Project Management at the United Nations: Projects Management for Sustainable Social Change

Ricardo Vargas, director of the Project Management Practice Group at the United Nations, on project management at the U.N and the challenges of development and sustainable social change projects.

Ricardo Vargas is the director of the Project Management Practice Group at the United Nations (U.N). His work at the U.N is focused on improving the management of humanitarian, peace-building and infrastructure development projects in more than 80 countries, such as Haiti, Afghanistan, Iraq and Southern Sudan.

I ask Ricardo about his role and the unique challenges that an organization like the U.N faces in managing complex development projects and programs. One interesting and important thing that Ricardo highlighted is the fact that, at the U.N, Project Management not only has to deliver value but it must also create positive and sustainable social change. Ricardo describes the U.N approach to Project Management and what makes their project and program management environment different from the private or other public sector environment. He also describes what the U.N looks for when hiring project managers and how they continue to develop their management and leadership skills. 

I also ask Ricardo about findings from his research that led to the development of a mathematical model to calculate the Return on Investment (ROI) of a Project Management Office (PMO).

The Interview:

Listen now:

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In this interview, I ask Ricardo the following questions:

  • Tell us a little bit about your current role at the United Nations.
  • You will be presenting at The Project Zone Germany 2013 Congress organized by PMI Frankfurt Chapter and Stamford Global, between March 18th and 19th in Frankfurt. Your keynote will be about findings from research you conducted to create a mathematical model to calculate the Return on Investment (ROI) of a Project Management Office (PMO). What was the motivation for the study and what did you hope to learn?
  • Why is having a mathematical model for calculating the ROI of a PMO important for organizations and why now?
  • Can you give us a high level overview of the model and what are the key components that project managers should know about it?
  • What are some of the other big key questions that you plan to address in your keynote?
  • You mission at the UN is to improve the management of humanitarian, peace-building and infrastructure development projects in dozens of countries, such as Haiti, Afghanistan, Iraq and Southern Sudan. What are some of the unique challenges that an organization like the United Nations face in managing peace-building, humanitarian, and development projects and programs?
  • What makes this type of project and program management environment different from the commercial or private sector environment?
  • The UNOPS project management methodology incorporates global best practices such as PRINCE2 and the Project Management Institute’s standards.  Can you give us an overview of the U.N approach to Project Management?
  • What do you look for when hiring project or program managers at the U.N? Are there specific leadership skills that you look for in your project managers, given the challenges of peace-building, humanitarian, and development projects and programs?
  • Once in the role, what are some of the qualities or skills that help project and program managers thrive at the U.N?
  • Do you value certification such as PRINCE or PMP for project managers?
  • Is there a defined career path for project and program managers are the UN and how do they continue to develop their change management and leadership skills?

Links and Contact Information:

More about Ricardo Vargas:

Ricardo Vargas is a project, portfolio and risk management expert. During the past 15 years, he has been responsible for over 80 major projects in various countries in the areas of petroleum, energy, infrastructure, telecommunications, information technology and finances, comprising an investment portfolio of over 18 billion dollars. Currently, Ricardo is the director of the Project Management Practice Group at UNOPS and lives in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Ricardo Vargas has written ten books on project management, published in Portuguese and English, which have sold over 250,000 copies throughout the world. In 2005 he received the PMI Distinguished Award and in 2011 the PMI IS CoP Professional Development Award for his contribution to the development of project management. He also received the PMI Professional Development Product of the Year award for the PMDome® workshop, considered the best project management training solution in the world.

About Project Zone Congress 2013:

Project Zone Congress 2013, presented by Stamford Global and PMI Frankfurt Chapter, aims to continue the successful journey of the Project Zone Summit series to build a neutral and objective platform for project professionals to share ideas and learn international best practices.  The Congress offers over 40 international speakers focusing on change management, leadership, risk management, Agile and PMO, as well as networking with over 250 delegates, to deliver tangible solutions to organizations that can be translated into direct cost savings and business success.

Audio Links:

Listen now:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Right click here to download the MP3

One Response to Project Management at the United Nations: Projects Management for Sustainable Social Change
  1. ARUN DORAIRAJ
    January 17, 2015 | 3:19 pm

    I am impressed to hear about the exemplary work done by Ricardo Vargas in various projects across various countries through the UN. It would be really nice of him, if he can throw some ideas pertaining to taking up a IT Project Manager Role at the UN. Being a part of the UN Team is my ambition in life!!

