Partnerships Senior Officer

UNOPS Hub in Amman

The UNOPS Hub in Amman implements projects in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, in partnership with bilateral donors, national governments, and other UN agencies.  With an established presence across the region, the office runs operations including large-scale procurement, project development, and technical management, and provides financial, human resources, and infrastructure-related services. The functional objective of UNOPS Hub in Amman is to deliver its projects in an efficient and effective manner and in line with the principles, rules and regulations of UNOPS, in order to support the response to the current needs and national priorities in the region.

The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.

UNOPS is committed to achieving a fully diverse workforce.

Background Information - Job Specific

In Syria, UNOPS provides operational support to its partners and UN sister agencies in order to maximize the efficiency of the response to the urgent needs of the affected communities.  In addition, UNOPS has been working with its partners to improve access to emergency services for the affected communities, including access to health care, while it remains committed to engage with partners in other sectors with an aim to improve the quality of life and access to basic services for all.

The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS. 

UNOPS is committed to achieving a fully diverse workforce.

Under the direct supervision of the Programme Advisor, and the secondary supervision of the Partnerships Advisor (Amman MCO), the incumbent will perform the roles within the following scope:

• Partnerships Development and Strategic Positioning

• Inter-agency Collaboration 

• Knowledge Management and Innovation

• In coordination with the Programme Advisor and the Partnerships Advisor, contribute to the development of a comprehensive partnership and programme development plan in line with UNOPS Strategic Plan and regional strategies. This includes analysis of the country context and the regional and national development and humanitarian landscape, identification of main partners, and strategic positioning of UNOPS in the potential operational niches identified;

• Contribute to active positioning and expansion of UNOPS portfolio by building a network of key partners, keeping abreast of social, economic, and political trends;

• Monitor and evaluate humanitarian and development trends and needs to identify areas of collaboration within the UNOPS mandate and existing capacity. Research events, publications, and announcements, to track and screen opportunities for possible UNOPS interventions and identify trends that will drive partnership opportunities;

• Establish contacts with potential partners, organizing meetings and negotiations, and prepare subsequent records of meetings, plan of action and follow-up for potential partnership development opportunities;

• In coordination with the Programme Advisor, lead on the identification, design, formulation, drafting and negotiation of new projects and programmes, including concept notes and project documents;

• Coordinate and collaborate with the relevant Partnerships personnel at local, Hub, liaison, and HQ level, as well as Project Managers and project personnel of the country offices covered by the office, to ensure aligned and coherent interactions with partners;

• Create and maintain oneUNOPS Projects opportunities and engagements  in alignment with UNOPS corporate guidelines including UNOPS Project Management Manual (PMM);

• Coordinate technical and financial requirements, and negotiate proposals to close new project opportunities;

• Drafts agreements and/or contractual documents required for the signature and implementation of new projects;

• Understand and clearly explain UNOPS pricing policy to partners;

• In coordination with the Communications and Reporting personnel at the Amman Hub, when available, gather content for communications and outreach materials.

2.  Inter-agency Partnership 

• Establish and further develop partnerships with UN agencies, international organizations, governments, foundations, and international NGOs to diversify project opportunities within Syria;

• Liaise with UN partner agencies, governmental and non-governmental organizations for programme development and information dissemination purposes;

• As delegated by the Programme Advisor and/ or the Partnerships Advisor, serve as the focal point and participate in, and report on the relevant inter-agency, donor, and government coordination meetings including addressing project development issues in consultation with UNOPS project managers and technical experts, as required. Take part in UN common planning and programming processes, including strategic country analysis, humanitarian response plans, etc. in coordination with the Programme Advisor;

• Build a network of key partners, keeping abreast of evolving trends (social, economic, and political), including the application of innovation to project and partnership development.

3. Knowledge Management and Innovation

• Implement standards, tools and templates provided by HQ to effectively manage partnership and project development within the team to enhance/maintain UNOPS effectiveness as a provider of project services for sustainable results;

• Contribute to the ongoing research, development, and implementation of best practice and innovative approaches to maximize performance and sustain achievements in project and partnership development;

• Help build partnerships capacity and negotiation skills among project managers;

• Contribute to the dissemination and sharing of best practices and lessons learned for planning and knowledge building within project and partnership development;

• Provide regular feedback on existing systems, tools and resources to ensure its relevance to day-to-day operations.

Monitoring and Progress Controls

• # of concept notes and project ideas developed and submitted to potential donors 

• # of new engagements negotiated and closed;

• UNOPS is represented in all relevant coordination bodies and interagency working groups as well as included in country analysis and response plans in areas pertaining to UNOPS mandate; 

• # of best practices and lessons learned for project and partnership development identified and shared with colleagues;

• A Master’s degree in a relevant field preferably in Business Administration, Public Administration, International Development, Political Science, Communications or International Relations, Social Sciences, or other relevant subject is required
• A combination of a Bachelor's degree with an additional 2 years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of the education requirements outlined above.

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Damascus is not a UN Family Duty Station.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (around 4 hours) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS.
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns.
Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

Contract type: Individual Contractual Agreement (ICA)
Contract level: Local ICA Specialist - 9
Contract duration: Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance.’