Project Manager - Greater Visakhapatnam Mayors Challenge, SDG Local Action

The Project Manager will support the implementation of the Mayors Challenge in Visakhapatnam by leading strategic planning, coordination with stakeholders, and overseeing project delivery to enhance local capacities and sustainability. The role involves managing partnerships, ensuring alignment with city and state priorities, and sharing lessons learned globally to contribute to SDG achievement through innovative public service delivery.

Responsibilities

• Provides strategic lead and decision making related to the implementation of the Mayors Challenge project in the municipality of Visakhapatnam City.
• Liaises and seek consensus with the city’s focal point and team, to obtain the Mayor’s/Commissioner’s buy in and make sure that the project contributes to the creation of local capacities in project management and ensures future sustainability.
• Leads in strategic planning, decision-making, execution and review to deliver the target metrics, output and outcome of the project.
• Approves and supervises the elaboration of Terms of References for procurement processes to achieve the project activities and objectives.
• Supervises the work of the service providers, consultancies and/or private entities that will implement the project, and conduct performance reviews in accordance with UNDP rules, regulations and procedures.
• Certifies to the UNDP that the services acquired to carry out the project have been delivered on terms satisfactory to the municipality.
• Coordinates all additional project staff, evaluate performance of member teams, provide guidance and create local capacities for the team.
• Elaborates proposals to improve the project effectiveness, including strategies to improve the project overall impact.
• Identifies project sustainability alternatives to prepare an exit strategy when the external funding is exhausted. Work closely with the municipality to locate internal resources for the project outputs to be assumed by the municipality at the end of activities.
• Prepares and submits proposals for budget revisions to the donor, via UNDP.
• Supports the V-PULL’s Margadarshak Group in planning V-PULL’s growth strategy, ensuring that all community-level interventions align smoothly with city leadership's overarching vision for impact.
• Oversee, support, and handhold the Core Working Team (CWT) through daily challenges, empowering them to achieve the desired results and milestones envisioned by leadership.
• Actively manage and nurture relationships across a diverse network of project partners, including academia, local NGOs, business entities, and various City and State Government departments, to strengthen V-PULL’s reach and visibility.
• Identifies the necessary procurement and technical support needs, building reliable consortiums to support long-term financial sustainability, and working with the Partnerships Manager to embed V-PULL as a major player in Visakhapatnam’s innovation ecosystem.
• Coordinates with the Commissioner & Director Municipal Administration Office at the State level to explore opportunities for sharing learnings from the V-PULL model to other government entities, and alignment of V-PULL’s operations with City, State and Central Government policy priorities.
• Participate in public webinars to present the project achievements and challenges to other global cities.
• Elaborates knowledge products about how the project is contributing to SDGs by innovating public service delivery.
• Elaborates policy briefs and easy communicable knowledge materials on the lessons learnt by the project.
• Participates in the global exchange of experiences amongst local governments on how the project is contributing to implement the SDGs at local level.

Requirements

• Advanced university degree (master’s Degree or equivalent) in Public Policy, Public Administration, Development Studies, Urban Planning, Environmental Management, Environmental Science or a related field is required.
• A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the areas stated above, in combination with additional 2 years of qualifying experience, will be given due consideration in lieu of master´s degree.
• Minimum of five (5) years (with master’s degree) or seven (7) years (with bachelor’s degree) of relevant professional experience, with at least two (2) working experience in the field of environment, WASH (Water Sanitation and Hygiene) and climate resilience.
• Demonstrated experience working with local or regional governments in India is required.
• Project management experience that includes coordination with different stakeholders is required.
• Proven experience and sound understanding of the Urban Living Lab model, goals and methodological approaches will be an asset.
• Experience and knowledge of climate resilient solutions, strategy, innovation, financial management, impact measurement and stakeholder and community coordination will be an asset.
• Experience working with the Andhra Pradesh Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) department, as well as Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) across the State of Andhra Pradesh will be an asset.
• Demonstrated experience in collaborating with international and national think tanks, philanthropic groups, academic institutions, and local community stakeholders will be an asset.
• Fluency in the English and Hindi is required.
• Knowledge of Telugu will be an advantage.
• Project Management, Data analysis or certificate is an advantage.

Skills

• Project Management
• Stakeholder Coordination
• Urban Planning
• Environmental Management
• Climate Resilience
• WASH Sector Experience
• Urban Living Lab Methodology
• Strategic Planning
• Finance Management
• Impact Measurement
• Community Coordination
• Data Analysis
• Public Policy
• Public Administration
• Development Studies
• Working with Local Governments
• Experience with Andhra Pradesh MA&UD
• Experience with Urban Local Bodies
• Partnership Management

Languages

English, Hindi, Telugu