Senior Manager, Knowledge and Innovation

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 and Innovation Senior Manager, reporting to the Director, Knowledge, Innovation and Foresight, is responsible for the knowledge, organizational learning and innovation infrastructure and capabilities that enable UNOPS personnel to systematically capture, share and apply organizational knowledge. The role develops and strengthens the frameworks, systems, processes and governance that make knowledge accessible to those who need it, supporting UNOPS positioning across partner segments and mission thematic areas, driving innovation, enhancing the codification and refinement of service offerings, and translating delivery experience into organizational learning and innovation, enabling UNOPS to scale up and speed up delivery for impact. The role works closely with mission leads, the strategic partnerships team, headquarters groups, geographic offices and transformation initiatives, and builds knowledge, learning and innovation skills across UNOPS through training, business partnering and communities of practice.

Strategy Development/Implementation and Action Planning 

Implement knowledge management strategies and develop, coordinate and track the implementation of knowledge management work plans.

Lead the development and strengthening of the frameworks, systems, processes, tools and organizational linkages that enable knowledge, learning and innovation to be captured, codified, disseminated and accessed across UNOPS.

Establish and maintain knowledge governance arrangements covering ownership, access, retention and classification of knowledge products across UNOPS.

Monitor the effectiveness of knowledge, learning and innovation frameworks, systems and processes to drive continuous improvement.

Knowledge and Learning

Establish processes that enable the codification of service offerings to support refinement of existing service offerings, standardization, and replication that drive scale up and speed up of delivery for the people UNOPS serves.

Work closely with mission leads to ensure that in mission thematic areas, knowledge and learning generated through delivery and related thought leadership is accessible across the organization.

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

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

Coordinate, review and/or prepare knowledge and learning related content, communication and reports, conducting research, data collection and analysis upon request.

Innovation

Drive the development of innovation capability by integrating knowledge and learning with innovation processes for ideation, testing and progression to service offering and delivery.

Strengthen innovation by bringing what UNOPS has learned from delivery together with foresight signals on emerging partner needs and UNOPS positioning across mission thematic areas, working closely with mission leads, foresight colleagues and other teams across UNOPS.

People Leadership

Create, foster and role model a culture of trust, empowerment and accountability.

Build engagement and foster a diverse and inclusive work environment, respectful of all, and ensure that the highest standards of conduct are observed.

Create, foster and role model a culture of respect and zero tolerance for discrimination, abuse of authority, harassment, sexual harassment and sexual exploitation and abuse. Ensure accountability for actions and perform duties in accordance with protection mechanisms and action plans, as expected by UNOPS policies, standards and commitments.

Skills and Capability Building

Provide training and business partnering support including guidance and orientation to build knowledge, learning and innovation skills and know-how across UNOPS.

Lead communities of practice and knowledge networks, including with groups such as PCG, to enable personnel and UNOPS to gain maximum value from knowledge, learning and innovation.

Position UNOPS knowledge and learning within the wider UN learning ecosystem, including inter-agency platforms and communities, to draw on and contribute to system-wide practice.

Keep informed of best practices in knowledge management and ensure these are adopted by UNOPS.

Serve as the operational knowledge and learning focal point for personnel across UNOPS

Required

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in international development, business administration, public policy, economics, political science, futures studies or related fields with 9 years of relevant experience OR

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

Desired

• Formal training or certification in strategic foresight/futures thinking, innovation management/design thinking, leadership and organizational transformation, or knowledge management systems.

Required

• Demonstrated experience designing and implementing knowledge, learning and innovation systems, frameworks, and processes across the full knowledge lifecycle, including codification to support standardization, scale, and improved service delivery.

• Proven experience embedding organizational learning and continuous improvement into operations, including collaborating across functions to capture and make accessible knowledge products and insights.

• Experience building knowledge, learning and innovation capabilities through training, business partnering, and leading communities of practice within international or similarly complex organizations.

• 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.