Organizational Context
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.
Background on South East Asia and the Pacific Multi-Country Office (EAPMCO)
The UNOPS South East Asia and Pacific Multi Country Office (EAPMCO) supports, develops and oversees the UNOPS portfolio of projects in South East Asia and the Pacific. EAPMCO was established in January 2023 following the merger of the Thailand Multi-Country Office, which covered 20 countries across North East Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific, and the Cambodia Multi-Country Office, which covered 4 countries South East Asia - 3 countries in the Mekong Sub-region (Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam) and the Philippines. EAPMCO currently covers 24 countries across North East Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific. With its head office in Bangkok, the Multi-Country Office comprises nine EAPMCOs: EAPMCO Thailand, EAPMCO Indonesia, EAPMCO Pacific Operations Cluster, EAPMCO Papua New Guinea, EAPMCO China, EAPMCO Vietnam, EAPMCO Lao PDR, EAPMCO Philippines and EAPMCO Cambodia.
In 2025, the UNOPS EAPMCO implemented projects worth more than USD 98 million, in the areas of Energy Transition, Digital Transformations, Sustainable Environmental Management, Climate Change, Waste Management, Rule of Law and Access to Justice, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Post Conflict Reintegration, Emergency Relief, Post COVID19 Economic Transformations, and Health, through HR, procurement, construction, contract management, fund and program management services.
The Multi Country Office head office in Bangkok provides strategic direction, operational support, delivery oversight and assurance of the excellence of business processes and quality standards across all of the entire Multi Country Office locations. It is also responsible for developing, delivering and managing the portfolio of engagements in the country of the MCO location itself.
The EAPMCO Papua New Guinea: Background and Portfolio
The EAPMCO Papua New Guinea (PNG) was established to support the design and construction of infrastructure, promote sustainable procurement, enhance capacity development for technical and governance excellence, manage programs, and facilitate access to funding sources within the country.
Since its inception in 2022, EAPMCO PNG has experienced significant growth and expanded its portfolio. The organization has collaborated with the Government of PNG and an increasing number of development partners, including the World Bank, the European Union, and the Governments of Australia and New Zealand. These collaborations focus on initiatives in renewable and sustainable energy, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), health infrastructure, climate-resilient infrastructure, and community development. Through these efforts, EAPMCO PNG is actively contributing to the country’s development priorities with tailored, results-oriented solutions.
Looking ahead, the office aims to further expand by forging new partnerships and exploring additional development initiatives within its core service areas of infrastructure, procurement, and project management.
Background Information – Job Specific
The incumbent will support the delivery of the PNG portfolio and report directly to the Country Manager. It will support all UNOPS project implementation in the country and provide oversight of the portfolio, including monitoring implementation performance, risks, and compliance, and will escalate key issues to the Country Manager as appropriate. The position will offer technical advice during project concept development, contribute to resource planning and prioritisation, and support coordination across projects to ensure alignment with country strategy. The role will also undertake any other tasks assigned by the Country Manager in line with portfolio management responsibilities.
The incumbent must possess a deep understanding of complex project planning (especially for infrastructure projects), implementation, monitoring and control, while managing stakeholder expectations and ensuring delivery is as per the terms of Legal Agreements.
The Senior Programme Manager reports to the Country Manager, the role is responsible for ensuring that UNOPS portfolio of projects deliver on their outputs and outcomes, that the projects are fully resourced and implemented with due diligence with respect to UNOPS guidelines and funders agreements, and that the stakeholders, including the funders are kept regularly and fully informed and engaged in project implementation progress. The Senior Programme Manager is responsible for programmatic advice, planning and resource use, day to day activities, performance management, and evaluation against goals.
Purpose and Scope of Assignment:
The incumbent’s specific duties and responsibilities will be as follows:
1. Programme Management:
Provides strategic technical oversight and implementation guidance across the portfolio to ensure projects are managed effectively and in full compliance with funding agreements and UNOPS policies, proactively identifying systemic risks, performance issues, and opportunities for portfolio-wide improvement.
Oversees portfolio work planning, performance monitoring, and reporting, ensuring the quality, accuracy, and timeliness of management information and external communications, and strengthening UNOPS’ profile and credibility in programme management and implementation.
Supervises and guides portfolio implementation arrangements, including the allocation and optimisation of resources across projects, ensuring coherence, consistency, and efficient delivery in line with funder expectations and UNOPS standards.
Leads senior-level engagement with government counterparts, development partners, and technical working groups, providing strategic direction on project implementation matters and facilitating issue resolution to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
Exercises oversight and quality assurance of project outputs and delivery, monitoring progress against contractual obligations, technical specifications, and approved plans, escalating critical issues to the Country Manager as appropriate, and providing regular portfolio-level performance updates.
Supports the development of business opportunities in the country, including but not limited to the infrastructure sectors, providing advice for concept development.
Supports the review of infrastructure projects outputs and engages with the MCO Infrastructure Advisor and with infrastructure Project Management Group (IPMG) with regards to response on technical matters.
2. Implementation, oversight and reporting:
Provides portfolio-level oversight of operational and financial performance of project implementation, identifying emerging risks, systemic issues, and deviations from approved plans; supports root-cause analysis and solution framing, coordinates resolution across projects, and oversees the preparation of key stakeholder correspondence and mission-level reporting.
