Organization: UNOPS – United Nations Office for Project Services
Location: Addis Ababa
Grade: Mid level – LICA-10, Local Individual Contractors Agreement
Occupational Groups:
Project and Programme Management
Closing Date: 2024-06-24
Job categories Partnerships, Programme Management
Vacancy code VA/2024/B5333/28347
Department/office AFR, ETMCO, Ethiopia MCO
Duty station Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Contract type Local ICA Specialist
Contract level LICA Specialist-10
Duration Ongoing Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance.’
Application period 11-Jun-2024 to 24-Jun-2024
Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement.
Functional Responsibilities
The Programme Management Support Specialist shall be responsible for the following functional responsibilities but not limited to:
Development and follow-up of business opportunities
Project Support
Support communication and knowledge management
Monitoring and Progress Controls
Development and follow-up of business opportunities
Contributes and supports the development and implementation of MCO business strategy.
Establish and further develop partnerships with UN agencies, international organizations, governments, foundations, international NGOs and private sector organizations to diversify project opportunities within the Country Office or Partnership Group.
Conducts research on donor aid flows worldwide, UN and other agencies, trends in aid, potential future markets for growth, creating criteria for selecting target markets and partners, comparison of donor types, and market with special emphasis to MCO core business.
Explore the potential for new programs and develop proposals for submission to partners.
Synthesize and summarize information relevant to business development and prepare relevant reports, briefing notes/talking points/presentations and other materials for internal and external use.
Advocates UNOPS as a partner and service provider of choice.
Supports the development of strategic partnerships with key counterparts and business opportunities.
Maintain and develop contacts and partnerships within the donor community (UN agencies, host government, donor governments, donor organizations, etc.), monitor communications and follow-up activities.
Support the MCO Leadership team on the implementation and monitoring progress/ reporting of corporate and strategic initiatives.
Identifies requirements related to marketing materials and the distribution thereof, as well as any reports/publications required for existing and potential clients and partners.
Communicate with the relevant UNOPS personnel on matters about their respective responsibilities in relation to program and business development.
Develops UNOPS capacity statements for the various services provided by UNOPS.
Supports MCO operations and contributes to knowledge sharing, enhancing the harmonization of projects while facilitating synergies with team members.
Coordinate and collaborate with relevant partnership personnel at local, liaison and HQ level, as well as project managers and project personnel of the Ethiopia office, to ensure aligned and coherent interactions with partners.
Create and maintain oneUNOPS opportunities and engagement functionalities in alignment with UNOPS corporate guidelines.
Coordinate technical and financial requirements, and negotiate proposals to close new project opportunities.
Project support
Prepares project documents, legal agreements, budgets and support engagement clearance.
Assists the preparation of meetings and events, draft talking points, and meeting minutes.
Supports MCO leadership team in project compliance and quality assurance, by providing up to date analysis of project progress, by keeping track of performance vs portfolio key performance indicators – KPIs.
Collaborates with business area teams to understand project requirements, shape the initial project request, and provide a high-level estimate of the project effort and costs.
Support to internal and external coordination of corporate and strategic initiatives, planning and reporting and knowledge sharing and communications.
Contribute to the identification, design, formulation, and negotiation of new projects and programs and draft concept notes and project document briefs for discussion with partners.
Work closely with the programme teams to monitor the progress of projects with regards to effectively managing the relationship with donors.
Participate in and report on the relevant inter-agency, donor and government coordination meetings including addressing project development issues in consultation with UNOPS project managers and technical experts when required. Take part in UN common planning and programming processes, including strategic country analysis, UNDAF/UNSDF, response plans, etc.
Support communication and knowledge management
Promote the circulation of information within the MCO and its units, in order to support knowledge management and create cross synergies within MCO units.
Together with the communication unit produce high-quality communications and visibility materials of MCO on websites
Implement standards, tools, and templates provided by HQ to effectively manage partnership and project development within the team to enhance/maintain UNOPS effectiveness as a provider of project services for sustainable results.
Contribute to the ongoing research, development, and implementation of best practices and innovative approaches to maximize performance and sustain achievements in project and partnership development.
Help build partnership capacity and negotiation skills among project managers.
Contribute to the dissemination and sharing of best practices and lessons learned for planning and knowledge building within project and partnership development.
Provide regular feedback on existing systems, tools, and resources to ensure their relevance to day-to-day operations.
Undertake advocacy, public information and communication activities in collaboration with the Communications Unit
Monitoring and progress controls
Supports preparation of the monthly KPI reports as per MCO target agreement.
Prepare periodic updates on the progress of corporate action plans.
Provides ad hoc research on potential business partners.
Involve in the induction of new staff about UNOPS, its mandates, systems and operation.
Monitor data quality on the PCM tool and ensure up-to-date information is entered into the tool.
Impacts of results
The effective and successful achievement of results by the Programme Management Specialist impacts the performance of the ETMCO by maintaining a robust and diverse pipeline of project opportunities, which leads to the sustainable growth of the UNOPS’ presence and strengthens the achievements of UNOPS management results and the fulfillment of its mandate.
Education/Experience/Language requirements
Education
A Master’s Degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, International Development, Engineering, Political Science, Communications, International Relations, or other relevant disciplines is required. OR
A Bachelor’s Degree in the above- mentioned fields with an additional two (2) years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of the Masters Degree requirement.
Experience
A minimum of five (5) years of relevant experience in international development and/or donor relations, including demonstrated experience in developing and executing programme development plans, project development, and proposal writing in either public/private or international organizations is required.
A minimum of two (2) years experience in establishing partnerships with UN agencies, international development organizations, governments, foundations, international NGOs, or private sector organizations is required.
Experience in managing partnerships with different donor organizations such as the World Bank, European Union (EU), African Development Bank (AfDB), etc is an asset.
Prior experience in project and programme management is an asset
Prior experience working in international organizations, international development, post-disaster, and/or emergency contexts would also be an advantage.
Experience /knowledge of Google Suite and web-based Management Systems is a plus
Language
Fluency in spoken, reading and written English is required.
Knowledge of another UN official language is an asset