Job Description
Background Information - Management Support Centre (MSC)
The UNOPS Management Support Centre (MSC) acts as the technical front office and works in close collaboration with the regions and partners on operationalizing best practices, towards global and other tailored agreements around management services.
MSC gains insights into specific needs of partners, through technical experts, in the areas of Project management, Infrastructure, Administration, Procurement, Human Resources and Financial management services, and tailors solutions at the corporate level, ensuring appropriate skills, products and services can be sourced, internally and externally, to support such engagements.
MSC supports the maintenance of global engagements with partners, in close coordination with regions and practices, and provides advice on communication and branding of such services.
MSC has the following key responsibilities:
At Corporate level:
· Lead the development of the strategic focus on Management Services and contributes to positioning UNOPS as the global partner in the provision of Management Services to partners
· Oversee and house the hosting strategy, develop hosting frameworks to manage business and risks, and ensure new potential hosted entity engagements are reviewed as per corporate standards.
· Oversee and house the global agreements with global partners on management services and maintain a steady line of communication with the partners on service performance
At the Regional level:
· Support the regions with packaging of management solutions as a service line to be provided to partners, whether as local partners or under global partnership agreements.
· Support the Regions with hosted entities Management Services, including assessing global operational risk and leading corporate knowledge management on the topic.
Functional Responsibilities
Procurement Advisory Services (PAS)
In our work with governments, public sector, and others in developing countries, there is a growing need for UNOPS to provide advisory and capacity development services in the area of procurement and supply chain management.
The PAS team was established in response to this need and has enjoyed success primarily in the Latin America region. We are now keen to expand beyond this region.
Kindly note, following the expansion of the PAS team, this position is now based in Copenhagen, Denmark (UNOPS HQ), however, there is a possibility that within the first year, the position is moved and based in one of the other regions where UNOPS is active: Middle East; Africa; and/or Asia.
PAS offers four main lines of work:
- Diagnostic: such as procurement efficiency assessments, or procurement audits;
- Managerial support: the provision of added capacity to handle processes in adequate timeframes and in compliance with all applicable regulations;
- Technical Support: producing or reviewing technical specifications, feasibility studies, blueprints, procurement schedules, inspection and supervision schemes;
- Capacity development: providing training to personnel or process reengineering to the organization.
The Senior Consultant PAS will be responsible for the following main activities, under the directions of the Global Lead PAS:
Development of Advisory Services business line:
- Contribute to the development of a strategy and implementation plan to expand PAS into regions beyond Latin America
- Carrying out periodical evaluations on the nature of services demanded and key areas of interest by clients (e.g. e-procurement; institutional capacity development; structural reform; process-specific support; supply chain efficiency assessments, etc.) and ensure PAS equips the regions to respond to these needs.
- Support the UNOPS regional offices and operational centers in the development of an Advisory Services portfolio.
- Identify and qualify new leads, in coordination with local and regional personnel;
- Contribute to the development of Advisory Services tools;
- Streamline approaches and methodologies for proposal preparation;
- Deliver UNOPS Procurement and Supply Chain Management trainings to external partners when required and participate in the development of new training materials.
Coordinate Advisory Services Projects
- Draft Advisory Services proposals, and support during negotiations;
- Assist in the assessment of maturity of new opportunities.
- Advise teams in the country offices on cost proposals, ensuring compliance with UNOPS pricing policy and the inclusion of all relevant costs;
- Maintain continuous contact with teams in the field offices and set up a monitoring mechanism to accompany all Advisory Services related opportunities;
- Identify suitable experts and establish task teams to deliver services, monitor team member´s performance, perform quality assurance on products;
- Follow up with clients on technical issues of services rendered or to be delivered;
- Provide Quality Assurance or identify peer reviewers for the reports prepared by the consultants deployed for each project, or the Advisory Services Team.
The ideal candidate has the following competencies:
- Strong knowledge of public procurement and supply chain management, as well as understanding of best international procurement and supply chain management practices;
- Significant knowledge of advisory services, preferably in the context of developing or emerging countries;
- Demonstrated experience in winning new business in advisory services;
- Demonstrated experience in successful proposal writing and submission/ presentation to clients, as well as follow up and final negotiations;
- Ability to identify suitable experts, assemble working groups and project manage teams of specialists to ensure quality delivery of the final product or service;
- Clear understanding of the international development procurement and supply chain management context, the key players, their agendas, the private sector interests and how best to operate in this framework;
- Strong ability to clearly communicate concepts and ideas;
- Must be self-motivated and able to work in a team.
Education/Experience/Language requirements
Education:
- Masters degree or equivalent, preferably in Economics, Project Management, Public Administration, International Relations, Business Administration, Organizational Development.
- A Bachelor’s degree or equivalent, with an additional 2 years of relevant experience will be accepted in lieu of a Master’s degree.
Experience:
- Minimum 10 years of progressive work experience in public procurement / supply chain, preferably either in Government or international financial institutions, UN agencies or other international development organizations.
- Experience in procurement projects in developing countries is highly desired.
- Experience in selling advisory services to clients is highly desired.
- Demonstrated experience in managing people both formally and informally.
Language Requirements:
- Fluency in English is required.
- Knowledge of another UN official language will be considered an asset.
About the Organization
Background Information - UNOPS
UNOPS supports the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to serve people in need by expanding the ability of the United Nations, governments and other partners to manage projects, infrastructure and procurement in a sustainable and efficient manner.
Working in some of the world’s most challenging environments, our vision is to advance sustainable implementation practices, always satisfying or surpassing our partners’ expectations.
With over 7,000 personnel spread across 80 countries, UNOPS offers its partners the logistical, technical and management knowledge they need, wherever they need it.
A flexible structure and global reach means that we can quickly respond to our partners' needs, while offering the benefits of economies of scale.
