTEXT

Would you like to work on projects that make sense and have a real impact?

Do you want to work towards a fair and sustainable energy transition? Then join us!

Set up in 1976, Geres is a French based international development NGO which works to improve the living conditions of the poorest and tackle climate change and its impacts. As a grassroots actor, Geres considers the energy transition as a major lever in all its actions. In order to drive societal change, Geres promotes the development and dissemination of innovative and local solutions, supports climate-energy policies and actions and encourages everyone to commit to Climate Solidarity by taking action and supporting vulnerable populations.

In Central Asia, Geres has been working mainly in the sphere of energy poverty and access thereof, energy efficiency in building, bioclimatic solutions in the agricultural sector & overall better (natural) resource management, following as much as possible inclusive market-based approaches and access to finance.

1. In Mongolia, Geres has a permanent representation office since 2010 and been working consistently in the fields of bioclimatic solutions (solar passive greenhouses and cellars) for the small-scale agriculture sector and in building energy efficiency (thermal retrofitting of individual houses in ger districts but also public buildings) in Ulaanbaatar but also Khentiy and Arkhangai provinces.
2. The current projects’ portfolio includes:

• A strategic FSP-I pilot funded by the French Embassy in the agricultural sector of Selenge & Darkhan provinces aiming at characterising financing options for cooperatives to invest in bioclimatic solutions (cellars and passive greenhouses) and paving the way for larger replication of the mechanism in Mongolia.
• The second phase of large project in a complex consortium with key national NGOs under the EU SWITCH-Asia programme, called “Switch off Air Pollution in Mongolian cities”, aiming at piloting a comprehensive delivery model to ensure thermal retrofitting of ger districts individual housing. The project intention is to design a functioning intermediation system between construction SMEs, material suppliers, auditing and labelling schemes, line agencies and most importantly end-clients and banks in the delivery of green loans (backed by a GCF funded project).
• An expected AFD funded multi-country programme (July 2024 onwards) that will specifically aim in Mongolia at capitalising on the model for housing energy efficiency to duplicate, scale and spread the systems in selected African countries and for hot climate housing energy technologies.

1. Main donors are European Union, the AFD (French Agency for Development), French Embassy and its Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Foundation Abbé Pierre and other private foundations.

Geres, a committed organisation !

In accordance with our ethical charter, we apply the following principles :

➔ Respect for the environment

➔ Improving living conditions

➔ Respect for cultures and ways of life

➔ Respect for the principles of fairness and transparency

➔ Respect for legality and employees’ rights

➔ Principle of safety

In practice, we strive on a daily basis, and therefore also in our practices to:

? Act to respect the environment by respecting the business travel policy in France, which excludes the use of planes, and by giving our employees the benefit of our Sustainable Mobility package for home-work journeys (carpooling, cycling, scootering).

⚤ Promoting respect for women’s rights and combating gender-based discrimination. We have also introduced an internal policy to combat sexist behaviour and sexual harassment.

☕ Maintain and develop cohesion between our employees through social events organised by a dedicated committee and encourage collective breaks. .

? Seek to improve and innovate, including in our administrative management.

1. ? Respect the law and employees’ rights : transparency in our recruitment process, company agreements.

Mission

Under the hierarchical management and with the support of the Central Asia Regional Director, the Project Manager/Country Representative will be in charge of declining and rolling out Geres regional strategy at national level with the programme team. She/he will represent Geres in-country, lead fundraising efforts and oversee all projects/programmes in cooperation with managers and Finance and Admin department. She/he will ensure compliance, quality of implementation, monitoring and reporting.

She/he will directly lead the SWITCH Asia SOAP as Project Manager, with the operational support of the Deputy Project Manager. She/he will further mentor and accompany the professional growth of the deputy. She/he will specifically be defining relevant objectives and ensuring their achievement, through proper project cycle management, efficient financial management & smooth consortium management

Additionally, she/he will specifically support and coach the FSP-I project manager by overseeing PCM, representation towards donor and ensuring the quality & impact of the respective programmes.

