Programme Director

Established in 1997 and operating under UN legislative mandates of both the General Assembly and the Security Council, the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) is a specialized entity that works to eliminate the threat posed by mines, explosive remnants of war and improvised explosive devices by coordinating United Nations mine action, leading operational responses at the country level, and supporting the development of standards, policies and norms. 

At the country level, through its 19 field programmes, UNMAS provides strategic direction  as part of peacekeeping operations,  humanitarian emergencies and development contexts. In line with its global and/or country-programme specific mandates, UNMAS may plan and design mine-action projects, support and coordinate the work of local and international mine-action actors, and set priorities for mine action activities.

The incumbent will have dual reporting lines: 1) to the UNMAS Chief of Programme Planning and Management Section, and ultimately to UNMAS Director on designing and implementing the programme in accordance with UNMAS mandate and strategic direction; 2) to Director, PSC on programme/project implementation and managing resources for intended outputs in accordance with UNOPS standards, rules and regulations.

Stakeholder Coordination and Relationship Building

• Network and build relationships with national authorities with respect to capacity-development programme/projects;

• Represent UNMAS/UNOPS in 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;

• Take the lead in establishing 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.  Advocate and provide advice to relevant stakeholders on all mine action issues, 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

• Take the lead in developing and maintaining 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 senior policy advice to the Chief of Programme Planning and Management Section on conceptual strategy development and management of the implementation of global UNMAS policy/strategy;

• Identify and promote 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 substantive 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: The strategic activities of the local government and international stakeholders are 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

• Deliver and oversee the provision of strategic and managerial support, required for the fulfilment of the UNMAS mandate, carried out in a responsible and timely fashion and in line with UN/UNOPS quality standards and institutional values. The provision of this support is across programmes of considerable scope, complexity and/or size in terms of stakeholders, personnel, programme profile and funding profile;

• Establish programme design direction, and coordinate areas 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.  Maintain overall supervision, including quality monitoring and evaluation of the programme;

• Manage competing and/or complex elements of the social, economic and political context of the external operating environment, impacting the delivery of projects.  Exhibit political astuteness in handling and responding to heightened and/or unexpected risks for programme execution;

• Lead and take responsibility and accountability for the implementation of gender, diversity and inclusion initiatives through the programme’s gender and diversity work plan, ensuring that gender and diversity mainstreaming is an integral part throughout the programme/project lifecycle;

• 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;

• Approve the work plans and supervise the activities of senior P5 and P4 project staff;

• Depending on the role this position will be assigned to within the project administration setup in a specific country/programme (e.g. 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. Reporting lines with regards to compliance with UNOPS rules and regulations are ultimately to UNOPS Director PSC through Portfolio Manager. 

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

Resource Mobilization and Management

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

• In consultation with UNMAS HQ, take the lead in developing and implementing 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;

• Proactively facilitate the mobilization of resources through engagement with multiple in-country stakeholders.

• Provide input to the Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP) and the global 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.