The Asia Resilient Cities (ARC) Project is a five-year cooperative agreement funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. (JSI), with partners DevTech Systems, Inc., BRAC, and ICF. Over the course of five years, ARC will address cross-cutting urban development challenges in select cities in Asia by promoting sustainable urban growth; supporting resilient, low-carbon urban infrastructure; and integrating climate change and environmentally-conscious approaches.
The ARC City Project Manager will be the most senior technical staff member of the ARC team in Bishkek, responsible for all coordination and communication with the city and federal government counterparts. This position reports to the ARC Deputy Director (or Assistant Deputy Director in his absence). This position is full time and is based in Bishkek. The hiring organization for this position is Branch Office of JSI Research and Training Institute, Inc. in the Kyrgyz Republic.

The ARC City Project Manager is responsible for coordinating with key city officials in various sectors including concerned national government offices, the City Mayor’s Office, and other sectors including health, education, urban development, environment and climate change, disaster management, transport, data systems, academic institutions, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), civil society organizations, private sector, and other stakeholders as needed. The City Project Manager will have support from ARC’s global staff to complete activities, but must take initiative at the local level to ensure success of the project.

Specific responsibilities include:

• Manage day-to-day ARC activities, and ensure they align with project expectations and approved global and city work plans.
• Act as ARC point of contact in the city for all government authorities and other stakeholders.
• Actively participate in various government interactions, as a representative of ARC.
• Manage the timely preparation and submission of annual city work plans.
• Assist in recruitment of ARC city team staff, organize their orientation training and supervise their functioning as per assigned Job Responsibilities
• Plan and organize the co-creation workshops and other meetings/ training programs as per the action plan in order to maximize government and stakeholder engagement.
• Following co-creation workshops, lead discussions in order to develop and execute a memorandum of understanding with the government, private sector entities, and local institutions to facilitate partnering with ARC on key activities.
• Supervise and monitor physical performance and financial status of ARC project as per action plan and budget allocated for ARC in Bishkek
• Comply with project rules and regulations and with local laws.
• Comply with all USAID and JSI (ARC prime partner) rules and regulations for project management and operations.
• Keep the Deputy Project Director apprised on complex and/or sensitive issues and work closely with the ARC core team to troubleshoot these and identify the appropriate course of action.
• Identify effective communication mechanisms to ensure proper brand identification at the city level and increase visibility of ARC work and success stories at all levels.
• Monitor progress against monitoring, evaluation, and learning targets; take corrective action where necessary to realize project commitments.
• Oversee collection of project monitoring data such as budgets, reports, datasets, and the like.
• Provide basic analytical support for city monitoring data.
• Submit technical and financial reports (quarterly, semiannual, annual and end-of-project) to the Project Director as requested and using the provided templates.
• Attend ARC staff meetings on a regular basis to share and receive information across country teams.

• ARC seeks a results-oriented individual with the ability to produce high quality deliverables, manage multiple concurrent tasks, meet tight deadlines, and pay close attention to detail. The successful candidate is required to have:
• Postgraduate degree in Environmental Science, Public Health, Sociology, Social Work, Economics, Administration, or related fields.
• Experience working in climate change, disaster management, public health, urban development, administration, or related fields preferred.
• Minimum 7 years of demonstrated ability to interact with key stakeholders in Bishkek. Experience working in city government is a plus.
• Ability to network and maintain relationships with senior government officials, NGOs, and the private sector
• Strong written and oral communications skills and ability to make high quality presentations.
• Strong administrative skills
• Strong knowledge in Tax and Labor Legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic
• Fluent in English, Russian and Kyrgyz, both written and oral.
• Based in or willing to relocate to Bishkek.
• Strong initiative and self-motivation required, with a commitment to teamwork and effectiveness within a multicultural, collaborative team.