Background Information - Job-specific
The Director represents UNOPS on behalf of the Regional Director in countries in the area of the Operational Hub. The geographical scope of the entity is established by the Regional Director and may change over time. As of 1 January 2014, the Ethiopia Operational Hub covers the following countries: Ethiopia, Sudan and Djibouti.
The core functions of the Operational Hub are to:
a) Liaise and develop engagements, and deliver services responding to partner needs;
b) Leverage advice and integrate delivery modalities of the three Delivery Practices and the Global Partner Service Office; andc) Maintain appropriate arrangements and capacity for direct transactional support for delivery of the sub-regional portfolio.
Functional Responsibilities
The incumbent will be accountable to the UNOPS Regional Director for Africa, for the development and performance of the sub-regional portfolio. He/She is responsible for ensuring achievement and reporting on contributions to partners’ sustainable results in the areas of project management, infrastructure and procurement; as well as the achievement of a balanced set of management results in relation to UNOPS partners, people, processes and finances:Business Development:
- Keep abreast and assess the requirements of national governments and other UNOPS partners operating in the geographical area; and in conjunction with them identify and develop opportunities for UNOPS to contribute to their sustainable results in project management, infrastructure and procurement.
- Contribute to the establishment and deepening of strategic partnerships to support and development new engagements, by facilitating coordinated, systematic approaches to business partners and client relations management for mutual, sustainable benefit; including fostering an environment for sharing business intelligence, lessons learned and other knowledge across the organization as well as potentially cross-sectoral.
- Oversee coordinated and integrated approaches for cost-effective delivery of the sub-regional portfolio; ensuring partner satisfaction and the financial sustainability of the sub-regional portfolio; and advising the Regional Director and peers on opportunities to further enhance the added-value of UNOPS’ sustainable contribution to the results of its partners.
Contribute value to partners:
- Under the auspices of the UNOPS strategic plan, establish priorities and plans for the development of the sub-regional portfolio based on an understanding of the needs and expectations of stakeholders, the external environment, and internal performance capabilities;
- Represent UNOPS in the UN Country Team (UNCT), and support the UNCT programming and advocacy activities; Participate actively and effectively in UNCT meetings, and contribute to the formulation and implementation of United Nations Development Assistance Framework/One Programme, Integrated Strategic Framework, and Delivering as One within the country;
- Represent UNOPS in the UN Liaison Team (UNLT), a team of UN agencies accredited to the African Union (AU), and represent UNOPS in all the activities managed by the AU for member states. Represent the Regional Director in the Regional Coordination Mechanism, a platform through which the UN and AU collaborate to assist member states development agendas.
- Accountable to the Resident Coordinator for actions as part of the UNCT, make substantial contribution to UNCT’s work, and assume a leadership role as relates to UNOPS’ mandate;
- Represent UNOPS in the UN Security Management Team and in line with the UN Security Management System Framework of Accountability support the UN Designated Official in discharging his/her mandate related to the safety and security of all UNOPS personnel, premises and assets.
- Represent the Regional Director at the UNDG Eastern and Southern Africa meetings and engagements.
- Liaise with UNECA on topics relevant to UNOPS business.
- Participate in UNCT initiatives to strengthen UN coherence, inclusiveness, and aid effectiveness, including playing an active role in the Operations Management Teams (OMTs) and other senior management group of the country team;
- Keep UN Resident Coordinator abreast of UNOPS activities within the country through regular communication, including a formal regular reporting on business acquisition and implementation of activities led by UNOPS as part of the UNDAF;
Lead and manage people:
- Champion and act as a role model for the UNOPS mission, vision, values and ethics; leading, managing and developing the management team across the Ethiopia Operational Hub, with a view to nurturing a high-performance culture and effective management of change;
- Establish and maintain a clear, flexible and cost-effective management structure, responsive to short- and medium-term opportunities and threats for the sub-regional portfolio. If warranted by the composition of the portfolio the sub-regional management structure may include Project Centres;
- Retain, develop and recruit a workforce with the talents, skills and competencies needed to contribute value to partners; and ensure that UNOPS personnel are aligned and mobile through leverage of standardized job descriptions, organizational design, business processes, products and services;
- Encourage innovation and creativity in the delivery of the regional portfolio; and ensure, in coordination with relevant Practices, that the knowledge, skill and experience of regional practitioners is applied in support of the corporate improvement agenda and continuously upgraded through training and internal certification schemes.
Innovate for quality and speed:
- Ensure timely quality assurance and support, as well as appropriate and diligent execution of approvals and other transactional controls at all levels; and assess and build capacity for delivery of the sub-regional portfolio in view of its size and composition over time;
- Contribute to the development of UNOPS internal performance and quality control systems including tracking and reporting from both financial and project delivery management perspective;
- Ensure that operations are consistent with UNOPS management policies, instructions and guidelines issued by both UNOPS Management and Delivery Practices, and that sub-regional functions are organized for timely and cost-effective execution;
- Engage in appropriate knowledge sharing with peers in other regional/portfolio teams as well as in corporate practices, to enable coordinated delivery of services and leverage of potential corporate synergies;
- In consultation with the Regional Director, establish priorities for targeted investments in growth and innovation; and as a member of the UNOPS global management team, contribute to identification and implementation of innovation and continuous improvement in support of organizational excellence and world-class performance.
Steward finances and performance:
- Manage and supervise operations of the Ethiopia Operational Hub ensuring timely completion of quality projects within budget and with full cost recovery;
- Conduct effective oversight and control of the fiscal health of the sub-regional portfolio; stewarding the resources of the organization, ensuring financial resilience and accurate internal and external financial reporting;
- Oversee project portfolio performance, through monitoring and controlling programme/project implementation, reviewing progress, identifying constraints and initiating corrective action;
- Be fully accountable for achievement of financial targets and other management results established with the Regional Director; leverage corporate management information systems and reports for monitoring and oversight of efficient and effective delivery of the sub-regional portfolio; and conduct recurrent reviews to ensure, inter alia, that delivery and business development are mutually reinforcing and that corrections are applied when needed;
- As a country representative with accountabilities for all UNOPS personnel, premises and assets, perform the duties and responsibilities as outlined in Paragraphs G and H of the UNSMS Framework of Accountability for the UN Security Management System and section’s G and H in the Annex of same framework.
HOW TO APPLY:
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