Corporate Strategy Specialist

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 5,000 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.

General Background - Corporate Strategy

Corporate Strategy reports to the Chief of Staff as part of the Strategy and Transformation Group established in 2024.

Corporate Strategy performs a number of functions in relation to the organizations statutory governance and oversight. It is primarily responsible for managing the development of the quadrennial UNOPS strategic plan on behalf of the Executive Director and the quadrennial midterm review of the UNOPS strategic plan in accordance with the policy on strategy setting. As of 2023, the Unit is also responsible for managing the development of the Annual Report of the Executive Director, including the key input via external thematic evaluations. In addition, it is substantively engaged in various UN reporting and engagement with the Executive Board. It is also responsible for providing substantive secretariat to the Audit Advisory Committee; as well as for providing coordination, advice and analysis on strategy and oversight matters, and other substantive executive support.

With the approval in June 2023 of the restated strategic plan, 2022-2025, UNOPS is embarking on a multi-year journey to implement its strategic objectives. Corporate Strategy is expected to support the organization in this regard. Its engagement in strategy deployment will particularly be reinforcing implementation based on review and reporting of performance against the expanded results framework adopted by the Executive Board along with the strategic plan.

Under the guidance of the Head of Corporate Strategy, the Corporate Strategy Specialist will be responsible for a number of inherent United Nations activities enabling the organization’ statutory governance and oversight, including:

1. Contribute to the analysis and drafting for development of the UNOPS strategic plan and midterm review, including the expanded results framework with focus for impact and targets for contributions and management results.

2. Contribute to strategy deployment reinforced by the expanded results framework, including design, implementation and analysis behind biannual contribution reviews and annual impact review, and relevant regional and country-level planning.

3. Contribute to the preparation of the Annual Report of the Executive Director (AR), including identification of strategic, operational and management risks, challenges and lessons learned, and coordination of relevant annexes.

4. Support enhancement of models for quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis, including automation of real-time portfolio information, as well as formats for internal reporting on impact for the most vulnerable people and country-level contributions.

5. Support coordination of external thematic evaluation with external service providers and internal stakeholders, to further substantiate UNOPS contributions to impacts and inform internal learning.

6. Support the provision of substantive secretariat for the Audit Advisory Committee (AAC), including coordination and preparation of meeting agendas, minutes and annual reporting; and as relevant support preparation of information and reports in relation to strategy implementation, results-based management and external thematic evaluations.

7. Coordinate the performance monitoring of implementation of all oversight recommendations made to UNOPS, including for quarterly management reviews and external reporting; and facilitate continuous improvement of processes and tools to manage and track oversight recommendations.

8. Contribute to the establishment and refinement of policy and standards for corporate strategy, strategy deployment and strategic evaluation.

9. Contribute to the continuous improvement procedures and IT tools for corporate performance monitoring informing decision-making and relevant internal and external reporting on performance.

10. Coordinate relevant United Nations statutory reporting and requests for substantive information, including the potential to leverage reporting, e.g. via UN INFO to substantiate UNOPS contributions to impacts.

11. Support the maintenance of current records of Executive Board decisions and other information of central relevance for a coherent interphase on statutory governance and oversight.

12. As requested, provide other substantive support within the scope of the role and contribute to other priority activities of the Strategy and Transformation Group.

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) preferably in political science, social science, business or public administration, or related field is required.
• Applicants with a bachelor degree with additional two years of relevant working experience may also be considered.

• A minimum of 5 years of professional experience in organizational governance, coordination and reporting; strategy development and deployment; organizational monitoring and reporting; or management advisory services is required.
• Experience with coordination in an organizational governance and reporting context is required.
• Experience with business intelligence, analysis and corporate reporting is required.
• Experience in change management, management consulting or related is desirable.
• Experience with United Nations system frameworks and approaches for monitoring and reporting on programmatic / implementation activities is desirable.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills are desirable.

Contract type: FTA
Contract level: P3
Contract duration: one year, renewable

• 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. 

• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. For more information on a retainer contract here.

• 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.