Country: Iraq
Closing date: 15 Jan 2016
SENIOR ADVISOR – PROJECT MANAGEMENT (BAGHDAD)
Ministry of Oil Advisory Unit, Iraq
Company Profile:
MSI is an international development firm in the Washington, D.C., metro area with a 30-year history of helping to deliver results across the developing world. We operate in some of the most challenging political and economic climates in the world, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, and South Sudan, as well as throughout Latin America. MSI currently employs 800 development experts in the fields of public sector management, monitoring and evaluation, rule of law, governance, and anticorruption. For more information on MSI, please visit our website at www.msiworldwide.com.
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Project Summary: **The USAID-Tarabot project works to improve the functions of the Government of Iraq's (GOI) public institutions in order to improve public service generation and delivery through better governance and resource management approaches. Iraq's oil sector, following recent “good years” of rising oil prices and increased oil production, is now facing its biggest challenge in the decade since the nation regained its sovereignty in 2004. The current insurgency in the north, plus precipitous fall of the international price of oil, and key, long-neglected managerial, organizational, and political problems within the oil sector, have created a crisis for Iraq, most notably revenue shortages due to damage and shut down of oil installations in the north, and the falling of oil prices, and a number of on-going critical refinery and export projects stalled due to procurement and management inertia. To overcome a range of obstacles that inhibit heightened oil revenues, the GOI needs immediate expert assistance to address existing inertia while rapidly closing gabs and expediting critical projects implementation to improve oil export.
Position Summary: The Project Management Senior Advisor is a member of the professional staff of Tarabot and is expected to provide expert advice to representatives from the Government of Iraq (GOI), particularly those in the Ministry of Oil (MoO) in the field of project management. This position will require hands-on technical advice to the MoO engineers, frequent visits to oil projects in the field to identify bottlenecks and obstacles facing projects, and provision of solutions to ensure timely implementation of these projects within the planned budget.
As a response, USAID Tarabot has prepared a short term intervention plan to assist the MoO and its state companies in identifying project management issues and providing adequate solutions. This position reports to the MoO Team Leader.
\Please note: Only Iraqi citizens are eligible for this position.**
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Provide advisory and consultancy services to the MoO in the field of project management including practical solutions to project delivery issues.
- Work includes collecting information, problem solving, coordination and maintaining effective relationships with the MoO and its state companies.
- Under Oil Team Leader supervision assist Tarabot to carry out needs assessments of MoO critical administrative functions and/or specific capital investment projects in order to identify obstacles and to recommend solutions based on the services offered by USAID/Tarabot and participate in developing work plan activities.
- Steer the MoO to better design, implement, and manage projects, with an emphasis on budget planning, project monitoring, quality control, and operations & maintenance.
- Implement the designated work plan activities to take place within the MoO, its state companies and hands on projects technical assistance in the field.
- Coordinate workshops and events including arranging training halls, printing manuals and preparing event schedules.
- Monitor progress within the MoO to ensure that all milestones set in the work plan are met, and develop mitigation plans to reduce setbacks plus take corrective actions to fix any deviation from work plans.
- In close coordination with the Oil Team Leader and other team members, establish and nurture effective professional relationships with MoO leadership.
- Meet all standard reporting requirements as stipulated by the COP/Oil Team Leader and assist to address ad hoc, information and briefing requests from USAID.
- Prepare summary analytical and research reports for presentation to GoI decision makers on ways and methods to improve the success of the MoO's projects.
- Submit activity reports on each field visit, meeting and/or event.
- Coordinate and assist, when applicable, to the various other crosscutting goals and activities of the Tarabot project.
- Develop and maintain professional work relationship with Tarabot team members.
- Carry out all other duties as requested by the COP/Oil Team Leader as requested.
- Facilitate active communications and collaboration between various departments and management.
QUALIFICATIONS:
- Must have 10+ years of progressively responsible, professional-level project management/project implementation experience is required.
- Prior experience with Iraqi public investment projects and USAID is desirable but not required.
- This position requires in-depth understanding of Iraqi project management practices, ministry regulations, the capital investment cycle in Iraq, and how they relate to decentralization. In turn, this position requires knowledge of the structure, bureaucracy, and day-to-day operations of the designated GoI entities (MoO specifically), as well as excellent understanding of GoI culture and government protocol, particularly in the region designated.
- Professional knowledge of USAID compliance requirements is also desirable.
- Minimum of a BA/BS degree in Engineering or other related technical field is required. MS degree in a sector related field, such as petroleum engineering is preferable.
- Internationally-recognized professional certifications, such as PMP or other, applications using Microsoft Project or Primavera, are highly desirable.
- This position requires strong technical, analytical, mentoring, training, capacity development, organizational, and administrative skills. The incumbent should be equipped to regularly produce analysis and succinctly present information, in writing and in oral presentations, in a logical manner.
- Ability to work effectively in a multicultural, multinational team environment is required.
- Strong computer skills for document preparation (e.g. Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint) are required.
- Fluency in both Arabic and English in speaking, reading, and writing (Level IV) is required.
Only candidates who have been selected for an interview will be contacted. No phone calls, please.
To apply: Please visit our website, www.msiworldwide.com
PI92530477
Apply Here
How to apply:
Apply Here:http://chk.tbe.taleo.net/chk04/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=MSI&cws=2&rid=4991