Job: Project Manager, Product Development

Location: Copenhagen
Deadline: Saturday, 16 November 2013

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, our vision is to always satisfy partners with management services that meet world-class standards of quality, speed and cost effectiveness.

UNOPS provides services in sustainable infrastructure, sustainable procurement and sustainable project management, with projects ranging from building schools, roads, bridges and hospitals to procuring goods and services and training local personnel.

By assisting UN organizations, international financial institutions, governments and other development partners, UNOPS makes significant, tangible contributions to results on the ground.

We employ more than 6,000 personnel annually and on behalf of our partners create thousands more work opportunities in local communities. Through our headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark and a network of regional and country offices, we oversee activities in more than 80 countries.

UNOPS is committed to achieving a truly diverse workforce.

Background Information - Job-specific

The Sustainable Procurement Practice Group (SPPG) at UNOPS leads the organization's sustainable procurement practice and is responsible for all matters of organizational development in procurement and supply chain management. It is responsible for developing procurement strategies, policies, and processes. SPPG provides authoritative guidance and procurement advice. It enables oversight and develops procurement and supply chain knowledge networks and training tools to strengthen skills in public procurement and advance sustainable practices. SPPG is also responsible for a significant percentage of the transactional procurement volume of UNOPS which totalled 740 Mio. USD in 2012. As part of its mandate, SPPG publishes the Annual Statistical Report (ASR) on United Nations Procurement on behalf of the UN system which provides data and analysis on the goods and services procured by the United Nations system in support of its operations.

Over the past five years, UNOPS has also published an annual thematic supplement to the ASR, containing a range of articles and case studies from academia, the public and private sector, as well as the United Nations. This report provides a window into the current issues, trends and challenges faced by procurement practitioners across the globe. In the coming year, UNOPS is working to strengthen the quantitative and academic basis of the next edition of the thematic report and establish it as a stand-alone knowledge publication. For this task, UNOPS is seeking a highly qualified individual whose responsibility will be to manage this project from designing and organizing the report's content to coordinating its production and dissemination and through this contribute to raising UNOPS' profile in the procurement field.

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

Functional Responsibilities

The incumbent's tasks will be, under the supervision and guidance by the Deputy Director, Procurement Practice, to manage all activities in the development and production of the report, including the following:

• Carry out overall project and budget management
• Conduct benchmark research
• Establish a timeline for the production of the report and the supporting activities involved and ensure that all processes stay within the agreed timeline
• Develop concept, structure and key theme for the report for approval by the Deputy Director
• Explore and set up measures to strengthen the quantitative and academic base of the report, such as creating a partnership with academic institutions and professionals, developing an index measuring the state of public procurement across countries, or implementing a peer review process for the publication
• Identify potential partners & funding sources
• Coordinate and cooperate closely with internal stakeholders, as well as external partners and various contributors to the report
• Manage the production of the report
• Create a roadmap for the dissemination of the report to maximize publicity and impact
• Conceptualize and carry out a launching event for the introduction of the report
• Assess impact of report and draw up steps on how to further improve the report in the following edition
• Develop plan for the regular publication process of following editions Other related duties may need to be performed as required. Competencies Desired Competencies:
• Advanced project management skills to take the lead in effectively managing and driving the various simultaneous work streams involved within allocated deadlines
• Excellent analytical ability to give strategic direction to the content of the publication
• High degree of personal initiative and results orientation
• Creativity and maturity of judgment
• Excellent communication skills in English (spoken, written and presentational)
• Ability to build strategic partnerships with external stakeholders
• Excellent interpersonal skills and teamwork attitude, ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity
• Genuine passion for the assignment

Education/Experience/Language requirements

Education:

• A Master's degree in international affairs, political science, economics, communication, media or related fields is required.
• A Bachelor's degree in international affairs, political science, economics, communication, media or related fields plus 2 years of expience may substitute the MA degree.

Experience:

• A minimum of 2 years of experience working in the fields of project management, partner outreach, business development, communications or similar activities is required

Desired skills:

• Excellent research skills
• Procurement experience desired
• Business development experience an asset
• Partnership building experience an asset
• Editing skills or other experience with media and publications an asset
• Excellent knowledge of MS Office, including PowerPoint and Excel
• Knowledge of publication software such as InDesign an asset

Language:

Fluency in English is required

Contract type, level and duration

Contract type: Individual Contractor Agreement (ICA) Contract level: IICA-1 Contract duration: 1 year For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link: http://www.unops.org/ENGLISH/WHOWENEED/CONTRACT-TYPES/Pages/Individual-Contractor-Agreements-ICAs.aspx

Additional Considerations

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time (CET)
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• For staff positions UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns. Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

More Info and Application