Partnerships Senior Associate (Political Associate)

UNOPS – an operational arm of the United Nations – supports the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by successfully implementing its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian, and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve peace and sustainable development.
UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management, and human resources.


Working with us
We are proud of our people. With a wealth of knowledge and skills in various disciplines – engineering, finance, human resources, ICT, leadership, project management, procurement, and more – they help tackle some of the biggest challenges of our time. Their work around the world supports progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).


At UNOPS, we offer a range of short- and long-term opportunities in various environments and duty stations – from Denmark and Kenya to Mexico, Switzerland, Myanmar, Senegal, Uganda, and many more.


Diversity
With over 5,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,400 personnel recruited on behalf of our partners, spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced and diverse labor force — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs. We continually strive to maintain our gender-balanced workplace. We encourage qualified underrepresented groups as per UNOPS Gender, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategy to apply for our vacancies.


Work life harmonization
UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.

UNOPS Nepal Context:

During 2015 - 2021 UNOPS has engaged closely with the  Government of Nepal and several development partners in reconstruction efforts of the government of Nepal including assessment of damaged buildings and enrollment of beneficiaries into housing grant schemes. UNOPS supported homeowners engaged in the reconstruction process,  modernization and improving policing services, retrofitting damaged houses and reconstruction of disability friendly schools and delivering some essential equipment to support COVID 19 response efforts. The functional objective of UNOPS Nepal is to deliver its projects in an efficient and effective manner in alignment with government priorities following UNOPS rules and regulations, so as to achieve the outcomes sought by the clients and funding partners and contributing to the achievement of SDGs.

Project Information :
UNOPS is expanding its operational support in South Asia and has recently established its presence in Nepal with six projects signed with DFID, USAID and World Vision supporting Nepal Government Institutions. UNOPS will provide advisory and technical assistance services with its expertise in Procurement, Project Management and Infrastructure, as well as providing capacity building to key stakeholders. The initial projects are located across all 7 provinces of Nepal, while the major project team works from UNOPS Kathmandu-based country office.

BEK will contract UNOPS to carry out a “Project Coordination” Project in close cooperation with BEK  leadership.  BEK through   UNOPS   will work closely with the   new   provincial and   local Government to coordinate programmes in the provinces and   provide technical assistance, as appropriate.

The Partnerships Senior Associate (Political Associate) will support the Team Leader in political analysis of the federal context and stakeholder engagement. The Political Analyst will also act as the Gender focal point of the project.

The Partnerships Senior Associate (Political Associate) will support the Team Leader in 4 activities:

●        Political analysis of the provincial context

●        Stakeholder engagement

●        Institutional capacity assessment

●        Capacity building activities

Under the direct supervision of Senior Project Manager (Team Leader), the Partnerships Senior Associate  (Political Associate) responsible for:

●        Supporting the Team Leader in drafting the stakeholder matrix and stakeholder engagement strategy for the province.

●        Setting up and maintaining records of stakeholder engagement (contact lists, meeting minutes etc.).

●        Producing regular notes about the political situation of the province and proposing draft in-depth analysis of the most relevant topics.

●        Supporting the Team Leader in the assessment of capacity of provincial and municipal governments.

●        Assist in writing briefs on the necessary capacity building activities, including budgets for the activities not covered by existing BEK-funded programmes.

●        Provide support in launching and monitoring capacity building activities.

Monitoring and Progress Controls:

The  Partnerships Senior Associate (Political Associate)  performance will be monitored through:

●        The timely delivery of outputs as per the project plan (stakeholder mapping, stakeholder engagement, political analysis reports etc.).

●        The UNOPS performance management system’s bi-annual reviews.

Education

• High School Diploma in political science, sociology, governance, development studies, conflict resolution and peace building, management, gender studies or another relevant field is required. Bachelor’s Degree in political science, sociology, governance, development studies, conflict resolution and peace building, management, gender studies or another relevant field is required.

Work Experience

• At least 7 years of work experience in development, governance, peace building, management, journalism or a related field is required.
• Experience of working with government officials at the local level is an asset.
• Previous experience of providing or coordinating technical assistance to Government institutions is desirable.
• Experience in the use of Google Suite applications is desirable.

Language

• Fluency in written, reading and spoken English and Nepali Language is required.
• Ability to speak another local language, such as Maithili or Bhojpuri, is highly desirable

• 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 embraces diversity and it is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, color, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, or disability.
• 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 (around 4 hours) 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.  
• The post is open to Nepali National only. 
• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, 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 recruits/interns. Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.