Project Coordinator - Stakeholder Engagement

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, UNOPS provides sustainable project management, procurement, and infrastructure services to a wide range of governments, donors, and United Nations organizations.  With over 8,000 personnel spread across 80 countries, UNOPS offers its partners the logistical, technical and management knowledge they need, where they need it.  By implementing around 1,000 projects for our partners at any given time, UNOPS makes significant contributions to results on the ground, often in the most challenging environments.

UNOPS Geneva Office is providing support to a wide range of portfolios, including UNEP, UNICEF, UNHCR, and other partners. As of July 2025, the UN Partners Portfolio has signed a UN-to-UN Agreement with UNICEF for the implementation of the GIGA Project, a joint initiative between UNICEF and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) that aims to connect every school to the internet by 2030, bridging the global digital divide and promoting equitable access to education. Under this agreement, UNOPS provides comprehensive operational and administrative support to UNICEF and the GIGA project team, including project management, human resources and recruitment, travel and procurement/financial management services. These services strengthen operational delivery and ensure the efficient and compliant implementation of GIGA’s strategic objectives. 

Launched in 2019 as a joint initiative between UNICEF and ITU, Giga has set the ambitious goal to connect every school in the world to the internet. Half of the world’s population has no regular access to the Internet. Millions of children leave school without any digital skills, making it much more difficult for them to thrive and contribute to local and global economies. This has created a digital divide between those who are connected and those who are not, a divide that has become even wider during the Covid-19 pandemic. UNICEF and ITU have therefore joined forces to create Giga, an initiative to connect every school in the world to the Internet and address this new form of inequality.  

Giga focuses on connecting schools so that children and young people have access to information, opportunity, and choice. It also uses schools as anchor points for their surrounding communities: if you connect the school, you can also connect local businesses and services. This creates opportunities for service providers to generate revenue from paying users, making connectivity more sustainable. A 2021 report by the Economist Intelligence Unit found that a 10% increase in school connectivity can increase effective years of schooling by 0.6% and increase GDP per capita by 1.1%.  

Under the direct supervision of the Programme Manager, the Project Coordinator -Stakeholder Engagement- at Giga, will play a role in managing relations with multilateral and academic stakeholders in the global connectivity space and operationalizing Giga’s stakeholder engagement strategy. 

The Project Coordinator will be responsible for planning, coordinating, and executing activities that strengthen relationships with key public and private sector stakeholders, ensuring alignment with Giga’s mission to connect every school to the internet. 

The role requires coordinating the implementation of Giga’s stakeholder engagement strategy and academic partnerships, developing workplans, ensuring knowledge management, collaborating effectively across Giga, as well as monitoring and evaluation. The ideal candidate is a skilled professional with experience in project management, stakeholder engagement, monitoring and evaluation, with a keen eye for detail, and the ability to work collaboratively in a fast-paced environment.

The main responsibilities and tasks will be:

• Multilateral Stakeholder Engagement: 

  • Support the implementation of Giga’s multilateral stakeholder engagement strategy, ensuring effective collaboration with various actors.

  • Support the process of establishing new collaborations with stakeholders. 

  • Support the mapping of multilateral entities and consolidate quality inputs and feedback from different teams.

• Workplan Development and Management: 

  • Develop detailed workplans for Giga’s alliances with stakeholders outlining activities, timelines, deliverables, and roles. 

  • Monitor progress against workplans, ensuring milestones are met and activities are aligned with Giga’s objectives. 

  • Adjust and refine workplans as needed in coordination with stakeholders to respond to evolving priorities and challenges.

• Academic Partnerships: 

  • Support the coordination of the Giga Research Lab partnership with the University of Geneva, including workplan implementation and overseeing progress.

  • Liaise and coordinate with various Giga teams involved in the execution of the partnership.

  • Ensure quality and timely quarterly reporting from the partner and coordinate any contract amendments in line with UNICEF’s business procedures.

• Documentation and Knowledge Management: 

  • Help develop meeting agendas, record minutes, and track action items to ensure accountability. 

  • Prepare briefing notes and talking points, as needed. 

  • Develop and maintain a document repository for knowledge management internally and with external stakeholders. 

  • Identify communication opportunities to share successes from Giga’s alliances and liaise with the Giga communications team around pieces such as social media or blog posts.

• Cross-Sectoral Coordination: 

  • Collaborate with Giga’s internal teams (e.g., Data and Technology, Communications, Country Engagement, Procurement) to ensure consistent integration of stakeholder engagement efforts across the organization. 

  • Liaise with internal teams about their contributions to workplans, the implementation of activities etc.   

• Monitoring and Reporting: 

  • Track stakeholder engagement outcomes, providing regular updates on progress and challenges to the supervisor and management. 

  • Identify solutions to arising challenges. 

  • Use qualitative and quantitative metrics to assess the effectiveness of engagement activities and recommend improvements.

  • Complete any other tasks as required.

The Project Coordinator is expected to undertake one duty trip to Giga’s Barcelona Technology Centre during the contract period for a duration of 4 nights.

a. Education

• An Advanced University degree (Master’s Degree of equivalent) preferably in business administration, International Relations, International Development, Project Management or a related field is required. 

• A first-level university degree (Bachelor`s degree or equivalent) preferably in the related fields with an additional 2 years of experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree; 

b. Work Experience 

• A proven track record of at least 5 years of experience working in project management and stakeholder engagement, preferably in an international/public sector setting is required. 

• Experience in managing multiple projects with several stakeholders simultaneously, prioritizing tasks, and meeting deadlines is required.  

• Experience using collaborative tools and platforms such as Microsoft Office, SharePoint, with an emphasis on Excel and PowerPoint is required. 

• Knowledge of UNICEF’s policies and processes on partnerships with implementing partners is an asset. 

• An understanding of the global connectivity landscape and multilateral stakeholders in the connectivity space is an asset.

c. Language requirements :  

• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is an asset.

Contract type: International Individual Contractor Agreement **
Contract level: IICA 2 / ICS 10
Contract duration: Until June 30, 2026, with possiblity if extension subject to availability of funds, satisfactory performance and continued business needs.

** Please note that this position is advertised on behalf of UNICEF. Contract terms and conditions will be in accordance with the partnership agreement signed between UNOPS and UNICEF. 

• 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.