Project Management at the United Nations: Projects Management for Sustainable Social Change

Ricardo Vargas, director of the Project Management Practice Group at the United Nations, on project management at the U.N and the challenges of development and sustainable social change projects.

Ricardo Vargas is the director of the Project Management Practice Group at the United Nations (U.N). His work at the U.N is focused on improving the management of humanitarian, peace-building and infrastructure development projects in more than 80 countries, such as Haiti, Afghanistan, Iraq and Southern Sudan.

I ask Ricardo about his role and the unique challenges that an organization like the U.N faces in managing complex development projects and programs. One interesting and important thing that Ricardo highlighted is the fact that, at the U.N, Project Management not only has to deliver value but it must also create positive and sustainable social change. Ricardo describes the U.N approach to Project Management and what makes their project and program management environment different from the private or other public sector environment. He also describes what the U.N looks for when hiring project managers and how they continue to develop their management and leadership skills. 

I also ask Ricardo about findings from his research that led to the development of a mathematical model to calculate the Return on Investment (ROI) of a Project Management Office (PMO).

The Interview:

Listen now:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Right click here to download the MP3

In this interview, I ask Ricardo the following questions:

  • Tell us a little bit about your current role at the United Nations.
  • You will be presenting at The Project Zone Germany 2013 Congress organized by PMI Frankfurt Chapter and Stamford Global, between March 18th and 19th in Frankfurt. Your keynote will be about findings from research you conducted to create a mathematical model to calculate the Return on Investment (ROI) of a Project Management Office (PMO). What was the motivation for the study and what did you hope to learn?
  • Why is having a mathematical model for calculating the ROI of a PMO important for organizations and why now?
  • Can you give us a high level overview of the model and what are the key components that project managers should know about it?
  • What are some of the other big key questions that you plan to address in your keynote?
  • You mission at the UN is to improve the management of humanitarian, peace-building and infrastructure development projects in dozens of countries, such as Haiti, Afghanistan, Iraq and Southern Sudan. What are some of the unique challenges that an organization like the United Nations face in managing peace-building, humanitarian, and development projects and programs?
  • What makes this type of project and program management environment different from the commercial or private sector environment?
  • The UNOPS project management methodology incorporates global best practices such as PRINCE2 and the Project Management Institute’s standards.  Can you give us an overview of the U.N approach to Project Management?
  • What do you look for when hiring project or program managers at the U.N? Are there specific leadership skills that you look for in your project managers, given the challenges of peace-building, humanitarian, and development projects and programs?
  • Once in the role, what are some of the qualities or skills that help project and program managers thrive at the U.N?
  • Do you value certification such as PRINCE or PMP for project managers?
  • Is there a defined career path for project and program managers are the UN and how do they continue to develop their change management and leadership skills?

Links and Contact Information:

More about Ricardo Vargas:

Ricardo Vargas is a project, portfolio and risk management expert. During the past 15 years, he has been responsible for over 80 major projects in various countries in the areas of petroleum, energy, infrastructure, telecommunications, information technology and finances, comprising an investment portfolio of over 18 billion dollars. Currently, Ricardo is the director of the Project Management Practice Group at UNOPS and lives in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Ricardo Vargas has written ten books on project management, published in Portuguese and English, which have sold over 250,000 copies throughout the world. In 2005 he received the PMI Distinguished Award and in 2011 the PMI IS CoP Professional Development Award for his contribution to the development of project management. He also received the PMI Professional Development Product of the Year award for the PMDome® workshop, considered the best project management training solution in the world.

About Project Zone Congress 2013:

Project Zone Congress 2013, presented by Stamford Global and PMI Frankfurt Chapter, aims to continue the successful journey of the Project Zone Summit series to build a neutral and objective platform for project professionals to share ideas and learn international best practices.  The Congress offers over 40 international speakers focusing on change management, leadership, risk management, Agile and PMO, as well as networking with over 250 delegates, to deliver tangible solutions to organizations that can be translated into direct cost savings and business success.

Audio Links:

Listen now:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Right click here to download the MP3

One Response to Project Management at the United Nations: Projects Management for Sustainable Social Change
  1. ARUN DORAIRAJ
    January 17, 2015 | 3:19 pm

    I am impressed to hear about the exemplary work done by Ricardo Vargas in various projects across various countries through the UN. It would be really nice of him, if he can throw some ideas pertaining to taking up a IT Project Manager Role at the UN. Being a part of the UN Team is my ambition in life!!

