Programme Fund Management Advisor

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a forest giant. Its tropical forest, covering more than 130 million hectares, is the second largest in the world. The DRC's forest faces great challenges : the DRC is the third largest tropical country in the world in terms of forest loss after Brazil and Indonesia. In the DRC, forest loss is due to poverty, to a local need for land and forest products (small-scale slash-and-burn agriculture and charcoal) exacerbated by strong population growth. 

In November 2021, during COP 26 in Glasgow, a renewed and expanded 10 year agreement (2021 – 2031) was signed by President Tshisekedi of the DRC and Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom, unlocking investments of USD 500 million to meet concrete objectives to halt deforestation and restore degraded lands through a sustainable & inclusive rural development that fights poverty and creates jobs and revenues. 

Following a joint Call for Expressions of interest under the 2nd letter of Intent  in May 2022, new projects were approved by the DRC FONAREDD Steering Committee in December 2023. UNOPS was chosen as the Managing Agent for several projects, in collaboration with national and international NGOs as implementing partners. 

Under the direct supervision of the Head of Partnerships, the Programme Fund Management  Advisor may be requested to support specific work packages/individual assignments, covering but not limited to negotiate, design, advise, start up or turn-around single  and multi-donor pooled funds. Support needed will mostly be for programmes in the sub-region but may also include  assignments from other UNOPS regions. Such assignments may be home-based or require travel to  specific country offices.  

The Programme Fund Management Advisor will be responsible to advise and support UNOPS Programme Development on a need basis, and will have a thorough understanding of the terms,  conditions, and the respective roles and responsibilities of the partners / stakeholders to ensure the  programmes managed by UNOPS are capable of meeting the business cases of both UNOPS and its donors.

The Programme Fund Management Advisor will broadly carry out the following tasks, in accordance with UNOPS  policies, procedures and practices based on needs expressed by country offices. 

Fund design 

•  Participate in donor negotiations for designing new funds when requested by country offices 

• Draft concept notes/project proposals/budgets for designing financing mechanisms 

• Draft fund related documentation such as operational guidelines, governance architecture,  safeguards policies and strategy 

• Support offices in designing fund’s organogram and terms of reference 

• Provide surge capacity to new funds during start up and act as interim programme manager when  needed 

• Conceptualize innovative financing approaches to meet donor requirements 

Fund Management/Programme Management 

•  Provide diagnostic assessment of ongoing funds and provide advice on turnaround, especially  with regards to strategy, governance, grants model, risk management etc. 

• Provide on-going assurance/peer review on active funds to country office or regional office 

• Propose strategies to attract further funding for ongoing funds 

• Any other related tasks on programme management cycle as needed 

Knowledge Management: 

•  Understand and manage UNOPS pricing policy and related corporate charges as they apply to the  Fund 

• Contribute to CFM’s publications and fund management toolkit 

• Actively interact with other stakeholder to share case studies, lessons learned and best practice  on UNOPS Communities 

• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and  procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.

• A Master’s Degree in a relevant field such as Business Administration, Public Administration, International Development, Engineering, Political Science, Communications or International Relations is required.

• A Bachelor’s Degree Iin relevant field such as  Business Administration, Public Administration, International Development, Engineering, Political Science, Communications or International Relations in combination with an additional 2 years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of the education requirements outlined above.

A minimum of seven (7) years of experience in an international development and/or Partnerships Development including demonstrated experience in: 

• Developing and executing partnership and programme development plans is required; 

• Project development and proposal writing is required ; 

• Experience in acquisition of projects is required ;   

• Project and programme management experience in fund management or MPTFs is required 

• Establishing partnerships with UN agencies, international development organizations, governments, foundations, international NGOs or private sector organizations, is required. 

• Prior experience working in international organizations international development, is required.

• Experience in post-disaster and/or emergency contexts would also be an advantage. 

• Experience in sectors such as Health, Climate/Environment, Energy and Peace is an advantage is an advantage 

• Experience of Google Suite and or Web-based Management Systems is an advantage.

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

• Contract type:International Individual Contract Agreement (IICA)

• Contract level: IICA3-ICS11

• Contract duration: Ongoing ICA – ‘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. 

• UNOPS evaluates all applications based on the skills, qualifications and experience requirements outlined in the vacancy announcement. We are committed to considering all candidates in a fair and transparent manner, and we value diverse perspectives and experiences, including those of women, indigenous and racialized communities, individuals with diverse 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. 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.