Employer: UN Office for Project Services
Closing date: 31 Dec 2014
Please note that this is a roster profile. UNOPS roster profiles reflect those jobs we most frequently hire for, in our primary areas of work. Most roster profiles will not have a closing date and will remain continuously open for new applications. When UNOPS needs to recruit, we will use our roster to identify qualified applicants and give them the opportunity to show interest for specific vacant posts. Read more about how to apply against a UNOPS roster here.
Recruitment is ongoing for pool replenishment
Background Information - UNOPS
“UNOPS plays a critical role in providing management services for our life-saving, peacebuilding, humanitarian and development operations. I have seen many examples of how these activities help suffering
people in troubled parts of the world.” -Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General
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, UNOPS vision is to always satisfy partners with management services that meet world-class standards of quality, speed and cost effectiveness.
By assisting UN organizations, international financial institutions, governments and other development partners, UNOPS makes significant, tangible contributions to results on the ground.
UNOPS employs more than 6000 personnel and on behalf of its partners creates thousands more work opportunities in local communities. With its headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark, a network of five regional offices and a further 20 operations and project centres, UNOPS oversees activities in more than 80 countries.
UNOPS is committed to achieving a truly diverse workforce.
Background Information - MAC
Mine Action Cluster
Based in New York, the UNOPS Mine Action Cluster provides a range of mine action services in emergency and post-conflict settings, on behalf of the United Nations, governments and other partners. Established in 1997 and part of the UNOPS Global Partner Services Office, the Mine Action Cluster has helped partners significantly improve the lives of people in more than 30 countries around the world.
It delivers fast and efficient procurement, recruitment and management services to facilitate humanitarian aid and launch emergency mine clearance. The cluster is also responsible for the administrative oversight of its field offices, in line with partner requirements and UNOPS rules and regulations.
One of the objectives of the Mine Action Cluster is to rapidly deploy mine action personnel to the field. To accomplish this, the cluster has established a Pool of Experts for the above mentioned position, from which it can deploy and re-deploy personnel in order to meet partner demands. Through the Global Personnel Recruitment System, the Mine Action Cluster completes the time-consuming aspects of the recruitment process in advance, and thereafter manages and maintains a pool of pre-approved personnel that can be deployed much more efficiently to Fixed Term Appointment (FTA), Temporary Appointment (TA) or Individual Contractor Agreement (ICA) positions in the field. Once approved as a member of a pool, candidates remain members for a period of three years, after which they will be re-assessed should they wish to remain part of the pool.
Functional Responsibilities
•Manage operational activities and personnel in the area of Operations, including the current operations and future planning; oversee the daily operational activities;
•In coordination with national authorities, peacekeeping missions and other UN agencies develop the annual prioritization and tasking plan;
•Collect, analyse and disseminate all recent and available mine/UXO information through supervision/coordination of team responsible for entering information into IMSMA accurately and timely and for collating it into reports or appropriate reporting formats;
•Identify operational priorities and coordinate cost effective mine action operations in the area in accordance with nationally established criteria;
•Interact with the Quality Assurance (QA) Section on operational matters;
•Participate in Boards of Inquiry initiated by the D1 Programme Director or P5 Programme Manager on accidents and/or operational incidents playing an advisory role and providing relevant operational input/contribution to these boards;
•Manage the Planning and Operations teams to develop and implement survey and clearance plans; •Plan for and ensure accurate, regular and timely reporting of operational issues/activities;
•Contribute to development of plans, reports and related documents to facilitate implementation of programme activities;
•Maintain internationally recognized drills, SOPs and safety standards for manual, dog and mechanical demining, Minefield Marking Teams (MMT), survey and EOD procedures, and provide operational input for the revision and updating of National Technical Standards and Guidelines (TSGs);
•Provide input to policy, doctrine and procedures, in accordance with IMAS and the NTSGs, for the execution of the annual operations work plan and contractor SOPs and ensure that they are properly implemented;
•Depending on the role this position will be assigned to within the project administration setup in a specific country/programme (i.e. office structure, DOAs, ATLAS functions, segregation of duties, etc.), the incumbent will have responsibilities determined by UNOPS rules and regulations embodied in its regulatory framework - Organizational Directives, Administrative Instructions and other documents as periodically issued and updated by UNOPS. Reporting lines with regards to compliance with UNOPS rules and regulations are ultimately to UNOPS Chief Mine Action Cluster through Portfolio Manager. In addition, division of responsibilities when it comes to administrative processes in support of the programme objectives will be as determined for each country office and confirmed in writing by UNOPS Chief of Mine Action Cluster.
•Ensure that the demining organizations funded through the UN work according to contract specifications and or Memorandums of Agreement and maintain good relations with the contractors, NGOs and other UN agencies in the region;
•Any other duties or tasks as identified by the D1 Programme Director or P5 Programme Manager.
Competencies
•Leadership – Proven supervisory ability and/or technical leadership. Ability to maintain effective working relations both as a team member and team leader.
•Teamwork Skills – Strong interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relations with people in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity.
•Organising and Quality Orientation – Ability to manage, organize, plan and implement work assignments, juggle competing demands and work under pressure of frequent and tight deadlines. •Decision Making – Demonstrated ability to apply good judgment and decision making skills. •Communication Skills – Strong spoken and written communication skills.
•Creativity and Innovation – Strong analytical and problem solving skills and ability to handle a range of management and coordination issues.
•Ability to Learn – Willingness to keep abreast of new developments.
•Change Orientation - Understands the role of technology and business processes and constantly strives to better utilise these for achieving organisational / departmental goals.
•Lives and Breathes UNOPS Values – Takes ownership for all responsibilities and honours commitments.
Education/Experience/Language requirements
•Advanced University Degree (Masters Degree or equivalent) with a minimum of 7 years of relevant experience; or a First Level University Degree (Bachelors Degree or equivalent) with a minimum of 9 years of relevant experience; or Military Experience (or relevant Police Experience) at the Senior NCO (Non-Commissioned Officer) or Officer level (or equivalent) with a minimum of 13 years of relevant experience; or if an applicant lacks both university qualifications and military experience he/she must have at least 13 years of experience with internationally recognized demining organizations.
•At least 7 years of experience in operations management of mine action operations (military or humanitarian mine action);
•Proven and applicable experience in management of operations in humanitarian mine action desired; •Understanding of UN mine action programmes, policies, and coordination mechanisms;
•Thorough knowledge of the International Mine Action Standards and the Information Management System for Mine Action;
•Thorough knowledge of demining SOPs, technical and safety procedures;
•Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) qualifications an advantage;
•Fluency in spoken and written English is a requirement, knowledge of a second UN language an advantage;
•Internationally recognized driving licence.
Contract type, level and duration
Contract type: Fixed Term Appointment (FTA) / Temporary Appointment (TA) / International Individual Contractor Agreement (I-ICA) Contract level: ICS-11: P4 FTA / P4 TA / I-ICA 2 Contract duration: Length of contract will depend on contract modality and funding availability.
For more details about United Nations staff contracts, please follow this link.
For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link.
Additional Considerations
UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a level below the advertised level of the job.
Based on organizational needs at the time of recruitment, applicants accepted into this UNOPS roster pool may be considered for job at the advertised job level or its equivalent. The successful candidate(s) may be offered a contract governed by the United Nations Staff Regulations and Rules or UNOPS individual contractor agreement.
How to apply:
Find the full description and apply online to this roster. For more information on UNOPS, please visit our website: www.unops.org.