Local recruitment: National Project Manager

National Project Manager (Mauritius)

Supporting Sustainable Inclusive Blue Economy Transformation in African SIDS

Financing Agency: Global Environment Facility (GEF)

GEF Implementing Agency: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

UNDP Executing Agency: Global Water Partnership Southern Africa (GWPSA)

National Responsible Party: Ministry of Agro-Industry, Food Security, Blue Economy and Fisheries (Mauritius)

Duty Station: Offices of the Ministry of Agro-Industry, Food Security, Blue Economy and Fisheries (Mauritius). Applicants must reside in Mauritius and be nationals or have legal right to work in Mauritius.

Tenure: 24 months, renewable

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

The Supporting Sustainable Inclusive Blue Economy Transformation in African Small Island Developing States (Africa SIDS) Project is a regional initiative supporting nationally relevant demonstration activities across six participating African SIDS: Cabo Verde, Comoros, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritius, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Seychelles. The project seeks to strengthen governance frameworks, implement on-the-ground sustainable blue economy and integrated land management demonstrations, and promote shared learning and scalable solutions that enhance sustainable development, resilience, and environmental stewardship in SIDS contexts.

The project is financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as the GEF Implementing Agency, with the Global Water Partnership Southern Africa (GWPSA) serving as the Executing Agency and the African Union Commission (AUC) acting as the project custodian.

The project, valued at USD 9 million, is expected to run over the course of 42 months. During this period, a suite of activities will be undertaken to support the realisation of a sustainable blue economy in the six African SIDS. These activities will be implemented under four (4) project components:

• Component 1: Sustainable Blue Economy and Land Degradation Neutrality Enabling Conditions – Improved Governance Frameworks
• Component 2: On-the-ground National Demonstrations of Sustainable Investments Addressing:
  • Unsustainable ocean/coastal use and/or new and additional sustainable blue economy opportunities; and
  • Integrated land management and restoration of degraded production landscapes with positive impacts on blue economy assets
• Component 3: Knowledge Management and Upscaling
• Component 4: Timely Project Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) to inform adaptive management for successful delivery of project results

A Regional Project Management Unit (PMU), hosted by GWPSA, provides overall programme coordination, technical and operational backstopping, quality assurance, consolidation of reporting, and liaison with UNDP, GEF, and regional partners, while not assuming implementation or fiduciary responsibility at country level.

Implementation of Component 2 is undertaken through a country-driven approach, with each participating country responsible for delivering its agreed national activities through a designated Responsible Party (RP), in line with UNDP policies and procedures. The RP holds responsibility for implementation and fiduciary management of Component 2 project resources at country level, including contracting, financial management, and delivery of outputs.

For each participating country, a Joint Work Plan (JWP) will be developed and validated as the primary implementation instrument for the project. The JWP defines the agreed scope of work, sequencing of activities, budgets, roles and responsibilities, and results to be delivered over the implementation period.

To support development and effective delivery of the project, each participating country will engage a National Project Manager, embedded within the RP, to manage day-to-day implementation, coordination, reporting, and compliance at national level, under the functional guidance and backstopping of the PMU.

POSITION SUMMARY

The National Project Manager (PM) is responsible for coordinating day-to-day implementation of the national demonstration project, as per Component 2 of the project, and other national activities under component 1, 3 and 4 of the project, ensuring that activities are delivered effectively, efficiently, and in compliance with project requirements (technical, environmental and social safeguards, financial and fiduciary standards, monitoring and reporting). The PM will act as the primary liaison between the Responsible Party (RP), the PMU, UNDP, GWPSA, service providers, stakeholders, and other partners.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Project Coordination and Implementation

• Manage day-to-day implementation of the national demonstration project and other national project activities, ensuring compliance with approved work plans, budgets, procurement arrangements, and national procedures.
• Lead in coordinating the selection and recruitment of consultants in accordance to GEF/UNDP/GWPSA procedures (including preparation of ToRs, advertisement and carry out interviews).
• Lead in the coordination for administration of surveys under the Mauritius Pilot Demonstration Project.
• Coordinate and oversee technical service providers, consultants, and partner engagements; monitor progress and quality of delivery; and proactively flag risks, delays, or deviations to the RP and PMU.
• Facilitate stakeholder engagement, coordination, and local-level capacity-building to ensure understanding, ownership, and effective implementation of project interventions.
• Ensure that gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) are mainstreamed across all project activities. This means embedding equality and equity considerations into planning, implementation, monitoring, and reporting, while ensuring that women, youth, persons with disabilities, and disadvantaged communities benefit equitably from blue economy opportunities.
• Track and report on in-country co-financing commitments and expenditures in line with project requirements.
• Act as the national focal point for African SIDS Technical Advisory Group (TAG) coordination, facilitating information exchange and participation of relevant national experts and institutions in TAG reviews, consultations, and discussions.
• Support Component 1 (Enabling Conditions & Governance) by coordinating national inputs to regional assessments, policy and technical studies, facilitating national consultations and validation processes, and ensuring alignment with regional frameworks, standards, and methodologies.
• Coordinate and manage national data collection and technical inputs for Component 1, including mobilisation of relevant institutions and experts, quality assurance, and timely consolidation and submission of inputs to the PMU and technical teams.

