Overview
Lead a strategic and high-impact portfolio driving recovery, preparedness, and mine action initiatives in Ukraine and Eastern Europe. This role offers the opportunity to shape large-scale programmes, strengthen institutional capacity, and deliver sustainable solutions.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the management and performance of the Recovery, Preparedness and Mine Action portfolio.
- Translate agreed office priorities into actionable portfolio plans, delivery priorities, and performance targets.
- Provide strategic inputs to the Head of Programme and senior management on opportunities, risks, and portfolio performance issues.
- Oversee projects and programmes supporting national recovery, preparedness, institutional strengthening, and mine action objectives.
- Ensure compliance with relevant standards, due diligence requirements, safety measures, and quality controls.
- Review portfolio and project performance, assess constraints, and ensure timely corrective action and escalation of risks.
- Maintain effective working relationships with government counterparts and relevant stakeholders.
- Identify and support opportunities where recovery, preparedness, and mine action interventions can advance recovery outcomes.
- Provide technical leadership and operational inputs to opportunity identification, programme development and pipeline management processes.
- Provide inputs to concept notes, proposals, briefings, and partner solutions.
- Support early-stage project preparation, feasibility analysis, costing, implementation readiness, and strategic assessment of opportunities.
- Oversee preparation and issuance of portfolio and project reporting.
- Review portfolio and project status against agreed performance criteria.
- Ensure Project Managers maintain required reporting, delivery tracking, and milestone management.
- Support audit activities, including planning, coordination, and follow-up on observations and recommendations.
- Maintain effective working relationships with relevant counterparts, donors, UN entities, IFIs, and technical partners.
- Support strategic engagement and technical representation through effective communication of UNOPS capabilities, delivery performance, and portfolio priorities.
- Represent UNOPS in relevant coordination mechanisms, technical fora and external engagements.
- Coordinate with relevant UEMCO units, particularly PPSU, on partnerships, programme development, and external engagement matters.
- Monitor delivery progress, pipeline actions, financial performance, and results across the portfolio.
- Ensure compliance with UNOPS rules, donor requirements, security protocols, and quality standards.
- Coordinate corrective actions where delivery constraints or bottlenecks arise.
- Promote lessons learned, evidence-based decision-making, continuous improvement, and partner confidence.
- Ensure timely reporting, visibility of results, and escalation of material risks and issues.
- Promote the incorporation of relevant practices, approaches, and technologies to strengthen portfolio delivery and results.
- Oversee lessons learned processes and ensure lessons, good practices, and delivery experience are captured, shared, and reflected in future planning and implementation.
- Ensure Project Managers maintain appropriate knowledge management and lessons learned practices.
- Encourage effective capacity building, knowledge sharing, and participation in relevant Communities of Practice.
- Provide feedback to Practice Groups on policies and guidance.
- Manage staffing structures, consultants, budgets, and operational resources across the Unit.
- Lead, supervise, and support Project Managers, technical personnel, and other team members.
- Foster a positive, inclusive, and respectful working environment.
- Promote teamwork, diversity, and effective people management.
- 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.
Required Experience
Minimum seven years of progressively responsible experience in programme, portfolio, or project leadership. Experience in crisis, post-conflict, or recovery contexts. Experience engaging government counterparts, partners, and institutional stakeholders.
Qualifications
Advanced University Degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in International Development, Public Administration, Economics, Political Science, Urban Planning, Social Sciences, or a related field with a minimum of seven (7) years of relevant experience; OR A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s degree) in International Development, Public Administration, Economics, Political Science, Urban Planning, Social Sciences, or a related field, with a minimum of nine (9) years of relevant experience.
