Senior Programme Manager

The UNOPS Global Portfolios Office (GPO) brings together diverse expertise to help partners deliver impact worldwide. With hubs in New York, Geneva, and Vienna, and expert teams operating globally, GPO leads multi-regional initiatives that advance sustainable development, climate action, and peacebuilding - including in some of the world’s most challenging environments.

By leveraging our collective expertise and global networks, GPO supports UNOPS’ strategic priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals across more than 130 countries. We work closely with major global partners - including governments, international financial institutions, and UN agencies - to deliver a wide range of services, such as project management, fund management, hosting services, and HR support.

Our thematic focus spans climate action and energy, health, peace and security, sustainable development, and humanitarian action, supporting high-impact initiatives across critical global priorities.

UNOPS Development and Special Initiatives team works with UN partners and Member States. This portfolio offers support for various initiatives and priorities of the UN Secretary-General in pursuit of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. Additionally, it helps the UN Secretariat in implementing global programs in areas such as political affairs, climate, counterterrorism and peacebuilding, among others.

Sustainable Development Cluster (SDC) supports diverse partners with their peacebuilding, humanitarian and development operations. It was formed by combining the following portfolios: Grants Management Services (GMS), UN Technology Support Services (UNTSS), Development and Special Initiatives Portfolio (DSIP) It provides Services to partners' programmes that are designed, structured, and managed with a global perspective and primarily serving partners that are headquartered in New York.  The SDC has a footprint of approximately 125 countries.

To support the Facility, UNOPS has established a roster of specialists (the Roster), members of which deliver assistance across the four pillars of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, depending on the specific need and context of the requesting Member States or regional organizations. Duration of the assignment depends on the tasks and deliverables assigned. 

This position at UNOPS is designed to support the activities of the Facility. The candidate selected for this role will become UNOPS personnel under its full responsibility. The incumbent will work closely with other experts from the Roster for the duration of his contract and will undertake short-term assignments, with possible field deployments, depending on the needs of the Facility or of the requesting Member States.

Support the EU-UN Global Terrorism Threats Facility by providing strategic and technical guidance to requesting Member States on strengthening the full, equal, safe, and meaningful participation and representation of women in operational and policy roles in preventing and countering terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism (CT/PCVE).

Under the supervision of the Director of GPO, and working closely with the Senior Programme Management Officer of the EU-UN Global Terrorism Threats Facility in UNOCT and the Gender Unit in the Human Rights and Gender Section of UNOCT, the Women in Counter-terrorism Expert will be expected to perform various activities including: 

• Provide strategic and technical guidance to requesting Member States on strengthening the full, equal, safe, and meaningful participation and representation of women in operational and policy roles in preventing and countering terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism (CT/PCVE) within government, including, intelligence, law enforcement, corrections, the judiciary, and CT/PCVE policy and coordination bodies;
• Provide expert advice to requesting Member States on the development and conduct of context-specific analysis of the barriers preventing the full, equal, safe, and meaningful participation and representation of women in operational and policy CT/PCVE roles withing government,  and in formulating context-relevant measures to remove or mitigate these barriers;  
• Deliver capacity-building activities to strengthen the full, equal, safe, and meaningful participation and representation of women in operational and policy CT/PCVE roles withing government, such as revisions of human resource management policies and procedures, to address identified barriers and enable equitable access for women;
• Provide high level advisory and mentoring services to governmental officials from requesting Member States to strengthen advance the full, equal, safe, and meaningful participation and representation of women in operational and policy CT/PCVE roles within government;
• Prepare a variety of high-quality, written substantive outputs, including analyses, presentations, training materials, summary reports, related to their assignments.

Required 

• Advanced University Degree (Master’s Degree or equivalent), preferably in Security, International Law, International Relations, Public Administration, or another relevant field with ten (10) years of relevant experience is required; Or
• First Level University Degree (Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent) with twelve (12) years of relevant experience is required.

Required

• Relevant experience is defined as experience within government in the field of CT/PCVE, public safety or national security;
• Within these 10 years, at least five (5) years of experience related to gender equality and the empowerment of  women in the context of CT/PCVE is required; 
• Experience as a mid to senior level leader within intelligence, law enforcement, corrections, the judiciary, or public safety and national security policy and coordination bodies is required; 
• Demonstrated, practical experience in strengthening the representation and participation of women within intelligence, law enforcement, corrections, the judiciary, or public safety and national security policy and coordination bodies is required.
  
  

Desired

• Demonstrated experience in developing and delivering capacity building activities related to strengthen the representation and participation of women in government CT/PCVE roles, designing and providing technical assistance to a range of audiences in this field, including to senior government officials, would be an asset;
• Experience working in diverse country contexts would be an asset.

• 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.