Environmental and Social Safeguards (E&S) Management

• Ensure national implementation complies with UNDP Social and Environmental Standards (SES) and relevant national regulations.
• Lead and coordinate preparation, implementation, and monitoring of SES tools and instruments required for activity-level risk screening and mitigation.
• Maintain safeguards documentation (e.g., stakeholder engagement records, grievances, incident reports, corrective actions).
• Promote gender responsiveness, inclusion and meaningful community engagement consistent with agreed SES requirements.
• Liaise with the PMU, UNDP, and partners on safeguards compliance, reviews, and reporting.

Note: This role includes ensuring that all E&S actions are adequately documented, integrated, and tracked/reported throughout implementation.

Financial Management and Fiduciary Support

• Support the RP in tracking expenditures against approved budgets and workplans, ensuring accuracy and transparency.
• Monitor delivery of outputs and payment milestones under RP-managed contracts and agreements.
• Prepare and consolidate financial tracking inputs required for PMU and UNDP reporting.
• Support preparation and submission of disbursement requests, including compilation of required financial and progress documentation.
• Maintain organized financial and supporting records to facilitate audits and assurance reviews.
• Support responses to audit queries and implementation of agreed corrective actions, as required.
• Identify and flag fiduciary risks, budget variances, or delays in disbursement to the RP and PMU promptly.

Monitoring, Reporting, Learning, and Evaluation Support

Logframe Compliance & Evidence Management

• Ensure compliance with the approved project logframe by systematically tracking outputs, outcomes, indicators, targets, and assumptions at the national level.
• Coordinate collection, verification, and curation of evidence (e.g., reports, surveys, photos, participation records, technical documentation, safeguards and financial records) to substantiate progress against logframe indicators.
• Maintain an organized national-level results and evidence repository to support reporting, audits, evaluations, and knowledge management.

Reporting and Documentation

• Prepare and submit regular reports, including:
  • Technical and implementation progress reports
  • Financial tracking and expenditure summaries
  • SES including gender and inclusion related updates and compliance inputs
  • Consolidated inputs for regional and donor reporting
  • Lessons learned and recommendations to inform replication and upscaling

Communications, Learning, Exchange, and Knowledge Management

• Act as the national coordination point for Component 3 (Knowledge Management, Communications, and Upscaling), liaising with the PMU Communications and Knowledge Management team, facilitating access to project sites and stakeholders, and supporting learning exchanges and peer-to-peer sharing activities.
• Facilitate participation of national stakeholders in regional workshops, knowledge events, and twinning exchanges, and document lessons learned, implementation challenges, and good practices arising from these processes.
• Support identification, documentation, and packaging of national knowledge outputs, including lessons learned, case studies, success stories, and contributions to regional knowledge products (briefs, experience notes, videos, newsletters, learning events), ensuring timely submission to project MIS and knowledge platforms.

Mid-Term Review (MTR) and Terminal Evaluation (TE) Support

• Provide technical and administrative support for the MTR/TE process, including:
  • Preparation of national-level progress summaries and evidence packs
  • Coordination of stakeholder consultations and site visits
  • Support to evaluation missions and timely responses to MTR/TE queries and recommendations
  • Support implementation of adaptive management actions arising from MTR/TE findings, in coordination with the RP and PMU.

REPORTING LINES

The National Project Manager reports functionally to the Responsible Party at the national level, with technical and operational backstopping from the Regional PMU.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Education & Professional Background

• Advanced degree in project management, environmental or natural resource management, social sciences, economics, development studies, engineering, or related field.
• Strong understanding of sustainable development, blue economy, environmental and social safeguards, and public sector/UNDP project management processes.

Experience

• Minimum 7–10 years of professional experience in project implementation, ideally with UNDP/GEF or similar donor-funded programmes.
• Demonstrated experience in managing complex multi-stakeholder projects, including technical coordination, safeguards, financial management, and reporting.
• Experience working with government institutions, community stakeholders, and international partners.
• Strong knowledge of national development planning and sector policies in the relevant SIDS context.

Skills

• Excellent project management and organisational skills.
• Proficiency in monitoring and evaluation, results tracking, and evidence management.
• Strong communication, facilitation, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Familiarity with UNDP/GEF fiduciary, procurement, and SES requirements.
• Fluency in English and in the primary working language of the host country is required
• Demonstrated familiarity with local institutional, community, and stakeholder contexts, including experience working with government counterparts, local authorities, civil society, and community-based organisations.

SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS

Applicants must reside in Mauritius and be nationals, or have legal right to work in Mauritius. No relocation allowance is available for this position.

Interested candidates should submit the following:

• Candidates should submit a cover letter, a detailed CV and a minimum of three references in English through the online Bamboo application system and not via email.
• Bamboo link: https://gwpsanpc.bamboohr.com/careers/124
• Only short-listed candidates will be contacted within 4 weeks after the application deadline.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Questions can be directed to gwpsaprocurement@gwp.org
• Deadline: 31 March 2026 17:00 GMT

CONFIDENTIALITY AND DATA PROTECTION

The National Project Manager shall maintain confidentiality of all non-public information, data, and documents accessed or generated in the course of the assignment. Such information shall not be disclosed, shared, or used for purposes outside the scope of this role without prior written authorization from the Responsible Party and/or the Regional Project Management Unit. This obligation shall remain in effect during and after the completion of the assignment.

TAXES

A withholding tax will be deducted from the Contractors invoices at the default rate of 15%, or 10% where a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) is applicable for the respective country. GWPSA will provide the corresponding tax certificates and shall not be liable for any additional taxes payable to the tax authority/authorities in the Consultant’s country of origin.