Chief Executive 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.

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.

RBM Partnership to End Malaria

The RBM Partnership to End Malaria is the largest global platform for coordinated action towards a world free from malaria. It is comprised of over 500 partners - from community health worker groups and researchers developing new tools, to malaria-affected and donor countries, businesses and international organisations. 

Since its inception in 1998, the RBM Partnership has played a critical role in global efforts that reduced malaria deaths by half and saved 10.6 million lives. The Partnership is now committed to building on these significant gains and ending malaria for good.

Expansions in financing, strong political commitments, novel diagnostic and preventative measures, and multi-sectoral coordination have facilitated this progress. The RBM Partnership is central to the global fight against malaria and has played an essential role in mobilising political will and financial resources, as well as scaling up innovative interventions to put the world on a path to eliminating malaria.

Despite these gains, malaria still poses a significant threat to public health and sustainable development. Malaria continues to affect the poorest and most marginalised disproportionately and restricts human development and poverty alleviation. The African continent accounts for over 90% of the global malaria burden and therefore stands to gain the most from malaria elimination.

Malaria is a smart investment that contributes to achieving Sustainable Development Goals, including ending poverty and ensuring quality education. 

RBM's Vision is a world free from the burden of malaria.

The RBM Partnership is a global health initiative created to implement coordinated action against malaria. It mobilizes for action and resources and forges consensus among partners. The Partnership is composed of a multitude of partners, including malaria endemic countries, their bilateral and multilateral development partners, the private sector, nongovernmental and community-based organizations, foundations, and research and academic institutions. The partners join the RBM Partnership on a voluntary basis through their commitment to a malaria-free world.

The role and responsibility of the Partnership or its mechanisms are to convene, coordinate, convene, facilitate communication and track progress against key milestones and targets. Implementation has been a role for the individual partners – alone or collectively – to undertake. Going forward, there will be a specific and strong focus of collaboration with regional entities, as the effort to eliminate malaria will be a region-by-region one, not a “top-down” global campaign.  The RBM Partnership has provided value to Partners through the following three roles and responsibilities:

• Convene:  The Partnership brings together all interested parties (public and private sector) to jointly work together towards a malaria-free world and to overcome challenges to that goal.

• Coordinate:  The Partnership, through its mechanisms, coordinates the work of the individual partners to ensure that each partner’s efforts are aligned with those of the others, duplication and inefficiencies are avoided, the collaboration between partners is facilitated, and common challenges are addressed co-operatively.

• Facilitate Communication:  By bringing together partners, the Partnership can ensure that partners are communicating with one another, sharing experiences and best practices, and ensuring that challenges or bottlenecks identified are brought to the attention of the entire Partnership as appropriate.

The key Partnership mechanisms are:

• The Partnership Board. 

• A Management Team led by a Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

• Partner Committees – focused on the three priorities of the Partnership: 

  • Advocacy and Resource Mobilization

  • Strategic Communications

  • Country/Regional Support

• Working Groups – managed and led by Partners, will continue to provide venues for Partners to share information and collaborate on specialized topics. 

End Malaria Council – engaged in high-level advocacy and mobilize global actors to work towards achieving the Partnership Strategy, leveraging its members’ unique positions as senior global leaders from across sectors and geographies.

In Geneva, UNOPS is the legal and administrative host for several partnerships, including the RBM Partnership to End Malaria.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is responsible for the development of the Partnership strategy, in alignment with the strategic direction set by the Board and subject to approval of the Board. The CEO is also responsible for the development of annual operating plans and budgets, and for resource mobilisation for the Partnership with guidance and support of the Partnership Board. The CEO leads the Partnership secretariat in implementing the strategy and operating plans approved by the Board and works with regional entities to ensure that regions and countries are empowered to address malaria. He or she is the public face of the Partnership and its mechanisms on a day-to-day basis. 

The CEO RBM reports directly to the RBM Board through the Board Chair, and for legal and administrative requirements, the CEO RBM reports to the UNOPS Europe and Central Asia Regional Director. 

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Partnership Secretariat 

• Define and revise as needed the structure and role descriptions of the Partnership secretariat. 

• Provide day-to-day leadership—including coordinating implementation of activities and budget execution by the Partnership secretariat —and oversight of the Partnership secretariat staff, including rigorous performance appraisals. 

• Recruit staff for the Partnership secretariat. 

Strategy and Planning 

• Development of the Partnership strategy, in alignment with the strategic direction set by the Board and subject to the approval of the Board.

• Development of annual operating plans and budgets.

• Resource mobilisation for the Partnership with guidance and support of the Partnership Board.

• The above will be undertaken with close collaboration with the Board, the Partner Committee Coordination Team (PCCT), and relevant Partnership mechanisms. 

• Monitor the Partnership’s progress towards key targets and regularly report to the Board. 

• Escalate to the Board at an early stage any Partnership operational challenges that need Board support, including any resource deficiencies. 

• Identify opportunities to grow and strengthen the Partnership. 

Board 

• Support the efforts of the Board, End Malaria Council, and Partner Committees to mobilize resources for the global fight against malaria. 

• Lead fundraising for the Partnership operations. 

• Participate in meetings of the Board as a non-voting member. 

• Communicate on a regular basis with the Chair of the Board. 

Advocacy and Communications 

• Update all Partners, including key donors and affected countries, directly on progress against the Partnership Strategy and deliverables. 

• Liaise with other key relevant partnerships and agencies, including regional entities. 

• Ensure that malaria remains high on the global health and development agenda. 

Impact of Results

Work implies frequent interaction with the following: Managers and staff within the Division, Department, Office. Senior Staff within the UN Secretariat, Missions Heads and other UN offices, funds, programmes and specialised agencies. Representatives of governments and representatives of non-governmental organisations. Chairs and members of intergovernmental bodies.  

Results expected: Effectively managed and supervised divisional programmes; coherent framework to guide programmes; final services/products are integrated in the programmes of the Division/Office. Proven leadership in the development of innovative programmes with significant impact on the overall effectiveness of the United Nations. Intellectual and professional leadership for overall strategy, quality, delivery and results. 

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent), in public health, social science, international development, public policy and administration, or related area.
• Specialization in infectious diseases or tropical diseases is an asset.

• A minimum of fifteen (15) years of progressively responsible experience in policy formulation, advocacy, strategy development, resource mobilization, programme management, or related area, preferably with a mix of service in either the public, private, or non-profit sectors at an international level.
• Experience working with policymakers and advocates for global, regional and country level policy and advocacy, with preference for working knowledge of global malaria policy institutions/partnerships and malaria affected and eliminating countries.
• Experience in public health or social development involving work with community organizations, private sector, entrepreneurs, local governments.
• Experience working in one or more malaria-endemic countries.
• Experience in partnership building and management with various organizations such as multi-stakeholder initiatives, UN agencies, NGOs, governmental organizations, donors, private sector, foundations, civil society.
• Experience of the management of multidisciplinary teams in complex projects/initiatives with proven ability to handle financial and human resources.
• Demonstrated understanding of the role of advocacy and communications efforts to increase awareness of health/ development issues and build political/financial support for health and development goals in the developing world with governmental, private, and non-state organizations.
• Demonstrated success in leadership roles requiring strong analytical, writing and management skills.
• Proven track record of building trust-based relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Experience creating and executing strategies that persuade key stakeholders to take action that will advance shared interests and business goals.
• Aptitude to work with flexibility, entrepreneurship, and diplomacy both individually and as part of a complex team effort.
• Media management skills are highly desirable.

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.

• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.

• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures,  languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. 

• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.

• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process.  If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

Terms and Conditions 

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 

• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.

• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.