Senior Partnerships Advisor

“UNOPS plays a critical role in providing management services for our life-saving, peacebuilding, humanitarian and development operations. I have seen many examples of how these activities help suffering people in troubled parts of the world.” -Ban Ki-moon, Former Secretary General of the United Nations

UNOPS mission is to expand the capacity of the UN system and its partners to implement peacebuilding, humanitarian and development operations that matter for people in need.

Working in some of the world’s most challenging environments, UNOPS vision is to always satisfy partners with management services that meet world-class standards of quality, speed and cost effectiveness. By assisting UN organizations, international financial institutions, governments and other development partners, UNOPS makes significant, tangible contributions to results on the ground.

UNOPS employs more than 7,000 personnel and on behalf of its partners creates thousands more work opportunities in local communities. With its headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark, a network of five regional offices, which are further divided into multi-country offices, UNOPS oversees activities in more than 80 countries.

UNOPS is committed to achieving a truly diverse workforce.

Based in Nairobi, Kenya, the Regional Office of the Africa Region supports UNOPS multi-country offices in the region, providing strategic direction, guidance and oversight as well as operational support to portfolio management, partnership building and risk management.

The Africa (AFR) region currently consists of five Multi-Country Offices based in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Ethiopia, Ghana and Kenya, which each oversees partnership building and project implementation in a cluster of countries.

AFR regional office helps ensure that projects are executed to the highest standards, providing a shared knowledge base and ensuring that best practices and lessons learned are disseminated between projects across the entire region.

Summary of Key Functions

1. Partnership, Business acquisition and growth.

2. Knowledge management, innovation and technical support.

3. Efficient partner relationships and organizational work ethics and culture.

Under the direct supervision of the Regional Director, the Senior Partnership Advisor will perform the following functions:

1. The selected candidate would be required to travel extensively in and out of the region. Partnerships development, business acquisition and growth include the following responsibilities:

• Coordinate implementation of AFR business plan 2022-2025 and eventually lead the development of the 2026-2029 Business Plan. Undertake periodic updates of the AFR Business Plan as well as multi-country office  and country offices business plans.
• Coordinate donor and partner mapping exercise covering both the development and humanitarian landscape.
• Advise the AFR RD and Senior Management Team on the possibilities for UNOPS strategic positioning, vis-à-vis the potential partners.
• Coordinate preparation of substantive briefs on specific partners or development thematics, UNOPS strategic positioning, and partnership opportunities.
• Establish working relationships with key potential partners and attend relevant meetings in an effort to position UNOPS as a partner of choice.
• Lead, manage and coordinate agreement negotiations, drafting of project proposals, budget and other partnership and programme development communication.
• Identify regional and global events of relevance to the partnerships development in AFR and define and organize the regional presence and positioning at the events.  
• Coordinate and maintain regular communication with the (Corporate) Partnership and Liaison Group (PLG) in UNOPS HQ in Copenhagen.
• Coordinate and collaborate with relevant partnerships and programme personnel at the country, regional and UNOPS HQ level, to ensure aligned and coherent interactions with partners.

2. Knowledge management, innovation and technical support, including the following responsibilities:

• Advise on the policy-level issues related to partnerships and programme development for UNOPS AFR.
• Assess and keep abreast of the emerging trends in the development and humanitarian spheres in Africa, as related to UNOPS services.
• Identify and synthesize best practices and lessons learnt as related to partnership and programme development.
• Implement standards, tools and templates provided by PLG to effectively manage partnership and programme development within AFR.
• Contribute to UNOPS capacity development as related to partnerships, including promoting learning, coaching and mentoring the team members, field staff on UNOPS policy and practices for effective management of partnerships.
• Participate in and conduct the relevant training for the operations/ projects personnel, and participate in field missions, as required.
• Contribute to knowledge networks and communities of practice.
• Supervise the activities of junior staff within the AFR partnerships team.

3. Efficient partner relationships and organizational work ethics and culture, including the following responsibilities:

• Actively engage with partners to solicit feedback and gauge their satisfaction with UNOPS services;
• Coordinate implementation of partner surveys within AFR as appropriate.
• Undertake advocacy, public information and communication activities in collaboration with PLG and CG, when required.
• On behalf of the AFR Regional Director, participate in and report on the relevant inter-agency, donor and government coordination meetings, international conferences, summits, etc.
• Actively engage with internal stakeholders.
• Demonstrate professional and personal ethics, transparency and openness.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Education

•  An Advanced University Degree (Master's or equivalent) in Business Administration, Political Science, International Relations, International Development, Social Sciences or a related discipline is required.
• A First-Level University Degree (Bachelor's) in combination with 2 years of relevant professional experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work Experience

Required:

• Minimum of 7 years of experience working in an international development context combining strategy development, execution and acquisition of new business and establishment of partnerships with UN organizations development finance institutions/ governments foundations/international NGOs or private sector organizations.
• Minimum of 2 years of in-depth knowledge of development issues and current donor and sectoral trends, with emphasis on deep understanding of Africa partner / donor landscape as well as Africa’s humanitarian and development challenges.
• Minimum of 2 years of knowledge / experience of Development Finance Institutions particularly of the Africa Development Bank.
• Minimum of 2 years of experience in dealing and negotiating with external stakeholders.

Assets:

• Demonstrated experience working in Project and Programme management, International Development, Post-Disaster and/or Emergency contexts.
• Experience in the private sector and/or social impact investing.
• Experience in International Organizations is an asset, particularly current and targeted partners for AFR (e.g., donor governments, African regional entities, UN).
• PRINCE2® Foundation Certification and PRINCE2 Practitioner Certification.

Language requirements

Fluency in English is required. French is a plus.

Contract type: International Individual Contractor Agreement (ICA).
Contract level: International ICA 3 (ICS-11).
Contract duration: Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance.

• 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.

• This position is based in Nairobi, Kenya which is a family duty station.

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. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. 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.