Head of Partnerships for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)

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 (UN), UNOPS provides sustainable project management, procurement, and infrastructure services to a wide range of governments, donors, and United Nations organisations. 

This position's geographical scope is the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Region and is part of LAC Regional Director`s regional strategic team.  The incumbent will directly supervise one Regional Partnerships Specialist and one Regional Communications Specialist, and will lead the Regional Partnerships and Communications (P&C) Network composed of 40 P&C professionals located across 13 countries in LAC.

Under the guidance and direct supervision of LAC Regional Director, the regional Head of Partnerships (HP) will coordinate and assure that UNOPS’s capacities directly  contribute to the acceleration of the 2030 Agenda, Our Common Agenda, the priorities of Member States in the LAC, UN entities, international financial institutions (IFIs) and cooperation , civil society and academia, etc.  The HP will also lead the initial development of public partnerships in LAC countries where UNOPS wants to start the provision of services. 

The Regional HP will be part of the Regional strategic Management Team, led by the Regional Director and comprising the Directors of Country offices and other key roles.

For more information about UNOPS in LAC and what we do, please see the link "UNOPS en America Latina y el Caribe"

• A Master’s degree preferably in Business Administration, Public Administration, International Development, Economics, Political Science, Communications, International Relations or other relevant areas.
• A combination of a Bachelor's degree with an additional 2 years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of the education requirements outlined above.

At least 7 years of relevant experience in partnerships and public relations including demonstrated experience in:

• Public partnerships related to the field of sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean, for example establishing sustainable partnerships with international cooperation organisations, government entities, UN agencies, international financial institutions, etc.

• Leading regional or multi country partnerships strategies or negotiations.

• Experience leading high-level public relations, such as developing high-level networks with the public or private sector, and representing an institution/organisation in high-level meetings or forums.

• Full working knowledge of Spanish and English is essential.
• Fluency in French and Portuguese is an advantage.

Contract type: Individual Contractor Agreement Contract

Regular monthly: This contract is established in the form of a Regular Monthly Contract, that is, a continuous presentation of the services  required during the contract period, making the payments associated with the contract at the end of each calendar month

Level of contract: ICS 11, equivalent to LICA 11 in local scale and IICA 3 in the international scale - The salary scale will be determined in line with UNOPS HR policy.

Contract duration: Ongoing ICA – Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance.

Panama City is a family duty station.

• 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.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• 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
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (around 4 hours) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS.
• 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 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 peace and 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 5,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,400 personnel recruited on behalf of our partners, spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced and diverse labour force — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs. We continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage the recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.