Country Manager Talent Bench and Global Roster (ICS 11)

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

At UNOPS, we strive for excellence! We work in challenging environments around the world and we best serve people in need by being able to fill business critical roles very quickly.

In order to strengthen our capacity to meet our future needs to fill business critical roles, UNOPS has an ambitious and proactive recruitment approach: the Talent Benches and Global Rosters.  

Talent Benches (Internal Candidates Only): are part of UNOPS’ Talent Management initiatives, to further strengthen the capacity to identify and develop internal talent and to enable succession planning for business critical roles.

Global Rosters (External Candidates Only): also for business critical roles, we establish rosters which are pools of assessed candidates who can be recruited  in an efficient manner once a vacancy arises. 

Talent Bench and Global Roster members will be considered first once a vacancy for a business critical role arises. As a member you will remain on the Talent Bench and the Global Roster for a duration of 3 years.

UNOPS is looking for candidates who are internationally mobile and who could accept a job offer within the next 12 to 18 months.

The Talent Bench and Global Roster are part of UNOPS’ Talent Management initiative to further increase diversity among business critical roles.

Further information about UNOPS and its international activities can be found here. For further information about the talent bench/Global roster, please subscribe to the upcoming webinar taking place on the 2nd of November. Please send an email to talentbenches@unops.org and we shall get back to you with further details about the login details and schedule.

Note to all applicants: 

• Candidates with experience from country offices will be given special consideration, work experience in "non-family" and hardship duty stations being an asset;
• Candidates selected to be part of the talent bench or roster are expected to be reasonably mobile;
• At UNOPS we take pride in ensuring that the people we hire and our culture reflect and celebrate diversity of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, nationality and disability status. If you require an accommodation for the application, recruitment or interview process please let us know and we will work with you to meet your needs.
  

Please ensure to update your "UNOPS Jobs" user profile  with your most recent work experience as well as fill in the following questionnaire so that we can better understand your profile (Questionnaire).

As part of the Multi Country Office set up, a Project Office is responsible for developing, delivering and managing the portfolio of engagements and cost effective services contributing to partners' sustainable results and achievements of UNOPS management results. Project Office also manages the operational risks associated with the Project Office’s portfolio of engagements.

The Project Office operates as an integral part of the Multi Country Office management structure. The Country Manager reports to the Multi Country Office Director who provides strategic direction, oversight and guidance. The Country Manager also works in close collaboration with the MCO Head of Support Services and the Head of Programme. The Country Manager role is responsible for planning, implementing, monitoring and supervising the delivery of engagements and operations in a given country - that includes liaison and engagement development activities as well as delivering timely and cost effective services for sustainable results by partners and stakeholders.

1. People leadership
2. Project Office portfolio management
3. Alliance building, networking and advocacy for business development
4. Service delivery and quality assurance
5. Representation and inter-agency partnership
6. Knowledge management and innovation

• Create, foster and role model a culture of trust, empowerment and accountability within the Project Office.

• Build engagement and foster a diverse and inclusive work environment, respectful of all, and ensure that the highest standards of conduct are observed.

• Create, foster and role model a culture of respect and zero tolerance for discrimination, abuse of authority, harrasement, sexual harrasement and sexual exploitation and abuse. Ensure accountability for actions and perform duties in accordance with protection mechanisms and action plans, as expected by UNOPS policies, standards and commitments. 

• Promote teamwork, collaboration and diversity, by providing timely guidance and supervision to the team, to enable them to perform their duties responsibly, effectively and efficiently.

• Plan, recruit, manage and develop a flexible and diverse workforce, with the skills and competencies needed to ensure optimum performance.

• Under the guidance and oversight from the MCO Director and the Head of Programme, develop proposals and prepare project agreements in connection with identified opportunities.

• Plan and propose to the Multi Country Office Director required resources (human, financial and administrative) to achieve goals set for the Project Office. 

• Establish the strategies and implementation plans for the Project Office.

• In collaboration with the partners, develop the objectives, performance measurements, standards and results expected to ensure timely and partner oriented services. 

