Project Manager

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING APPLICATION DEADLINE:  please note that the deadline for applications is indicated in local time as per the time zone of the applicant’s location.

1.     Organizational Context

a.    Organizational Setting

The post is located in the Management Support Section of the PCT Information Systems (PCTIS) Division. The Division implements the ICT management framework for the portfolio of business applications supporting the PCT, a highly successful patent filing treaty. The Management Support Section manages the PCT IS portfolio and demand and implements change management to ensure alignment with PCT IS Strategy and business objectives.

b.    Purpose Statement

The main role of the incumbent is to coordinate the activities surrounding the management of the Division's work plan and budgeting, as well as managing the Division's vendor contracts lifecycles. It manages as well medium to large scale projects, typically involving the implementation of business or technology driven strategies for the PCT. Activity includes identifying the needs, acquiring and utilizing the necessary resources and skills, coordinating activities with various development and business teams, within agreed parameters of costs, timescales and quality.

c.    Reporting Lines

The incumbent works under the supervision of the Head of Management Support Section.

d.    Work Relations

The Project Manager works with stakeholders from across the Organization to ensure the successful delivery of project goals.

2.     Duties and Responsibilities

The incumbent will perform the following principal duties:

a.  Manage the contract and vendor relationship with all suppliers, including coordinating new needs and supplier selection, management of existing contracts and engagements, follow up with contract managers on ongoing activities. Consolidate requirements from multiple sections for the development of framework contracts as needed.

b.  Plan, monitor, report on, and ensure the smooth closure of the Division budget. Provide expenditure forecast, taking into consideration procurement plans. Analyze expenditures and provide recommendation on cost efficiency.

c.  Coordinate the definition, documentation and successful completion of all phases of complex projects; identify, analyze, plan and design project objectives, approach and scope based on business needs; manage the implementation, documentation against agreed project management standards and realization of benefits for key business technology projects.

d.  Monitor project milestones, and key performance indicators; identify and resolve potential issues; track actual vs. projected expenses, analyze variances, and forecast spend; propose project risk remediation to project boards for review and decision-making; develop dashboards and other monitoring tools to track and effectively communicate implementation progress.

e.  Work closely with all project stakeholders, considering views of all stakeholders and addressing issues; ensure that products and services are aligned with expectations and  business needs.

f.   Supervise and direct project team consisting of internal project team member(s) and external service providers; empower and motivate the team and encourage a sustainable pace with high levels of quality; monitor and evaluate team performance against plans.

g.  Develop documents for tendering exercises, evaluate responses and coordinate the selection of service providers and vendors.

h.  Provide support for the preparation of WIPO Program and Budget and Performance Reports, with an emphasis on data validation and analysis.

i.   Perform any other related duties as required.

3.     Requirements

Education (Essential)

First-level university degree, preferably in computer science.

Education (Desirable)

Certification in project management such as PRINCE2, Agile, or Scrum.

Experience (Essential)

At least six years of relevant experience, including in managing medium to large-scale projects using industry standard project management methodologies and tools to build custom business applications that deal with highly confidential information.

Experience in vendor and contract management in the area of Information Technology.

Experience (Desirable)

Experience in managing business technology projects  in the areas of Application Development lmplementation, Cloud migrations involving the processing of sensitive information across multiple IT and business teams.

Experience in data mining and/or data analytics.

Language (Essential)

Excellent written and spoken knowledge of English.

Language (Desirable)

Knowledge of other UN official languages.

Job Related Competencies (Essential)

Excellent Project and Change management skills.

Knowledge of project management frameworks and leading tools such as in the areas of estimation and cost management, cost benefit analyses, business case development and business value demonstration.

Knowledge of custom application development best practices and industry trends.

Knowledge of security risks and relevant mitigation standards associated with development of applications dealing with highly confidential information.

Excellent analytical skills.

Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and ability to maintain effective partnerships and working relations in a multi-cultural environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity.

Job Related Competencies (Desirable)

Excellent vendor and contract management skills, and effective program performance reporting.

Knowledge of procurement procedures in the context of International Organization.

Knowledge of (i) enterprise and security architecture principles and models; (ii) server and network security, database models (SQL DB/Oracle); (iii) application development and DevOps; (iv) cloud-based technologies in AWS, Microsoft or other CSPs.