Business Planning Specialist (Management Support Centre)

The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners' peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world.  Mandated as a central resource of the United Nations, UNOPS provides sustainable project management, procurement and infrastructure services to a wide range of governments, donors and United Nations organizations.  With over 8,000 personnel spread across 80 countries, UNOPS offers its partners the logistical, technical and management knowledge they need, where they need it.  By implementing around 1,000 projects for our partners at any given time, UNOPS makes significant contributions to results on the ground, often in the most challenging environments.

The Management Support Centre (MSC) supports the establishment and maintenance of global management services engagements with partners, in close coordination with regions, country offices and practices. Within MSC a small team of specialists is responsible for supporting the development of new service lines and identifying potential partners and their needs through market research, strategy development and business case preparation.

Under the overall guidance and direct supervision of the Business Market Specialist, and in close coordination with the other members of MSC, the Business Planning Specialist will be mainly responsible for developing strategic plans to help expand existing UNOPS service offerings, and establishing newly identified service lines, based on market analysis, and in coordination with the technical specialists in MSC.

1. Help technical specialists develop business growth strategies for existing management support service lines
2. Develop business cases for newly identified management support service opportunities
3. Help build organizational capacity in proposal and report writing on projects around management support services

• Provide technical support to the MSC functional specialists in developing strategies to grow business service lines in HR and procurement, administration and finance 
• Develop work plans to implement the strategies and ensure achievement of the units targets
• During the implementation phase, accompany the process and provide necessary assistance to the technical specialists.

2. Develop business cases for newly identified management support service opportunities

• Support the Business Market Specialist in identifying potential new service lines or business models that UNOPS might be able to establish. This involves market research, including on innovative solutions, using internal and external resources.
• Develop business cases for the potential service lines in coordination with the relevant stakeholders. 

3. Proposal writing and reporting for management support services 

• Provide proposal editing and proof-reading support to other MSC team members and UNOPS country offices as required.
• Compile, write, edit, and produce competitive and high quality proposals and concept papers, both unsolicited and solicited
• In coordination with UNOPS Partnership and Liaison Group, support field offices to reinforce their capacities in proposal and report preparation, with focus on management support services, through developing guiding tools and other materials as necessary

4. Knowledge management

• Contribute to institutional learning on best practice, lessons learned and innovative approaches on management support services.
• Contribute to the compilation and sharing of best practices and lessons learned for proposal and report preparation.

Education:

• A Master’s degree in a relevant field such as Business Administration, Public Administration, International Development, Political Science, Marketing, Communications or International Relations.

Experience:

At least 5 years of relevant experience in marketing, market research or business development with exposure to international development including demonstrated experience in:

• Developing marketing strategies and business cases;
• Project development and proposal writing;

Experience in project/programme management with international organizations in the development or humanitarian sector, especially in the field, is an asset. 

A combination of Bachelor’s degree with an additional 2 years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of the education requirements outlined above

Language Requirements:

• Full fluency and working knowledge of English is essential.
• Fluency in one or more additional official UNOPS languages is an advantage

• Contract type: ICA
• Contract level: ICA2
• Contract duration: Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance

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.