Project Management at the United Nations: Projects Management for Sustainable Social Change

Ricardo Vargas, director of the Project Management Practice Group at the United Nations, on project management at the U.N and the challenges of development and sustainable social change projects.

Ricardo Vargas is the director of the Project Management Practice Group at the United Nations (U.N). His work at the U.N is focused on improving the management of humanitarian, peace-building and infrastructure development projects in more than 80 countries, such as Haiti, Afghanistan, Iraq and Southern Sudan.

I ask Ricardo about his role and the unique challenges that an organization like the U.N faces in managing complex development projects and programs. One interesting and important thing that Ricardo highlighted is the fact that, at the U.N, Project Management not only has to deliver value but it must also create positive and sustainable social change. Ricardo describes the U.N approach to Project Management and what makes their project and program management environment different from the private or other public sector environment. He also describes what the U.N looks for when hiring project managers and how they continue to develop their management and leadership skills. 

I also ask Ricardo about findings from his research that led to the development of a mathematical model to calculate the Return on Investment (ROI) of a Project Management Office (PMO).

The Interview:

Listen now:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Right click here to download the MP3

In this interview, I ask Ricardo the following questions:

  • Tell us a little bit about your current role at the United Nations.
  • You will be presenting at The Project Zone Germany 2013 Congress organized by PMI Frankfurt Chapter and Stamford Global, between March 18th and 19th in Frankfurt. Your keynote will be about findings from research you conducted to create a mathematical model to calculate the Return on Investment (ROI) of a Project Management Office (PMO). What was the motivation for the study and what did you hope to learn?
  • Why is having a mathematical model for calculating the ROI of a PMO important for organizations and why now?
  • Can you give us a high level overview of the model and what are the key components that project managers should know about it?
  • What are some of the other big key questions that you plan to address in your keynote?
  • You mission at the UN is to improve the management of humanitarian, peace-building and infrastructure development projects in dozens of countries, such as Haiti, Afghanistan, Iraq and Southern Sudan. What are some of the unique challenges that an organization like the United Nations face in managing peace-building, humanitarian, and development projects and programs?
  • What makes this type of project and program management environment different from the commercial or private sector environment?
  • The UNOPS project management methodology incorporates global best practices such as PRINCE2 and the Project Management Institute’s standards.  Can you give us an overview of the U.N approach to Project Management?
  • What do you look for when hiring project or program managers at the U.N? Are there specific leadership skills that you look for in your project managers, given the challenges of peace-building, humanitarian, and development projects and programs?
  • Once in the role, what are some of the qualities or skills that help project and program managers thrive at the U.N?
  • Do you value certification such as PRINCE or PMP for project managers?
  • Is there a defined career path for project and program managers are the UN and how do they continue to develop their change management and leadership skills?

Links and Contact Information:

More about Ricardo Vargas:

Ricardo Vargas is a project, portfolio and risk management expert. During the past 15 years, he has been responsible for over 80 major projects in various countries in the areas of petroleum, energy, infrastructure, telecommunications, information technology and finances, comprising an investment portfolio of over 18 billion dollars. Currently, Ricardo is the director of the Project Management Practice Group at UNOPS and lives in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Ricardo Vargas has written ten books on project management, published in Portuguese and English, which have sold over 250,000 copies throughout the world. In 2005 he received the PMI Distinguished Award and in 2011 the PMI IS CoP Professional Development Award for his contribution to the development of project management. He also received the PMI Professional Development Product of the Year award for the PMDome® workshop, considered the best project management training solution in the world.

About Project Zone Congress 2013:

Project Zone Congress 2013, presented by Stamford Global and PMI Frankfurt Chapter, aims to continue the successful journey of the Project Zone Summit series to build a neutral and objective platform for project professionals to share ideas and learn international best practices.  The Congress offers over 40 international speakers focusing on change management, leadership, risk management, Agile and PMO, as well as networking with over 250 delegates, to deliver tangible solutions to organizations that can be translated into direct cost savings and business success.

Audio Links:

Listen now:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Right click here to download the MP3

One Response to Project Management at the United Nations: Projects Management for Sustainable Social Change
  1. ARUN DORAIRAJ
    January 17, 2015 | 3:19 pm

    I am impressed to hear about the exemplary work done by Ricardo Vargas in various projects across various countries through the UN. It would be really nice of him, if he can throw some ideas pertaining to taking up a IT Project Manager Role at the UN. Being a part of the UN Team is my ambition in life!!