Deputy Project Manager

The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners´ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Mandated as a central resource of the United Nations, UNOPS provides sustainable project management, procurement and infrastructure services to a wide range of governments, donors and United Nations organizations. With over 6,000 personnel spread across 80 countries, UNOPS offers its partners the logistical, technical and management knowledge they need, where they need it. By implementing around 1,000 projects for our partners at any given time, UNOPS makes significant contributions to results on the ground, other in the most challenging environments.

In line with the framework agreement signed with the Government of Mexico, UNOPS supports the different collaboration initiatives by the government that are aimed at the fight against corruption and transparency in the public management; as well as in the exercises aimed at the strengthening government actions in the areas of acquisitions, infrastructure and management of high impact projects in Mexico.

UNOPS work in Mexico is aligned to the needs of partners which require strategic and operational perspectives, and effective and efficient management of resources to ensure transparency while promoting the continuous development and strengthening of internal processes to achieve high-quality results. 

The objective of the project is to support the Government of Mexico in its effort to guarantee the right to health to the largest number of inhabitants through the planning and management of the consolidated purchase of medicines (period 2021-2024), as well as assistance in the profiling of the system and model of consolidated purchase of medicines for the health sector of the Government of Mexico. This project has 2 main components:

• COMPONENT 1 (Transparent Procurement of Pharmaceuticals) -Management of multi-year consolidated purchase of medicines and medical supplies (supply of needs during the period 2022-2024) for an estimated amount of US$ 6 billion.

• COMPONENT 2 (Strengthening of national capacities) - Strengthening and capacity building to the consolidated purchase mode of medicines for the health sector of the Government of Mexico.

The Deputy Project Manager's primary role is to lead the Project Management Support Team and support the Senior Project Manager in the day-to-day operations of the project in order to successfully implement the delivery of the project's outputs.

She/he will act as Officer-in-Charge (OIC) in the absence of the Senior Project Manager and is expected to meet and exceed the organization's performance and delivery goals.

The Deputy Project Manager, will also be responsible for producing/updating the Project Initiation Documents (PID), Legal Agreement and have a through understanding of the terms, conditions, and the respective roles and responsibilities of the partner/stakeholders to ensure that the project(s) products are capable of meeting the business cases for both UNOPS and the client.

Success of the project and hence the Deputy Project Manager will be based on the success criteria of UNOPS engagements which are linked to the below responsibilities.

Deputy Project Manager directly impacts on achievement of project results by adhering to project management methods and strategies, reducing risks, cutting costs and improving success rates. This consequently reinforces the visibility and image of UNOPS as an effective service provider in project services and management and strengthens its competitive position as a partner of choice in sustainable development and project services

The Deputy Project Manager delivers to, and supports, the project life cycle. At the request of the Senior Project Manager within the defined limits of authority, she/he will be responsible for:

Summary of Functions

1. Project Delivery and Performance
2. Procedures
3. Monitoring and reporting
4. Stakeholder engagement
5. Quality assurance
6. Knowledge management and innovation 
7. Personnel management

• A Master’s Degree in Procurement, Supply Chain, Social Sciences, Project Management, Business Administration, International Relations, Political/Security/Development Studies, Public Administration, Law, Economics or other relevant  field is required.
• A Bachelor's Degree in the above-mentioned areas or other relevant field plus two (2) additional years of experience will be accepted in lieu of the Master’s Degree.

• A minimum of 7 years (or more depending on academic credentials) of relevant and progressive professional experience in project development and management including the management of complex projects in either public or private sector organizations.
• Proven experience in managing large projects with numerous, multidisciplinary, and multicultural teams is required. Please complete the project portfolio form and enclose it to your application.  
• Proven experience managing multiple stakeholders in complex environments, including working with government authorities is required
• Additional years of experience are a distinctive advantage.
• Experience in the health sector in procurement and/or logistics is a distinctive advantage.

• Fluency in Spanish is required. 

• Fluency in English is required.

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 6,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• 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 in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS.
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns. Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.