Senior Partnerships Advisor

Based in Geneva, the Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECR) supports UNOPS offices throughout the region through management, financial and programmatic oversight of global and country-specific portfolios, clusters and operations centres, including hosting services; fund and management advisory services; project implementation; procuring goods and services; and managing human resources.

ECR ensures that projects are executed to the highest standards, providing a shared knowledge base and ensuring that best practices and lessons learned are disseminated between business units and projects across the entire region.

ECR strategy is to:

• Strengthen UNOPS role in operationalizing the Sustainable Development Goals with particular emphasis on health, environment and economic development.

• Position UNOPS in the Balkan sub-region, the Caucasus and Central Asia.

• Strengthen the implementation of ECR global and regional programmes, with revitalized partnerships in infrastructure, procurement and project management.

The Senior Partnerships Advisor will work across Europe and Central Asia region in close collaboration with the Regional Director, coordinate with ECR office partnerships officers, and lead the partner relationships with IFIs and key bilateral partners for ECR, working closely with the UNOPS PLG HQ and Liaison offices.

Summary of Key Functions

Partnership, Business acquisition and growth

Knowledge management, innovation and technical support

Efficient partner relationships and organizational work ethics and culture

*** The selected candidate would be required to travel extensively in and out of the region.

1. Partnerships development, business acquisition and growth include the following responsibilities:

• Coordinate the development of the 2022 - 2025 business development strategy for UNOPS ECR, development of a business plan 2022 - 2025 and lead the annual updates of ECR as well as hubs and offices business plans;

• Coordinate donor and partner mapping exercise covering both the development and humanitarian landscape;

• Advise the ECR RD and Senior Management Team on the possibilities for UNOPS strategic positioning, vis-à-vis the potential partners;

• Coordinate preparation of substantive briefs on specific partners, UNOPS strategic positioning, and

• partnership opportunities;

• Establish working relationships with key potential partners and attend relevant meetings to position UNOPS as a partner of choice;

• Lead, manage and coordinate agreement negotiations, drafting of project proposals, budget and other partnership and programme development communication;

• Coordinate and maintain regular communication with the Corporate Partnership Group (PLG) in UNOPS HQ in Copenhagen;

• Coordinate and collaborate with relevant partnerships and programme personnel at the country, regional and UNOPS HQ level to ensure aligned and coherent interactions with partners.
  
  

2. Knowledge management, innovation and technical support, including the following responsibilities:

• Advise on the policy-level issues related to partnerships and programme development for UNOPS ECR;

• Assess and keep abreast of the emerging trends in the development and humanitarian spheres in ECR as relates to UNOPS services.

• Identify and synthesize best practices and lessons learnt as related to partnership and programme development.

• Implement standards, tools and templates provided by PLG to manage partnership and programme development within ECR effectively;

• Contribute to UNOPS capacity development as related to partnerships, including promoting learning, coaching and mentoring the team members, field staff on UNOPS policy and practices for effective management of partnerships;

• Participate in, conduct the relevant training for the operations/projects personnel, and participate in field missions.

• Contribute to knowledge networks and communities of practice.

• Lead effective coordination of the ECR offices’ Partnerships specialists.

• ECR helps ensure that projects are executed to the highest standards, providing a shared knowledge base and ensuring that best practices and lessons are disseminated between projects across the entire region.

• Coordination and collaboration with UNOPS Regional Partnerships Advisors.

3. Efficient partner relationships and organizational work ethics and culture, including the following responsibilities:

• Actively engage with partners to solicit feedback and gauge their satisfaction with UNOPS services;

• Coordinate implementation of partner surveys within ECR as appropriate.

• Undertake advocacy, public information and communication activities in collaboration with PLG, when required.

• On behalf of the ECR Regional Director, participate in and report on the relevant inter-agency, donor and government coordination meetings, international conferences, summits, etc.;

• Actively engage with internal stakeholders.

• Demonstrate professional and personal ethics, transparency and openness.
  
  

Perform other related duties as required.

a. Education

• An Advanced University Degree (Master's or equivalent) in Business Administration, Political Science, International Relations, International Development, Social Sciences or a related discipline is required.

b. Work experience 

• Minimum of seven (7) years of relevant experience in an international development context combining the following:

• Strategy development and execution

• In-depth knowledge of development issues and current donor and sectoral trends, with emphasis on a deep understanding of International Financing Institutions and, ECR partner/donor landscape as well as regional humanitarian and development challenges, is required;

• Knowledge/experience with Development Finance Institutions, particularly WB, EU, EIB, ADB is required

• Experience in dealing and negotiating with external stakeholders is required;

Assets:

• Demonstrated experience working in project and programme management, international development, post-disaster and/or emergency contexts;

• Experience in the private sector and/or social impact investing;

• Experience in International Organizations is an asset, particularly current and targeted partners for ECR (e.g., donor governments, IFIs, UN);

• PRINCE2® Foundation Certification and PRINCE2 Practitioner Certification ∙ Experience with SharePoint, PowerBi, Outlook, and Microsoft Office suite. Strong Excel skills 

c. Language (s)

• Fluency in English (working language) is required.

• Knowledge of French and/or Russian is an asset.

• Ability to think strategically and conceptually and to translate these into concrete results.

• Ability to identify, initiate and maintain good relationships with key client/partner organizations, including building professional relationships with senior decision-makers and influencers/leaders.

• Proven organizational skills and ability to effectively manage multiple tasks while fostering quality, team spirit and positive working relationships with colleagues.

• Strong interpersonal relationships and demonstrated ability to leverage business networks and partnerships for continued growth.

• Excellent communication skills, including expressing ideas clearly, concisely and effectively, both orally and in writing.

Knowledge Management and Learning

• Promotes a knowledge sharing and learning culture in the office

• In-depth knowledge of development issues, with particular regard to the ECR region

• Ability to advocate and provide policy advice

• Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more Practice Areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills

Management and Leadership

• Focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback

• Leads teams effectively and shows conflict resolution skills

• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude

• Builds strong relationships with clients and external actors

• Remains calm, in control and good-humoured even under pressure

• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities

[Instructions: Please delete this paragraph and insert relevant information below:

1. Contract type: INDIVIDUAL CONTRACTOR AGREEMENT (ICA)
2. Contract level : INTERNATIONAL ICA LEVEL 3
3. Contract duration: Ongoing ICA – Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance.

• 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.
• 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
• 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.


This position is based in Switzerland and the contract fee is not exempt from Swiss laws, including but not limited to laws regarding taxation, social security, accident and health insurance.

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.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.