Knowledge Management Specialist

The Partnerships and Futures Group (PFG) is responsible for strengthening and expanding UNOPS partnerships and building knowledge, innovation and foresight capabilities through non-programmatic missions, underpinning UNOPS ability to scale up and speed up delivery for impact - for the people we serve. 

PFG works across the range of UNOPS partner segments - including UN agencies, international financial institutions and multilateral/regional development banks, donors, partner country governments, vertical funds and multilateral initiatives, south-south cooperation, and the philanthropic and private sectors - to deepen engagement, expand implementation capacity and accelerate progress toward the SDGs. 

PFG collaborates closely with HQ groups and geographic offices on partner segment strategies, partner leadership, and opportunity development, ensuring that partner engagement is coherent, intelligence-driven and aligned with UNOPS strategic priorities to strengthen UNOPS positioning and visibility.

PFG leads the development of knowledge, innovation and foresight through eight thematic missions relating to the sustainable development goals, enabling UNOPS to anticipate partner needs and emerging trends and respond proactively to strengthen mission readiness. It brings mission-led intent to partnerships and opportunity development, and drives the horizontal integration of missions into policy framing, service offering refinement and service delivery. It provides expertise and business partnering support to teams across UNOPS, and technical advice to partners.

PFG has personnel based in UNOPS headquarters in Copenhagen and in locations close to key partners: Beijing, Brussels, Manila, Riyadh, Tokyo, and Washington.

The Knowledge Management Specialist supports the operation of the knowledge, learning and innovation infrastructure that enables UNOPS personnel to capture, share and apply organizational knowledge and learning. The role supports the codification and refinement of service offerings, the knowledge and learning approaches that enable missions, and the integration of mission inputs, knowledge from delivery and foresight to drive innovation. The role works closely with mission leads, the strategic partnerships team, headquarters groups, geographic offices and transformation initiatives, and supports the building of knowledge, learning and innovation skills across UNOPS through training and communities of practice.

Knowledge and Learning

Operate and continuously improve the frameworks, systems, processes and tools that enable knowledge and learning to be captured, codified, disseminated and accessed across UNOPS.

Apply knowledge governance arrangements covering ownership, access, retention and sensitivity classification of knowledge products across UNOPS.

Support the codification of service offerings to enable refinement, standardization and replication that enable UNOPS to scale up and speed up delivery for the people UNOPS serves.

Work closely with mission leads and in support of the operating mechanisms and secretariat for missions to strengthen and maintain mission-related knowledge and learning infrastructure.

Collaborate with the strategic partnerships team in the development of partner-facing materials, including qualification briefs and value proposition resources.

Support UNOPS transformation initiatives in the deployment and use of systems, processes and tools for knowledge and learning.

Contribute to monitoring the effectiveness of knowledge and learning frameworks, systems and processes to support continuous improvement.

Innovation Support

Support the operation of innovation processes for ideation, testing and progression to service offering, ensuring they are anchored in knowledge and learning.

Contribute to innovation by helping bring together what UNOPS has learned from delivery, foresight signals on emerging partner needs, and UNOPS positioning across mission thematic areas.

Skills and Capability Building

Deliver training and business partnering support to build knowledge, learning and innovation skills and know-how across UNOPS.

Provide guidance and orientation to UNOPS personnel on knowledge and learning systems and resources.

Support communities of practice to enable personnel and UNOPS to gain value from knowledge, learning and innovation.

Teamwork

Contribute to a culture of trust, collaboration and accountability by working effectively with colleagues and delivering on commitments.

Foster positive working relationships and support a diverse and inclusive environment where all individuals are treated with dignity and respect. 

Demonstrate respect for others and uphold UNOPS standards of conduct, including zero tolerance for discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and sexual exploitation and abuse. 

Act in accordance with UNOPS policies, values, and protection mechanisms, and promptly raise concerns through appropriate channels when issues arise.

Required

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in any discipline with 7 years of relevant experience OR

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in any discipline with 5 years of relevant experience is required

Desired

• Formal training or certification in knowledge management, project/programme management (e.g. PMP, PRINCE2), data or information systems, or relevant digital or knowledge-sharing platforms.

Required

• Progressive experience in knowledge management and/or communications, including coordination of multi-stakeholder initiatives.

• Proven experience designing and implementing KM tools/products and managing knowledge-sharing processes.

• Experience supporting the codification of practice and the capture and sharing of lessons learned across complex organizations.

• Experience delivering training and supporting communities of practice.

• Experience of working in multicultural environments.

Desired

• Experience in development or humanitarian contexts.

• Experience of working in UN system organizations.

• UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. 
• 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. 
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the selection process, which may include various assessments. 
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of a wide range of nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. We strive to sustain and strengthen this diversity, fostering an inclusive working environment where all personnel are treated with respect and have equal access to opportunities.
• UNOPS evaluates all applications based on the skills, qualifications and experience outlined in the vacancy announcement. We are committed to a fair and transparent selection process and welcome diverse perspectives, including those of women, indigenous and racialized communities, individuals of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, and persons with disabilities.
• We are committed to enabling all candidates to perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require support or reasonable accommodation to complete any assessment, please inform our human resources team upon receiving your invitation.
• UNOPS has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment, and other forms of abusive conduct, including discrimination, abuse of authority, and harassment. To uphold these standards, background checks are conducted for all final candidates to help ensure that individuals with a history of such conduct are not hired. By applying for a position with UNOPS, candidates acknowledge and consent to these verification processes.
  

• 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.