She/He will work in close coordination with Financial Controller and key subject matters experts based in HQ.

She/he will liaise with donors, partners, the NGO and IO networks and coordinate Geres communication and advocacy towards national and local authorities.

ACTIVITIES

As Switch-Asia SOAP Project Manager:

1/Oversee Project Cycle Management

• Lead and support project staff & partners in planning, coordinating, implementing and monitoring activities
• Support the monitoring and evaluation process, in particular by developing methodologies M&E tools to measure the results and impacts of the projects
• Smoothly tackle implementation constraints and put in place the necessary corrective measures in consultation with stakeholders (including authorities, partners, and beneficiaries)
• Supervise and ensure compliance in the use of external service providers, internal support missions and other suppliers
• Ensure quality and timely preparation of internal and external reports
• Ensure and maintain a knowledge management system, incl. archival and sharing
• Ensure ownership and capacity building of the team across the entire project cycle management

2/Manage project partnerships

• Monitor, assess and facilitate the work with the implementing partners. Understand their mandate and agendas, nurture their involvement in the project
• Ensuring commitments of Geres towards its partners are dully filled and reciprocally, that project partners abide by their respective commitments towards Geres
• Prevent and, if need be, solve issues and disputes with partners

3/Supervise administrative, logistical, and financial management of the project

• Develop and/or guarantee a framework of operations and responsibilities between the stakeholders in accordance with the rules of the financial partners
• Supervise the planning and delivery of financial expenditures and accounting flows in collaboration with the Administrative and Finance Officer
• Communicate to teams and ensure compliance with logistical, administrative, and financial procedures
• Actively participate in co-funding research efforts

Ensure that project managers report to the HQ Admin/Finance department in timely manner As Mongolia Country Representative:

1/Lead and animate the country strategy in coherence with Geres Regional Strategy

• Analyse the country context, strengths/weaknesses/challenges/opportunities
• Develop networks and identify strategic partnerships with donors, international NGOs, national CSOs, national and local authorities, private sector.
• Implement the country strategy; evaluate and update if deemed necessary
• Be active part to the regional strategy development, liaise with resource persons at HQ and in other countries of intervention

2/Fundraising & project/programme portfolio development in coherence with the country strategy

• Perform prospective work and develop field understanding of the country, also beyond current zones/topics of interventions
• Prospectively identify donors, donors’ trends & strategies and related funding opportunities
• Identify partnership opportunities in order to prepare swiftly concepts and consortium ahead of calls for proposals
• Ensure & organise the development of funding proposals (narrative and budget) in country, following the existing procedure in close collaboration with the Regional Director and HQ

3/Representation of Geres amongst key stakeholders in-country and with the support of the Regional Director

• Ensure proactive and regular communication with institutional partners and development stakeholders
• Manage the external communication of Geres in- country, with the support of Comms officer and HQ Comms Department
• Relay key relevant information to Regional Director and HQ
• Integrate and maintain relation with relevant networks in-country

4/Supervision of human resources, administration & finance

• Ensure the good management of the office(s) related to Human Resources, logistics, administration, and finance/accounting. Make sure that the national legislation is duly respected.
• Organise and regularly check the quality/consistency of the budget planning, disbursement plans, financial and accounting reporting.
• Ensure that all practices and processes are in line with the rules and procedures developed by the Finance and Admin Direction of Geres.
• In line with Geres HR policy and for national colleagues, supervise the elaboration of the Country-level HR policy, submit it to Regional Direction/HR at HQ for validation

5/Project portfolio supervision

• Support PMs & partners in planning, coordinating, and monitoring activities
• Support the monitoring and evaluation process, in particular by developing methodologies M&E tools to measure the results and impacts of the projects
• Assist PMs in tackling implementation constraints and putting in place the necessary corrective measures in consultation with stakeholders (including authorities, partners and beneficiaries)
• Supervise and ensure compliance in the use of external service providers, internal support missions and other suppliers
• Ensure quality and timely preparation of internal and external reports by PMs
• Ensure a knowledge management system, incl. archival and sharing is maintained