Ensures robust programme information management and reporting, overseeing the preparation, quality, and consistency of project documentation and internal and external reports, and ensuring alignment with UNOPS and funder requirements.
Provides strategic oversight of project delivery arrangements, monitoring progress across work packages and milestones, and holding project teams accountable for timely and quality delivery rather than directly managing individual outputs.
Maintains regular coordination with the Country Manager on portfolio implementation progress, advising on material deviations, consolidated risks, and corrective actions, and supporting updates to portfolio plans as required.
Oversees consolidated financial and technical reporting across the portfolio, ensuring transparency, compliance with UNOPS and funder reporting standards, and appropriate utilisation of resources.
Supports the Country Manager, in their role as Project Executive, in the governance and oversight of approved project plans, including milestone setting, performance monitoring, and decision-making at key control points.
Supervises and evaluates the performance of service providers and implementing partners at a portfolio level, ensuring delivery against agreed priorities, contractual obligations, and performance standards.
Ensures portfolio-wide compliance with Environmental, Social, Health and Safety (ESHS) requirements, providing oversight and guidance to project teams and escalating non-compliance as necessary.
Oversees procurement and contract management processes related to contractors and consultants, ensuring that identification, evaluation, selection, and supervision are conducted in line with UNOPS procedures and quality standards.
Provides senior technical oversight on contractor and supplier performance, ensuring compliance with contractual specifications, work plans, timelines, and budgets, based on reports and inputs from project managers, engineers, and supervision teams.
3. Risk Management:
Oversees portfolio risk, issue, and change management frameworks, ensuring that project teams maintain accurate risk registers, issue logs, and change controls, and that document control procedures are consistently applied across the portfolio.
Ensures timely reporting, information flow, and appropriate escalation of awareness of emerging risks and topics.
Manage risks proactively and address issues effectively, seeking timely responses and escalation of key residual exposures - in alignment with the organization’s risk-taking approach and enterprise risk management requirements.
4. Stakeholder Relationships management:
Supports the Country Manager in the strategic management of institutional relationships with funders, the Government of Papua New Guinea, relevant UN agencies, development partners, and other key stakeholders, contributing to a coherent and trusted UNOPS engagement at programme level.
Leads programme-level engagement with contributors and partners to the UNOPS programme, strengthening long-term partnerships, deepening donor confidence, and positioning UNOPS as a reliable delivery partner across the infrastructure portfolio.
Provides strategic coordination with donors, ensuring alignment between programme objectives, funding agreements, and evolving partner priorities.
Manages internal and external stakeholder relationships at programme level, ensuring effective information flows, coordinated messaging, and timely issue resolution across the portfolio.
Integrates the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into programme planning, implementation, and reporting, ensuring that infrastructure interventions contribute meaningfully to national priorities and global development objectives.
5. Knowledge Management and innovation:
Leads programme-level knowledge management, ensuring systematic capture, analysis, and consolidation of lessons learned across the portfolio in line with UNOPS reporting standards and strategic objectives.
Drives capacity building initiatives across the programme, ensuring that local capacities are strengthened at all levels, with a focus on sustainable project management support and long-term institutional development.
Promotes dissemination and application of best practices, facilitating cross-project learning, adoption of innovative approaches, and the integration of lessons learned into programme design and implementation.
Provides strategic guidance on tools, methodologies, and technical approaches, enhancing programme effectiveness and ensuring teams apply proven techniques and UNOPS standards consistently across the portfolio.
6. Personnel Management:
Line manages all Project Managers and provides strategic leadership, guidance and oversight of project teams, ensuring alignment of team objectives, structures, and workflows with overall programme goals and portfolio priorities.
Drives performance management and talent development across the programme, setting clear expectations, monitoring outcomes, and fostering a high-performing, motivated workforce while supporting professional growth and capacity building.
Leads and supervises external delivery partners and consultants, providing guidance, direction, and accountability at the programme level to ensure coherent, timely, and high-quality implementation across projects.
Ensures transparent and effective communication across the programme, keeping internal teams, project managers, and external partners informed of strategic updates, procedural changes, and critical information necessary for coordinated and efficient delivery.
7. Accountability for results and the use of resources:
Ensures project management processes are consistently applied; uphold the highest standards of accountability, transparency, and results delivery across the portfolio. Where projects deviate from these standards, the Programme Manager is responsible for identifying systemic issues, providing guidance to project teams, and escalating critical concerns to the Country Manager for timely resolution.
8. Excellence:
Leads and drives programme-level innovation, promoting the adaptation and integration of best-practice and standards defined at the MCO level.
Ensure sustainability, quality, and operational excellence across the portfolio, and ensure that lessons learned inform continuous improvement and strategic decision-making.
The Senior Programme Manager, reporting to the Country Manager, provides strategic oversight of the PNG portfolio, ensuring that all projects and programmes adhere to UNOPS and MCO programme management practices. The role directly impacts the achievement of results by guiding project teams, mitigating risks, and optimising delivery across the portfolio. It serves as the focal point for liaising with MCO functions, ensuring alignment with corporate standards and facilitating smooth communication and coordination. By driving high-quality implementation, promoting best practices, and maintaining effective stakeholder engagement, the Programme Manager reinforces UNOPS’ visibility, credibility, and position as a trusted partner of choice in sustainable development and project services.
