Programme Management Senior Officer (Food & Agricultural Development)

Myanmar is one of UNOPS’ leading offices in Asia, acting as fund manager for some of the largest development programmes in the country. In addition, UNOPS is Principal Recipient for the Global Fund in Myanmar and for the Global Fund’s regional artemisinin-resistance initiative targeting drug-resistant malaria in the Greater Mekong Sub-region. UNOPS also provides procurement, infrastructure and project management services to a wide range of organizations in the country, including international development partners, other UN agencies, NGOs and INGOs. UNOPS plays a critical role in ensuring that the quality of services provided to its partners meets stringent requirements of speed, efficiency and cost effectiveness.

Background Information – LIFT Fund

LIFT is embarking on a new strategic period for 2024-2028. The LIFT 2024-2028 Strategy builds on the achievements of LIFT's experience as well as recent adaptations and learning in the face of a changing and dynamic context. The new Strategy outlines an approach to tackle structural drivers of poverty and vulnerability, while also considering immediate interventions to secure and maintain Myanmar's previous development gains. LIFT has proven itself as a key delivery partner across Myanmar’s changing contexts – ranging from post-Nargis recovery, a time of transition, and relief support during COVID-19. LIFT is managed by the United Nations Office for Projects Services (UNOPS) and has received funding from 16 international donors. The current donors are the United Kingdom, the European Union, Switzerland, Australia, the United States of America, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, and Denmark.

Information - Job Specific

Under the supervision of the Programme Management Advisor (Food & Agricultural Development), the Programme Management Senior Officer (Food & Agricultural Development) will support the design, preparation, and execution of the Food & Agricultural Development strategy and work plan in line with LIFT 2024-2028. The incumbent in this position will also provide technical assistance to F&AD assessments and be ready for deployment to support emerging needs. 

The PMSO should also ensure efficient reviewing, monitoring, and evaluation of the Programme activities and implementation progress and promote a client-oriented approach consistent with UNOPS rules and regulations. He/she will work in close collaboration with LIFT´s Programme Stakeholders to ensure successful planning and implementation of the Programme´s components. 

• Provide input to ensure that food and agricultural development interventions are effectively integrated within LIFT Strategy. Ensure that activities are technically sound, aligned with emerging climate change challenges, and responsive to both immediate and long-term needs.

• Implementing food and agricultural development review and assessments, ensuring the application of appropriate methodologies, data collection standards, and analysis that directly support the program’s strategic goals.

• Support maintaining the analytical tools, databases, and models used for food and agricultural development activities, ensuring data quality, integrity, and relevance.

• In collaboration with the Food and Agricultural Development team,  implement integrated climate change, food  and agricultural development and resilience activities, ensuring that key reports are delivered on time and are aligned with program goals and strategic decisions.

• Prepare comprehensive technical materials and reports on food and agricultural development. Ensure key findings are clearly articulated, actionable, and contribute to strategic decision-making within the program.

• Provide technical support and advice to program teams on food and agricultural development, ensuring the application of best practices, policies, and strategies in the context of climate resilience, agriculture, and food systems.

• Participate in field visits to provide hands-on support to implementation activities, gather firsthand insights on program impact, and refine strategies based on local context and emerging needs.

• Coordinate and engage with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders—including UN agencies, NGOs, government representatives, and local partners—to ensure the successful execution of food security and agricultural development assessments and initiatives.

• Organise and facilitate meetings, workshops, and other events on food and agricultural development, ensuring strong communication, coordination, and alignment of efforts across stakeholders.

• Facilitate cross-program coordination within LIFT, ensuring seamless integration of food and agricultural development activities with climate change adaptation and resilience programming. Promote synergies between teams to enhance the effectiveness of interventions.

• Lead the preparation of detailed reports that integrate food security, agricultural development, and climate change data, ensuring compliance with project objectives and donor requirements.

• Manage the monitoring and evaluation of food security, agriculture, and climate change interventions, systematically tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) and milestones to assess progress and outcomes. Ensure that monitoring systems are in place to capture the full scope of interventions.

• Analyze and interpret data from food security, agricultural, and climate change interventions to assess their effectiveness in building resilience and achieving program goals. Provide actionable insights to inform future programming and decision-making.

• Provide regular updates to the Programme Management Advisor, highlighting key achievements, emerging issues, and the overall status of food security and agricultural development activities, ensuring a high level of transparency and accountability.

