Portfolio Management Officer

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.

The Portfolio Management Officer reports directly to the WASH + Senior Portfolio Manager and will act as the deputy team leader of the portfolio management team delivering a range of implementation services on behalf of its clients in areas of project management, funds administration, grants management, procurement, human resources administration, as well as finance and general administration.

In his/her role, the Portfolio Management Officer will focus on internal portfolio planning and coordination, project management advice, support client relationship management and analysis/enhancement of existing work streams and systems/tools with internal and external stakeholders.

Portfolio Planning, Coordination and (Deputy) Team Management

• Coordinate and oversee the preparation of workplans for different components of the portfolio, including establishment of resource requirements and cost implications.
• Establish portfolio goals and targets by actively supporting coordination within the team work streams to achieve results;
• Create tools and establish working systems or guidance to facilitate improved collaboration between functions within the Portfolio Management Team (PMT);
• Initiate  and actively support learning activities for PMT members, as required, on methods, tools and practices that facilitate effective planning, coordination and implementation;
• Actively and regularly liaise with the Portfolio Finance Analyst and the Finance Officer to ensure work is aligned with budget plans in an effort to drive implementation results and support financial management of projects;
• Monitor implementation of the portfolio activities, including the identification of potential  gaps, proposing solutions for improved implementation support;
• Establish systems and planning tools to be used by the PMT to enhance collaboration, information sharing and oversight;
• Input and update accurate data and information to facilitate monitoring of the projects under the portfolio, contribute to Quarterly Assurance and provide this information to the Project Management Office (PMO) as required;
• Support the Senior Portfolio Manager in the development of written legal, policy and oversight documents related to governance, guidance, hosting terms, SOPs, risk management etc. to support strategic hosting approaches;
• Attend internal UNOPS meetings with the Senior Portfolio Manager and to represent him/her as required;
• Supervise, coach and mentor junior team personnel as required.
• In support of the Senior Portfolio Manager, support business development work for the Portfolio, as required.

• Five (5) years of relevant experience in the area of project management support including but not limited to project management, advisory support, operations, and communications work is required.  Of which three years of experience in operations is also required, including but not limited to the area of procurement and grant-management
• Experience in research, analysis and writing is desirable
• Experience in operational and/or strategic planning is desirable

Contract type: Individual Contractor Agreement (ICA)

• 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
• 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 fee is subject to taxes levied by the Swiss authorities.

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.