Director, Partnerships and Futures

Lead the UNOPS Partnerships and Futures Group, shaping strategic partnerships, driving knowledge, innovation and foresight, and positioning the organization to scale impact across diverse partner ecosystems. Provide leadership and strategic direction to strengthen capabilities supporting UNOPS strategic plan implementation.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a senior organizational leader contributing to UNOPS corporate strategy and advising senior management on emerging global trends, risks and opportunities.
• Translate UNOPS mandate into a strategic vision and multi-year plan for partnerships, knowledge, innovation and foresight.
• Lead development and implementation of strategies for partnerships and integration of knowledge, innovation and foresight.
• Guide regional and country teams on strategic negotiations, programme design and high-impact engagements with partners.
• Provide authoritative advice to Executive Director, Deputy Executive Directors, Regional Directors, governing bodies and external partners.
• Oversee development of partner segment strategies and ensure portfolio alignment and balance.
• Serve on Strategic Portfolio Committee and Portfolio Oversight Committee providing strategic recommendations.
• Oversee strengthening of quality standards for partnership development across UNOPS.
• Support senior leadership in representing UNOPS and engaging with Member States, donors, international financial institutions, and partners.
• Represent UNOPS at inter-agency bodies, executive boards, governing bodies and international forums.
• Guide development and advancement of missions, driving creation of evidence and strategic insights.
• Promote culture of experimentation and learning anticipating future needs.
• Oversee establishment and improvement of knowledge management, innovation and foresight frameworks and tools.
• Drive leadership development and talent pipelines within the group.
• Promote teamwork, collaboration, and a positive work environment respecting diversity and inclusion.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in international development, business administration, public policy, economics, political science, or related discipline with 12 years of relevant experience OR Master’s degree (or equivalent) in any of the above or related disciplines with 10 years of relevant experience is required
• Relevant experience includes strategic leadership, partnership development, and organizational positioning within large, complex UN system organizations.
• Experience in development and/or humanitarian contexts is required.
• Strong experience in portfolio growth, opportunity development, and/or market/partner intelligence is required.
• Proven experience leading multi-year strategy development and implementation, including performance monitoring and results-based management, is required.
• Demonstrated experience in building and managing high-level partnerships with governments, multilateral institutions, donors, and/or private-sector actors, is required.
• Experience advising senior leadership and governance bodies (e.g. executive committees, boards, etc) on strategic, political and operational matters is required.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams and driving alignment across diverse organizational units is required.
• Experience in innovation, future studies, foresight methodologies or knowledge management is desired.
• Experience in programme, portfolio or project management is desired

Skills

• Strategic Leadership
• Partnership Development
• Organizational Positioning
• Development Context Experience
• Humanitarian Experience
• Portfolio Growth
• Opportunity Development
• Market Intelligence
• Partner Intelligence Analysis
• Strategy Development
• Strategy Implementation
• Performance Monitoring
• Result-Based Management
• High-Level Partnership Management
• Government Relations
• Multilateral Institution Engagement
• Donor Relations
• Private Sector Engagement
• Senior Leadership Advising
• Governance Advisory
• Cross-Functional Team Management
• Innovation Management
• Foresight Methodologies
• Knowledge Management
• Programme Management
• Portfolio Management
• Project Management

Languages

English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Mandarin, Russian