Ensure ownership and capacity building of the team across the entire project cycle management

6/Management and animation of the team

• Ensure hierarchical management of the Mongolia team (recruitment, integration, training, appraisal, workload, work planning and prioritisation)
• Develop skills and competencies, support and include members of Geres Mongolia team
• Maintain a team atmosphere and ensure information flows amongst the members of the team
• Ensure the well-being and proper work conditions for the team

7/Management of partnerships

• Monitor, assess, and facilitate current and prospective partnerships
• Facilitate the identification and formalisation of partnerships at country level, nurture the relationships ahead of funding opportunities in a long-term strategic perspective

8/Management of in-country Security

• Continuously assess and analyse context, key actors, and incidents
• Follow-up on these contextual analyses (incl. political) and liaise with Regional Director
• Keep up to date the required security documents/processes, ensure proper diffusion to members of the team after Regional Director’s validation
• Ensure security, law and internal rules are respected in-country and by everyone
• Manage incidents (in line with the Executive Director for critical incidents), relay key relevant information to Regional Director and HQ
• Integrate relevant national networks

PROFILE

Education

• A Master’s Degree, preferably in Economics, Development, Engineering, Energy or Environmental studies or equivalent experience (required)

Experience

• 4 year-minimum experience as a project manager with progressive inclusion of management responsibilities in the international development sector (required)
• Previous experience in managing and coordinating a multi-partner project (required)
• Previous experience in value chain project, support to local entrepreneurship and finance sector (required)
• Previous experience as a project manager in initiatives in support to local entrepreneurship (appreciated)
• Experience managing medium sized grants for a recognised international donor (EU, AFD, SDC, USAID, etc.) (appreciated)
• Experience in running consortia and managing partnerships(appreciated)Previous experience in Mongolia/post-Soviet country (an asset)

Required skills:

• Proficiency in Project Cycle Management, Logical Framework Development, Theory of change, M&E systems
• Excellent project writing/formulation and reporting skills (proven track record is an asset)
• Negotiation and diplomatic skills with high-level governmental/institutional relationships
• Excellent interpersonal skills, ability to establish contact with people from different background and cultures
• Fluency in English both written and spoken
• Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite

Appreciated skills:

• Capacity to coach, mentor and build capacities of national colleague(s)
• Organisation and attention to detail especially in meeting deadlines
• Conversant with energy, climate change questions
• Working knowledge of gender principles and main applied tools in the development sector
• Advanced knowledge of French both written and spoken

Skills that would be an asset:

• Proven knowledge of energy-climate nexus in developing countries, in particular related to energy efficiency/access to energy/renewable energies
• Working Knowledge of Mongolian language

CONDITIONS

• Fixed-term contract, duration: 12 months (renewable, with funding acquired)
• Desired start date: Summer 2024
• Full time (204 days worked with approximately 22 days of recovery for a full year)
• 26 paid leaves per year
• Position based in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, with travels to project sites regionally, travels abroad, within France
• Teleworking possible in accordance with current agreement
• Monthly salary on recruitment in line with the Geres salary scale according to profile and experience between 2 739 € et 3 318 €
• For eligible candidates, regarding remuneration policy:
• Expatriation allowance of 377 € paid on site
• Luggage allowance
• 2 flight tickets per year
• 377€ expatriation allowance, annual leaves bonus
• Health insurance (50% covered by Geres), life/invalidity insurance, retirement, unemployment, repatriation insurance

TO APPLY FOR THIS POSITION

To apply, please fill in the form online via the following link http://job.geres.eu/?action=ref&id=161 and attach your curriculum vitae (no more than 3 pages) and cover letter (1 page).

Only shortlisted candidates will be called for an interview. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis. Geres can decide to end the recruitment process before the deadline.