Programme Manager

Peace and Security Centre

The UNOPS Peace and Security Centre (PSC) is a principal service provider in the field of mine action with the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), UNDP, UNICEF, Governments of mine-affected countries and other mine action partners. The Centre is responsible to administer, provide support and oversight of the day-to-day management of the Project Field offices, both according to the client requirements and in line with UNOPS rules and regulations.

It is led by a Head of Centre, who has the overall authority and accountability for the performance of the Peace and Security Centre on behalf of its clients.

Background Information - UNMAS

Established in 1997 by the General Assembly, the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) serves as the United Nations focal point for mine action and supports its vision of "a world free of the threat of landmines and unexploded ordnance, where individuals and communities live in a safe environment conducive to development, and where mine survivors are fully integrated into their societies."

UNMAS coordinates and collaborates with fourteen UN departments, agencies, programmes and funds to ensure an effective, proactive and coordinated response to the problems of landmines and explosive remnants of war, including cluster munitions.

UNMAS establishes, manages, and provides strategic direction to mine-action coordination centres in countries and territories as part of peacekeeping operations and humanitarian emergencies or crises. In these situations, UNMAS may plan and carry out mine-action projects, support and coordinate the work of local and international mine-action service providers, and set priorities for mine clearance, mine-risk education and all other aspects of mine action.

Background Information – Job-specific

Posts designated as P4 often exist in countries with smaller, well-established programmes.  The programmes are comparably more limited in terms of engagement value (under $5 million), scope of operations, amount of donors, size of staff, number of projects, and interest from the media.  With lower incidence of civil unrest and armed violence, the operating environment is more stable and predictable, and typically allows the programme to carry out its activities as planned. 

Dual reporting lines: the incumbent of this position will report to UNMAS Chief of Programme Planning and Management Section, and ultimately to UNMAS Director on designing and implementing field programmes in accordance with UNMAS mandate and strategy, and will report to the Head of PSC on operational management, efficient/effective use of resources and compliance against the UN and UNOPS rules and regulations.

Stakeholder Coordination and Relationship Building

• Manage relationships with national authorities with respect to capacity-development programme/projects;

• Contribute to international, regional or national meetings and provides programmatic/substantive expertise on an issue, or hold programmatic/substantive and organizational discussions with representatives of other institutions;

• Identify and build relationships with national institutions, respective governmental authorities, donors, and international partners, including UN agencies, engaged in addressing the issue of mine action and other explosive threats and its impact on local communities.  The PM will also advocate and provide advice to relevant stakeholders on all mine action issues, and do so in accordance with recognized international standards, and in acknowledgement of the relevant international treaties;

Expected result: All stakeholders are regularly informed of the status of the programme in the respective country on a timely basis.

Strategic Policy, Advice, and Advocacy

• Develop and maintain a programme-specific strategy and implementation plan under the guidance of the Director of UNMAS and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) or the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General (DSRSG) and in cooperation with peacekeeping and political missions, UN agencies, local authorities and other relevant partners;

• Provide input on policy to the Chief of Programme Planning and Management Section on conceptual strategy development and management of the implementation of global UNMAS policy/strategy;

• Identify broad UNMAS strategies required for the development and implementation of the mission’s work programme;

• Provide technical advice and guidance to other UN agencies and partners when requested.

• Provide input in the preparation of position papers and reports for presentation to intergovernmental bodies such as the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budget Questions, Committee for Programme Coordination, the General Assembly, the Security Council and other policy-making organs, as appropriate;

Expected result: Contribute to the strategic activities of the local government and international stakeholders in accordance with UN objectives and, aligned, where applicable, to the relevant international mine action treaties, and achievement of obligations made under these treaties.

Project Management, Delivery, Administration and Performance of UNMAS funded activities

• Plan and coordinate the necessary strategic and managerial support, required for the fulfilment of the UNMAS mandate, ensuring it is provided in a responsible and timely fashion and is in line with UN quality standards and institutional values. The provision of this support is across programmes of  restricted scope, complexity and/or size  in terms of stakeholders, personnel, programme profile and funding profile;

• Provide programme and policy input and coordinate support inareas such as planning, budgeting, project and financial reporting, recruitment and human resources management, logistics, communications, staff training, and monitoring and evaluation and programmatic and substantive reviews.

• Monitor elements of the social, economic and political context of the external operating environment, impacting the delivery of projects.  Operate in consistent contexts and negotiate risks as they arise;

• Provide programmatic and substantive reviews of drafts prepared by others;

• Responsible for establishing and maintaining a database of landmine as well as information on other explosive hazards, and a master map of affected areas. Actively seeks the information necessary to update and refine this database. He/she will act as the point of contact for, UN agencies, nongovernmental organizations and other organizations seeking information on the mine/ERW and other areas with explosive contamination;

• Capacity Development: actively empower and support key local stakeholders to develop and implement a plan for transition, in order to transfer mine action responsibilities to national authorities;

• Approve draft Statements of Work (SOW) for inclusion in Requests for Proposals (RFP) issued by UNOPS for proposed mine action and ERW activities in the projects target country;

• Promote and support compliance with technical, safety and quality international standards and guidelines;

• This position may also entail safety and security responsibilities within the geographical area of responsibilities of operation to include the protection of all personnel, assets, property and information belonging to UNMAS/UNOPS established offices and programmes;

• Depending on the role this position will be assigned to within the project administration setup in a specific country/programme (i.e. office structure, DOAs, oneUNOPS functions, segregation of duties, etc.), the incumbent will have responsibilities determined by UNOPS rules and regulations embodied in its regulatory framework - Organizational Directives, Administrative Instructions and other documents as periodically issued and updated by UNOPS. Reporting lines with regards to compliance with UNOPS rules and regulations are ultimately to UNOPS Director PSC through Portfolio Manager. In addition, division of responsibilities when it comes to administrative processes in support of the programme objectives will be as determined for each country office and confirmed in writing by UNOPS Director PSC.

Expected result: UNMAS prorammes are delivered within pre-defined scope, budget, and timelines, and in accordance with UN/UNOPS Rules and Regulations.

Resource Mobilization and Management

• Contributes to the reporting to donors and intergovernmental bodies on budget/programme performance or on programmatic/ substantive issues, as appropriate;

• Contributes to the development and implementation of a resource mobilization strategy, targeting in-country funding opportunities.  Such a strategy would include timely and appropriate acknowledgement at both national and international levels of current and past donors contributions and their impact;

• Provide input to the Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP) and the annual Portfolio of Mine Action Projects;

Expected result: Timely and accurate reporting. Funding opportunities within the programme country are- optimized through an active strategy to pursue opportunities, supported by a timely recognition of current and past donor contributions.

• Advanced University Degree (Master’s Degree or equivalent) in development, humanitarian affairs, business administration, project management, social science or related field with a minimum of seven (7) years of relevant experience; OR
• First Level University Degree (Bachelor’s degree)  in development, humanitarian affairs, business administration, project management, social science or related field with a minimum of nine (9) years of relevant experience OR
• Military Experience at the Officer level with a minimum of a minimum of 13 years of relevant experience
  
  

• 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.
• 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.

 UNOPS supports the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to serve people in need by expanding the ability of the United Nations, governments and other partners to manage projects, infrastructure and procurement in a sustainable and efficient manner.

Working in some of the world’s most challenging environments, our vision is to advance sustainable implementation practices, always satisfying or surpassing our partners’ expectations.

With over 7,000 personnel spread across 80 countries, UNOPS offers its partners the logistical, technical and management knowledge they need, wherever they need it.

A flexible structure and global reach means that we can quickly respond to our partners' needs, while offering the benefits of economies of scale.