South East Asia Multi-Country Office (EAPMCO)
The South East Asia and Pacific Multi Country Office (EAPMCO) supports, develops and oversees the UNOPS portfolio of projects in South East Asia and the Pacific. EAPMCO was established in January 2023 following the merger of the Thailand Multi-Country Office, which covered 20 countries across North East Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific, and the Cambodia Multi-Country Office, which covered 4 countries South East Asia - 3 countries in the Mekong Sub-region (Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam) and the Philippines. EAPMCO currently covers 24 countries across North East Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific. With its head office in Bangkok, the Multi-Country Office comprises nine business units: SEMCO Thailand, EAPMCO Indonesia, EAPMCO Pacific Operations Cluster, EAPMCO Papua New Guinea, EAPMCO China, EAPMCO Vietnam, EAPMCO Lao PDR, EAPMCO Philippines and EAPMCO Cambodia.
In 2022, the UNOPS EAPMCO implemented projects worth more than USD 95.7 million, in the areas of Energy Transition, Digital Transformations, Sustainable Environmental Management, Climate Change, Waste Management, Rule of Law and Access to Justice, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Post Conflict Reintegration, Emergency Relief, Post COVID19 Economic Transformations, and Health, through HR, procurement, construction, contract management, fund and program management services.
The Multi Country Office head office in Bangkok provides strategic direction, operational support, delivery oversight and assurance of the excellence of business processes and quality standards across all of the entire Multi Country Office locations. It is also responsible for developing, delivering and managing the portfolio of engagements in the country of the MCO location itself.
Background Information – Project
UN Global Pulse (UNGP) is an initiative of the Executive Office of Secretary-General (EOSG) founded in 2009. We work in support of the Secretary-General’s priorities, in advancement of the UN Charter. UNGP serves as a cross-pillar lead and hub for experimentation and digital innovation. We have a globally distributed team in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia. The teams work with digital innovation, strategic foresight, real-time data and artificial intelligence to further sustainable development, humanitarian and peace outcomes. Our vision is ‘A world in which responsible and inclusive digital innovation serves to empower people and protect the planet’. Our mission is to work at the intersection of digital innovation and science to inform, inspire and support the entire UN and those it serves, to anticipate and respond to the challenges of today and tomorrow.
The goals of the UNGP Network are: i) to generate knowledge, capabilities and approaches that support the transformation of the United Nations into a more agile and resilient ‘next-generation’ institution; ii) to create and accelerate the development of globally accessible approaches that help communities and partners anticipate and address emerging global challenges; and iii) to advocate for the global transformation of policies, practices and culture required to maximize the impact of digital innovation, minimize its risk of harm, and ensure pathways to scale and sustainability.
The incumbent of this position will be personnel of UNOPS under its full responsibility.
UNOPS is seeking a Product Lead (Data Insights & AI) for UN Global Pulse’s Data Insights for Social & Humanitarian Action (Disha) project.
Disha (https://disha.unglobalpulse.org/) aims to accelerate ethical and responsible access to data and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to unlock social impact at scale. By facilitating the availability of reusable data through reliable models, standardised approaches and frameworks, Disha enables the creation and expansion of actionable insights. These insights are designed to support more effective and inclusive efforts in humanitarian work, peacebuilding and development.
The Product Lead is responsible for bringing the voice of the users to the development teams whether internal to UNGP or external pro bono partners, or a mix of both. The Product Lead works with the Head of Disha to evolve the vision and objectives for user needs and alongside the Tech Lead(s) to implement the vision within budget and other constraints.
They foster goal-oriented collaboration and excel at bringing people together whether for open discussion of challenges or focused decision making.
Ultimately, they ensure that the project outputs are delivered to and for the benefit of users within the constraints of time and cost, whilst managing scope, risk, and benefits and ensuring a high quality and ethically safe outcome. Throughout, they actively contribute to a supportive and psychologically safe team culture. Building the right thing, building it right.
The Product Lead onboards, coordinates and may delegate work to pro bono partners for the delivery of outcomes. They shape the team structure and create a foundation for good communication with dependencies which: builds capacity for UNGP; shares understanding both between pro bono partners and UN GP; as well as ensuring Conway’s Law doesn’t disrupt the intended outcome - “the communication structure of the organization predetermines the structure of the code / systems built” (paraphrased).
The day to day management and supervision of this position is under the responsibility of the Head of Disha. The Product Lead is expected to meet the organization’s overall performance and delivery goals across projects as set out by the UNGP Leadership Team.
This position will need to work across time zones from East Asia (Jakarta) to East US (New York) in a balanced working pattern across the week.