Senior Advisor, Partnerships (China)

Reporting to the Director, Partnerships and Futures Group (PFG), the Senior Advisor, Partnerships provides senior partnership development leadership for UNOPS in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The role carries significant responsibility for conduct, integrity and upholding the professional reputation of UNOPS in a strategically important bilateral context. The role is accountable for: serving as the day-to-day relationship lead for the Government of PRC as a key global partner; driving partnership development, opportunity development and senior-level engagement; providing in-country support to existing UNOPS engagements; and positioning UNOPS within the UN system in the country. 

1. Partnership Strategy, Positioning and Engagement 

• Support the Director, PFG and collaborate closely with the Strategic Partnerships team within PFG to develop the key partner strategy for PRC, ensuring coherence with applicable partner segment strategies, positioning and approaches.
• Drive and curate the portfolio of key partner engagements in China, holding accountability for strategic alignment, value and balance.
• Oversee the creation of high-level outreach materials, positioning papers, and capacity statements, ensuring they articulate a sophisticated value proposition for senior external stakeholders.
• Cultivate, leverage and maintain an influential, senior-level network of contacts within Chinese government agencies and state-directed entities to align UNOPS capabilities with China’s national and global development priorities.
• Ensure mission-led intent is embedded into partnerships development to reinforce mission readiness.

2. Strategic Opportunity Development 

• Serve as lead strategist on collaborative opportunity development processes in China, providing deep partner intelligence, regulatory navigation insight, and macro-level context into global initiatives.
• Anticipate and analyze global funding trends, partner programming shifts, and macro-economic funding cycles to upstream-position UNOPS, driving predictive pipeline intelligence into long-term organizational planning. 
• Position UNOPS as a preferred implementation partner for China’s international cooperation frameworks.

3. In-Country Engagement Support 

• Serve as UNOPS in-country point of contact for the Government of PRC, Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (MOFCOM), China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), and other China-based partners, including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), supporting day-to-day engagement and access on behalf of UNOPS globally.
• Provide in-country coordination support to existing UNOPS advisory engagements in China, including the sustainable procurement work with MOFCOM and capacity building for Chinese vendors, SMEs and women-owned businesses, with delivery and assurance held by the UNOPS office or function serving as the engagement signatory.
• Facilitate in-country meetings, missions and high-level engagements between UNOPS senior management, key partners and host government counterparts, including at conferences and forums held in China.
• Provide in-country support to opportunity development with China-based partners, in coordination with the relevant UNOPS offices holding the engagement.
• Position UNOPS within the UN system in China through engagement with the UN Resident Coordinator's Office, including participation in country-level coordination mechanisms and frameworks.

4. 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, ensuring 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.
• Promote teamwork, collaboration and diversity, by providing timely guidance and supervision to the team, to enable them to perform their duties responsibly, effectively and efficiently.
• Plan, recruit, manage and develop a flexible and diverse workforce, with the skills and competencies needed to ensure optimum performance.
• Oversee, monitor and direct appropriate measures to maintain the safety and security of UNOPS personnel and their eligible dependents, assets, property and information in line with UNOPS security management rules and the UN Security Management System Policy manual.
• Ensure the effective and ethical use of resources in line with UNOPS standards of accountability, integrity and transparency.

5. Knowledge Management and Innovation

• Lead sharing of knowledge related to key partners across the organization, including identification and dissemination of best practice and lessons learned with a view to continuous improvement of partner engagement in the field.
• Contribute to the development and introduction of innovation to ensure UNOPS is forward-looking and continuously incorporating best practice approaches.
• Support the planning, implementation and organization of capacity building of personnel, partners and stakeholders.
• Share knowledge with peers in regional and country teams and other HQ groups to ensure a corporate coordinated delivery of services and synergies

Required

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in any discipline with 12 years of relevant experience OR

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in any discipline with 10 years of relevant experience is required

Required

• Relevant experience in strategic and managerial leadership in international development in a large international organization.

• Significant experience of strengthening capabilities and leading processes in relationship management and partner engagement for key partners or clients, including business development

• Significant experience of leading opportunity development or business development processes for key partners or clients.

• Experience of working in multicultural environments.

Desired

• Experience of partnering with the public sector on developing, implementing and evaluating projects and programmes of significant national relevance.

• Experience in development or humanitarian contexts.

• Experience of working in UN system organizations, as well as MDBs.

• Experience working in or with China, including familiarity with PRC government structures and counterparts.

• 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.