• Coordinate and facilitate capacity-building initiatives for LIFT personnel and external partners, ensuring that teams have the skills and knowledge required to effectively implement climate change adaptation and agricultural development interventions in line with the latest methodologies and best practices.

• Foster a culture of knowledge sharing by contributing to and/or participating in internal and external learning sessions, ensuring that lessons learned from food and agricultural development interventions are integrated into future planning and implementation.

• Contribute to the development and dissemination of tools, guidelines, and resources designed to improve food and agricultural development practices across the program and its partners.

• Maintain accurate and accessible records of program activities, including assessments, surveys, reports, and meeting minutes, ensuring that documentation meets UNOPS standards for audits, reviews, and future program evaluation.

• Promote innovation within the food and agricultural development sector by identifying and incorporating new tools, technologies, and approaches to improve program performance and outcomes.

Education:

• A Master’s degree preferably in Food Management, Sustainable Food Systems, Agriculture, Nutrition, or other similar field is required.

• A first-level university degree (Bachelor's), preferably in the above professional fields with 2 additional years of relevant experience, could be considered in lieu of a Master´s degree.

Experience:

• A minimum of 2 years of progressive experience in programme or project management focused on the following sectors: Food and Agriculture, Sustainable Food Systems for Social Development, Nutrition, Food Security, Agricultural Development, or similar is required.   

• Experience in implementation of programmes or projects integrating 2 or more of the following: food security, agriculture, and climate change is desirable.

• Experience in developing or coordinating assessments is a great asset.

• Demonstrated skills in generating and compiling high-quality reports is highly desirable.

• Experience working with diverse partners and external stakeholders is an asset.

• Experience working with the UN or international organizations is highly desirable.

• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (e.g. MS Office newer versions, Google Suite Applications) is required.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required.

• Proficiency in Burmese is required.

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

• No se aceptarán candidaturas no solicitadas.

• No se considerarán las candidaturas recibidas después de la fecha límite.

• Únicamente se contactará a los/as candidatos/as seleccionados/as, quienes serán invitados/as a la siguiente fase del proceso de selección, la cual consta de varias evaluaciones.

• UNOPS celebra la diversidad y se compromete a la igualdad de oportunidades de empleo. La plantilla de trabajo de UNOPS está compuesta por personas de nacionalidades, culturas, idiomas, razas, identidades de género, orientaciones sexuales y habilidades diversas. UNOPS tiene como objetivo mantener y fortalecer esta diversidad para garantizar la igualdad de oportunidades, así como un entorno de trabajo inclusivo para toda su plantilla de trabajo.

• UNOPS anima a candidatas cualificadas, así como a candidatos/as cualificados/as de grupos infrarrepresentados en la plantilla de UNOPS, a postularse. Estos grupos incluyen personas de grupos racializados o indígenas, miembros de identidades de género y orientaciones sexuales minoritarias, así como personas con discapacidad.

• A UNOPS le gustaría garantizar que todos/as los/as candidatos/as puedan desempeñarse lo mejor posible durante el proceso de evaluación.  Si es seleccionado/a y necesita asistencia adicional para completar una prueba de evaluación, como ajustes razonables, informe a la persona responsable de recursos humanos cuando reciba la invitación. 

Términos y condiciones

• Para los puestos de funcionariado, UNOPS se reserva el derecho de designar a un/a candidato/a para un nivel inferior al publicado en el anuncio de vacante.

• Las personas titulares de contratos de modalidad ‌retainer‌ deben completar una serie
  de cursos obligatorios antes de empezar a prestar servicios a UNOPS. Estos cursos
  deben completarse fuera de las horas trabajadas para la organización y su duración
  aproximada es de cuatro horas. Es posible que durante el período de vigencia de su
  contrato deba realizar cursos de actualización o nuevos cursos obligatorios. Tenga
  en cuenta que no recibirá ninguna compensación por la realización de estos cursos.
  Para más información sobre los contratos de modalidad retainer, consulte esta página.
  
  

• Todo el personal de UNOPS tiene la responsabilidad de desempeñar sus tareas de conformidad con la Carta de las Naciones Unidas y las políticas y las instrucciones de UNOPS, así como con los marcos de rendición de cuentas correspondientes. Además, todo el personal debe demostrar que comprende los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible en consonancia con los valores básicos de las Naciones Unidas y Nuestra Agenda Común.

• En el marco de sus políticas, UNOPS lleva a cabo verificaciones de antecedentes de todos/as los/as posibles candidatos/as. La contratación en UNOPS está supeditada a los resultados de dichas verificaciones.