• Oversee, monitor and direct appropriate measures to maintain the safety and security of UNOPS, assets, property, information and personnel and their eligible dependents within the respective area of responsibility.  

• Under the guidance from the MCO Director and with the support of the MCO Head of Support Services and the MCO Head of Programme, the Country Manager manages the overall HSSE performance in the Project Office while overseeing the implementation of all HSSE requirements

• In consultation with the UNOPS Chief of Security act as the UNOPS Security Focal Point (SFP) within the country of operation, including participating actively in the Security Management Team (SMT) and perform duties on security as outlined in the Framework of Accountability in the UN Security Management System Policy manual.

Alliance building, networking and advocacy for business development

• Keep abreast of and assess the needs of the relevant national government and other UNOPS partners operating in the country, to identify and plan with them (and under the guidance from the Multi Country Office Director) areas for leveraging UNOPS services/competencies in project service delivery and management that will facilitate their achievement of sustainable results. 

• Build and strengthen strategic partnerships through active networking, advocacy and effective communication of UNOPS competencies in project service delivery and management, to develop opportunities and engagements with new partners.

• Keep the Multi Country Office Director informed/advised on opportunities and/or challenges to strengthen UNOPS capacity for programme/project management and business development

Service delivery and quality assurance

• In close collaboration with the MCO Head of Support Services and the MCO Head of Programme, establish and maintain appropriate arrangements for ensuring excellence of business processes and quality standards as well as ensure direct operational support for delivery of the Project Office programmes/projects, including leveraging regional or corporate support facilities whenever available.

• Monitor and oversee programme/project implementation, review progress, assess constraints and take corrective action, ensuring early warning of risks to the Multi Country Office, for action and/or intervention.

• Take responsibility for financial decisions/exercise financial control to ensure the fiscal health/sustainability of the Project Office, including submitting financial reports to the Multi Country Office Director.

Representation and inter-agency partnership 

• Participate, as delegated by the Multi Country Office Director, in inter-agency and external meetings/bodies to contribute to the harmonisation of policies, practices and approaches within the UN System, such as the implementation of the UNSDCF, integrated Strategic Framework and ‘Delivering as One’.

• On behalf of the MCO Director, participate in any UN country team meetings or interagency management groups to contribute to discussions and initiatives to strengthen coherence, inclusiveness, aid effectiveness and security measures.

• In alignment with the MCO Director, keep the UN Resident Coordinator informed of UNOPS activities within the country office through regular communication and formal reporting on business acquisition and implementation of activities led by UNOPS as part of the UNSDCF or equivalent.

Knowledge management and innovation 

• Contribute to the development and introduction of innovation to ensure UNOPS is continually incorporating best practice approaches.

• Contribute to the dissemination and sharing of best practices and lessons learned for corporate, regional and national development planning and knowledge building.

• Plan, implement and organise strategic capacity building of personnel, partners and stakeholders.

• An Advanced University degree (Master’s Degree or equivalent) combined with seven (7) years of relevant experience OR 
• A First level University degree (Bachelor’s degree or equivalent) combined with nine (9) years of relevant experience is required.

• A minimum of 7 years (for advanced university degree holders) or 9 years (for first level university degree holders) of progressively responsible experience in international development, business development, operations and/or project/programme management in a large international and/or corporate organization.  
• Experience managing medium to large sized teams, including management of senior professional staff is a distinct advantage.
• Experience partnering with the public sector on developing, implementing and/or evaluating  projects and programs of high national relevance is a distinct advantage.
• Some experience in the UN system organizations and/or a developing country is desirable.

• Full working knowledge of English is essential. 
• Knowledge of French and/or Spanish is a strong asset.
• Knowledge of another official UNOPS language is an asset.

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Duty Station: Various UNOPS Project Offices
Contract type: Fixed Term or IICA
Contract level: ICS 11 (P4 - IICA3)

• Fixed-term staff contracts - 'One year initially, renewable subject to satisfactory performance and funding availability'
• Ongoing ICA – ‘Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance.’