Operations - Senior Officer

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.

From Geneva, UNOPS facilitates the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), working with governments, other United Nations (UN) agencies and partners by providing quality servces, integrated solutions and management support through strategic, cost-effective and results-oriented approches. This includes supporting platforms and hosting high-profile, flagship initiatives and funds focusing on health, nutrition, water and sanitation, sustainable cities, environment, energy, climate and trade. UNOPS is a recognized resource for the UN system in Geneva – from fund management and oversight and advisory services, to providing hosting solutions to a range of global initiatives, as well as operational support to partner organizations.

From Geneva, UNOPS facilitates the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), working with governments, other United Nations (UN) agencies and partners by providing quality servces, integrated solutions and management support through strategic, cost-effective and results-oriented approches. This includes supporting platforms and hosting high-profile, flagship initiatives and funds focusing on health, nutrition, water and sanitation, sustainable cities, environment, energy, climate and trade. UNOPS is a recognized resource for the UN system in Geneva – from fund management and oversight and advisory services, to providing hosting solutions to a range of global initiatives, as well as operational support to partner organizations.

The UN’s Sanitation and Hygiene Fund (SHF), a Hosted Partnership with UNOPS, based in Geneva, works to achieve universal access to sanitation, hygiene, and menstrual health through market-based approaches. SHF works with Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) to catalyze investment into robust, climate-resilient sanitation economies and the menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) markets. Find out more on www.shfund.org and www.capital-m.org.

SHF is dedicated to advancing market-based approaches and catalysing finance for sanitation and hygiene for all, with particular attention to the needs of women and girls and people in vulnerable situations. Its portfolio focuses on building thriving sanitation economies and menstrual health (MH) markets in low- and middle-income countries, increasing access to essential products and services.

SHF works with governments, the private sector, funders, and investors to strengthen the enabling environment, expand the capacity of enterprises to deliver solutions effectively, and attract and catalyse funding, financing, and investment to bring these solutions to scale.

Reporting to the SHF Head of Strategy and Performance, this role ensures effective and efficient support of SHF operations. The incumbent works in close collaboration with the broader SHF team members.

The Operations Senior Officer is responsible for providing high-quality, client-focused and results-oriented support, particularly in operations, quality assurance, procurement and grants. This role ensures efficient service delivery and compliance with UNOPS rules and regulations, prompting the optimal and cost effective use of resources.

The Operations Senior Officer will provide ongoing support in:

1. Operations support 

• Support the Head of Performance and Strategy to develop and implement the Secretariat’s workplan and collaborate with colleagues to identify the needs, determine costs and plan implementation modalities.

• Advise personnel across the SHF on the application, interpretation and adoption of corporate operational rules, procedures and guidelines.

• Assist the Head of Performance and Strategy to establish rosters/manage contracts for technical advisory personnel that are available on an on-call basis to provide the required external support.

• Assist the Head of Performance and Strategy to monitor use of Delegations of Authority (DOA).

• Support in-country operations, missions and events as need be

• Strengthen and mainstream processes and procedures in providing support services through the development/provision of manuals and work flow processes and procedures, placing at the disposal existing UNOPS guidelines and tools/ SOPs and projects’ best practices and training materials.

• Develop and deliver operational training sessions and on-the-job support tools to strengthen SHF personnel in administrative procedures, compliance, and core operational workflows.  

• Serve as the focal point for administration matters in Nairobi, liaising with the UNOPS team.

2. Quality assurance

• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to ensure compliance with audit requirements.

• Coordinate quality reviews of programme management documents and deliverables.

• Provide quality control for management outputs (project documents, reports, etc.).

• Develop and maintain a repository of programme documents, progress technical and financial reports, audit reports, assessment reports, terminal reports, etc.

• Lead on health, safety, security and environmental (HSSE) matters to ensure they are integrated into all aspects of the operations and that related risks are managed effectively.

3. Contracts management

• Working with the SHF technical team and with UNOPS procurement colleagues, support drafting Terms of Reference for subcontractors and consultants, suitable firms/institutions and support the evaluation of proposals received and recommendations for contract awards and negotiations as per UNOPS procurement policy;

• Initiate drafting and finalization of Contracts with vendors, including Amendments;

• Maintenance of Contracts filing system/database and support the implementation of Procurement Strategy;

• Monitoring compliance and risks as regards Contracts Management.

4. Grant support

• Prepare and review grant award requests, draft grant agreements and subsequent amendments, using the approved templates ensuring that all agreements and amendments are constructed and issued in line with UNOPS legal and financial rules and regulations;

• Ensuring that the onboarding of new partners is adapted to the partners’ needs and is aligned with SHF and UNOPS rules and regulations

• Supports in reviewing grant budgets, and financial reports against approved budgets, to provide critical feedback to the Primary Recipients/Implementing Partners, programme teams, operations and support services, as relevant;

• Verify reporting requirements are adhered to and ensure teams liaise closely with relevant teams in UNOPS and SHF on any delays or other difficulties;

• Review disbursement requests and ensure payments are processed based on the grant agreement, agreed disbursement schedules, and agreed targets and results;

• Resolve operational and process issues related to grant management, and refer complex issues as relevant (supervisor and/or operational team) with recommendations for courses of action;

• Contribute to the coordination and follow-up on spot checks, reviews and audit recommendations of Primary Recipients/Implementing Partners; 

• Support the coordination of the process of operational and financial closure of grants and projects;

• Monitoring compliance and risks with regards to grants management.

  
  

Required

• Advanced university degree (Master’s) in business administration, social science management, procurement, public administration, economics, international relations or a related field

• A Bachelor's degree with an additional 2 years of relevant experience may be accepted instead of a Master's degree. 

Required

• A minimum of two (2) years of progressively responsible experience in operations support, grants management and/or program administration within an international organization or development project. 
• Experience in reviewing award requests, drafting agreements, conducting financial monitoring, and processing disbursements. 
• Experience in quality assurance of project deliverables, managing document repositories, and coordinating field administration across multidisciplinary teams.
• Knowledge of procurement processes, with experience in providing procurement support and contract administration, including sourcing, drafting ToRs, evaluating vendor proposals, and administering contracts.

Desired

• Good working knowledge of UN/UNOPS contractual, procurement, and financial rules, including hands-on experience with institutional guidelines, grant modalities and health, safety, security, and environment (HSSE) frameworks. 
• Demonstrated ability to manage competing operational priorities, meet strict deadlines, and deliver processes under tight schedules. 
• Experience of working in multicultural environments or UN system organizations in a developing country is desired.
• Experience in development or humanitarian contexts is desired.
• Experience working in the sanitation or menstrual health sectors is an asset.
• Previous experience with UNOPS is desirable.

• 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.