Contract Management Officer

In Latin America and the Caribbean, UNOPS operates across 23 countries, delivering high-impact solutions that drive sustainable development. UNOPS focuses on building and improving resilient infrastructure—including roads, bridges, public facilities, sanitation systems, and housing—to enhance quality of life and foster inclusive growth. UNOPS also supports public health by procuring essential medicines and medical equipment, ensuring broader access to healthcare services. By strengthening institutional capacities, UNOPS promotes transparent, efficient, and equitable public management. As a trusted partner to governments and development stakeholders, UNOPS aligns its interventions with national priorities, helping countries advance the Sustainable Development Goals through practical, results-driven support.

The Isthmus and Caribbean Multi-Country Office (ICMCO), based in Panama, oversees UNOPS operations in Panama, Costa Rica, and the English/Dutch Caribbean States. In Panama, UNOPS has supported national partners since 2009 through technical advisory services and the implementation of complex infrastructure, procurement, and project management initiatives—strengthening public sector efficiency and enhancing quality of life. In Costa Rica, UNOPS has collaborated with four successive administrations on 17 projects, consistently aligning with national priorities and legal frameworks. Key achievements include major transport and water infrastructure such as the Binational Bridge over the Sixaola River, multiple underpasses and bridges, aqueducts in Liberia and Nicoya, and the Circunvalación Norte highway. Across both countries, UNOPS promotes sustainability, resilience, and national capacity-building while also providing operational support to other UN agencies in the region.

General Background 

The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is a United Nations body responsible for infrastructure, procurement and project management (General Assembly Resolution 65/176 of 2010). Our mission is to help people improve their lives and countries achieve peace and sustainable development. UNOPS' three priority areas are:

i) Sustainable Infrastructure: Designing, building, repairing, and maintaining infrastructure in challenging environments, focusing on transportation, education, and health infrastructure.

ii) Public Procurement: Serving as a central procurement resource for the UN system and governments, emphasizing efficient, transparent, and sustainable delivery of goods and services.

iii) Project Management: Managing over a thousand humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding projects annually for various partners, ensuring quality, effectiveness, and results that meet the highest standards.

UNOPS' work seeks environmental, social, and economic sustainability, which contributes to the progress of equity and the common good of the countries in which it operates, thus promoting the improvement of the living conditions of the most needy people. UNOPS has a presence in 23 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The services, products,s and technical assistance comply with the principles of public administration of transparency, equity, integrity, free competition, impartiality, morality, effectiveness, efficiency, and respect for national institutions.

Project Information

This position is a shared resource supporting two critical infrastructure initiatives in Sint Maarten:

1. Rule of Law Facility (Prison): A project to strengthen the justice system by constructing a new detention facility that meets modern standards for security and human rights.

2. Sanitation Project (Dutch Quarter): A project aimed at improving access to reliable and sustainable sanitation services for the local population in the Dutch Quarter

About Our Culture

Our work contributes to building the foundations for countries and communities to achieve peace and sustainable development, guided by our values: Inclusion, Integrity, Humility and Humanity.

Under the direct supervision of the Senior Project Manager, the Contract Management Officer  is responsible for supporting the procurement processes and the day-to-day administration of contracts.

The Contract Management Senior Officer will ensure that goods and services are purchased according to UNOPS rules and that, once signed, contracts are managed efficiently to ensure suppliers deliver on time and within budget.

Contract Compliance & Monitoring:

• Serve as the administrator for contracts.

• Monitor the contractor’s compliance with all clauses, including insurance validity, performance security (bonds), and requirements.

• Track key contract dates, such as expiration dates, delivery milestones, and renewal periods to ensure no lapses in coverage.

• Ensure that service management is well structured, with understanding of the guidelines by both parties, and that suppliers understand the service they must provide and are provided with the information and contacts necessary for such.

• Contribute to the development of a comprehensive and objective performance management framework to be implemented when the contract is signed, providing incentives for the supplier to meet or exceed agreed performance standards.

• Draft communication to suppliers (other than technical) for the PM review and submittal

• Liaise with relevant UNOPS office to ensure adequate follow up on action to be taken

Financial Management & Payments:

• Manage the interim payment process certification by the technical team  and document record/control)

• Ensure strict control over the project cash flow by tracking actual payments against the forecasted payment schedule.

• Maintain a complete financial register of the contract, including all approved payments, pending invoices, and retentions held.

• Implement the use of contract management software to record key information and to provide, for example, search capability so that ongoing contract management information and documentation is retained, managed, and easily accessible when needed.

• Put in place mechanisms (preferably technological) to identify key contract "trigger points" such as notice periods, health certificates and/or expiration dates of goods.

• Develop indicators and dashboards and maintain regular and ad hoc reports of contract management information.

• Follow established procedures for handling administration around contract closure or termination.

• Ensure that payments are made to suppliers in accordance with the contract and that payment mechanisms are documented, clear, and well understood by all parties (including incentives, penalties, and non-standard charges).

• Liaise with relevant UNOPS office to ensure adequate follow up on action to be taken

Variations & Change Management:

• Draft and process "Change Orders" or "Variations" when the scope of work changes.

• Ensure that all changes are formally documented, approved (amendment), and signed before work proceeds to avoid disputes.

• Liaise with relevant UNOPS office to ensure adequate follow up on action to be taken

Claims & Dispute Support:

• Assist the Project Manager in analyzing claims submitted by the contractor.

• Maintain a daily log of events and correspondence that may be used as evidence in the event of a dispute.

• Draft formal letters and notifications to the contractor regarding performance issues, defects, or delays under the guidance of the Project Manager.

• Establish formal methods for capturing and considering changes in user requirements as part of formal change and contract management processes.

• Liaise with relevant UNOPS office to ensure adequate follow up on action to be taken

Management of Contractual and Supplier Risks

• Ensure that contractual and supplier risk management is implemented with clear responsibilities and processes.

• Ensure that risks are formally identified and monitored regularly, with mitigation actions developed and implemented where possible, and that "obsolete" risks are removed from consideration where appropriate.

• Establish and communicate escalation and reporting routes for risk governance.

• Ensure that contractual terms around security and confidentiality (in particular issues related to the security/confidentiality of personal data), warranties, indemnities, insurance, and termination are understood and monitored by those responsible for the contract.

Procurement Support

• Contribute to planning the different stages of the procurement process, including strategy, definition of requirements, and sourcing.

• Manage the purchase process: handling requests, evaluations, and review.

• Participate in the evaluation of technical and financial proposals from contractors and suppliers, providing specialized input.

• Ensure that the transition from the bidding/awarding phase to the contract management phase is planned and ownership is clear.

• Oversee the finalization and issuance of contracts and logistics.

Required

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in Procurement and/or Supply Chain Management, Commerce, Business Administration, Public Administration, Finance, Economics or related fields with 4 years of relevant experience OR

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in any of the above or related fields with 2 years of relevant experience is required

Desired

• Knowledge of United Nations/UNOPS procurement rules and regulations is desired.

Required

• A minimum of two (02) years of professional experience in international public procurement is required.

• Experience working with procurement projects in the area of infrastructure is required.

• Experience in construction contract management is required.

Desired

• Experience working with FIDIC contracts is desired.

• Experience in in the United Nations System is highly desirable.

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. 
• Please note that UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
• Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. 
• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments. 
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. 
• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities. 
• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here. 
• For more details about the contract types, please click here.
• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda. 
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.