Coordination Advisor

The UNOPS Middle East Region (MR) provides strategic leadership, performance oversight, and support to UNOPS operations across Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and the State of Palestine. MR is responsible for positioning UNOPS as a key development partner in the region through high-level engagement with regional bodies, UN coordination mechanisms, development banks, donors, and intergovernmental organisations. By fostering strategic partnerships and promoting operational excellence, the region supports country teams in delivering sustainable solutions to complex development, peace, and humanitarian challenges

UNOPS supports both humanitarian response and early recovery in Gaza. Currently, UNOPS support in Gaza focuses on key humanitarian enablers, including on access, via the Security Council-mandated UN 2720 Mechanism and the Access Support Unit (ASU), humanitarian fuel and energy, and mine action. Operations are envisaged to continue in the coming period with a focus in line with the UNOPS mandate: (i) infrastructure construction and rehabilitation, (ii) procurement and (iii) project management.

The Israeli – Palestinian conflict remains a protracted and complex conflict. While political efforts are pursued at various levels to bring the wider conflict to an end, it is essential that progress be made on the ground in a manner that will create a more conducive environment for final status negotiations.

The mandate of the Office of the Quartet is to increase Palestinian institutional and economic development and empowerment, as a support towards achieving a two-state solution. In the event of a resumption of final status negotiations, the OQ would support Quartet members in their efforts to realize a successful outcome. 

The OQ works to deliver its mandate by supporting sustainable policy change through working with the international community, the Palestinian Authority and the Government of Israel. This allows the OQ to facilitate engagement between the parties, encouraging agreement and progress at the political level, while also drawing on its sectoral expertise to support the technical-level work. A key focus of working with the international community is to strengthen the engagement with the parties. This is achieved through facilitating and supporting international community discussions at various levels towards tangible action and ownership as well as providing technical expertise for a collective international community wide approach.

The OQ is a fast paced and dynamic office operating in the areas of infrastructure, governance and economic development. The following strategic principles guide the OQ’s work to support the parties while also ensuring alignment with the strategic objectives of the Quartet members and donors to the OQ.

• Bridging between the parties and providing creative solutions that enable progress on the ground;

• Playing a catalytic role in working towards sectoral solutions in partnership with other actors, while taking on direct responsibility for specific elements of those solutions when the Office is well positioned and requested to do so;

• Focusing on policies and projects that have a multiplier effect – that is, an outcome that extends beyond the direct output of the policy or project;

• Focusing on the implementation of agreements reached and announcements made by the parties to ensure that they are translated as quickly as possible into results that have a positive impact on people’s lives;

• Maintaining the vertical depth of our work from the granular, technical level to the strategic and political level while engaging the broad array of actors required to make progress, including the parties, members of the international community and others;

• Ensuring complementarity of the OQ’s work with that of other key actors, including those which also play a convening role;

• Continuing support to Quartet members.

The Coordination Advisor (CA) works closely with the Head of Mission (HoM), the Deputy Head of Mission (DHoM) and the Director Operations (DO) to implement the OQ’s agenda and to ensure the smooth functioning of the office.

The role represents a central advisory position within the OQ, requiring high-level engagement with a wide range of stakeholders in the political and diplomatic communities, including Ministers, Ambassadors, and senior government officials. 

Under the direct supervision of the Deputy Head of Mission, the CA leads / coordinates the development and oversight of the OQ strategy, funding strategy, Office reporting and donor relationships.

The Coordination Advisor (CA) will lead the development of the OQ Strategy and donor reporting against the strategy, ensuring all donor reporting obligations are met.

Scope of work : 

• Advisory and support to front office

• Internal coordination and collaboration

• External engagement, coordination and representation

• Reporting and communication

The work is of a highly confidential nature; CA must maintain the highest standards of confidentiality.

The Coordination Advisor (CA) plays a catalytic role with the OQ front office as well as the teams within the office and is responsible for the deliverables below.

Advisory and support to front office

• Convene and act as secretariat for the Operations Management Group (comprised of the HoM, DHoM, DO and CA), including developing agendas, preparing for meetings, advising senior management and ensuring tracking and implementation of decisions reached

• Advise and support the HoM and DHoM on day-to-day coordination within the office, between substantive teams, and with external stakeholders

• Advise and support the HoM and DHoM in senior level meetings, preparing talking points and briefings, notes for the file and ensuring necessary follow-up with OQ staff and other relevant actors

• Advise HoM and DHoM in determining and addressing strategic staffing needs and opportunities based on OQs strategic objectives

• Support DHO and DO in dealing with sensitive personnel, HR and management issues

• Together with the DO ensure teams and staff members follow the staff handbook and related procedures, and internal documents are kept up to date and relevant.

Internal coordination and collaboration

• Line manage the Program Admin Assistant, ensuring necessary support to central and program functions 

• Coordinate the OQ’s risk management process, including convening quarterly Strategy Risk Committee meetings and maintaining the OQ’s risk register

• Work with Directors in ensuring effective coordination among teams and sectors

• Coordinate with directors and teams for cross-team and cross-sector collaboration

• Coordinate and support the directors in the preparation of briefing materials, publications and reports, as necessary

• Support the DO on operational aspects, including the engagement with UNOPS as needed 

• Support the DO with improvement and implementation of internal processes as needed

External engagement, coordination and representation

• Engage regularly with international donors to the office, and coordinate OQ staff member engagement with them as needed

• Advise and support the HoM and DHoM in the coordination of OQ fundraising efforts with the international community, including acting as a key point of contact for donors, leading the development of funding proposals, and facilitating the finalization of funding agreements

• Lead the annual survey of OQ stakeholders 

Reporting and communication 

• Maintain overall ownership of the OQ’s multi-annual strategy, including leading reviews and updates, managing and improving reporting processes, developing and reporting on the logframe, and undertaking the necessary external and internal consultations 

• Lead preparation of reports and other products for donors and potential donors, including coordinating development and providing quality assurance where appropriate 

• Lead development and review of key documents, including the OQ’s bi-annual report to the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee Meeting (AHLC),the OQ Annual Report and other OQ donor reports

• Coordinate the OQ’s preparation for bi-annual Quartet Members & Donors and HoM meetings

• Manage the OQ’s engagement through social media

Required

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) preferably in management, international relations, development, economics, political science or related fields with 5 years of relevant experience OR

• Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) in any of the above or related fields with 7 years of relevant experience is required

Required

• 5 years of relevant experience is work  in management, international development, economic development and/or diplomacy is required

Desired

• At least four years of relevant work experience in a central coordinating role in knowledge-based and/or politically complex organizations is desirable.

• Experience in the region and/or regarding the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is a distinct advantage.

• 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.