Manager, Integrated Practice Advice and Support (IPAS)

Contract

This is a P-5 contract. This kind of contract is known as Professional and Director staff. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's a staff contract. It usually requires 10 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 200,673 USD and 251,489 USD.

Please keep in mind that the salary displayed here is an estimation by UN Talent based on the location and the type of contract. It may vary depending on the organization. The recruiter should be able to inform you about the exact salary range. In case the job description contains another salary information, please refer to this one.

Background Information - Job-specific

**Shared Service Centre (SSC) is looking for a dynamic Manager of Integrated Practice Advice and Support (IPAS).

Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply**. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.

The Integrated Practice Advice and Support (IPAS) is a part of the Shared Service Centre (SSC). based in Copenhagen, Denmark. IPAS serves all the regions and headquarters, primarily with advice and solutions to everyday implementation challenges. IPAS consists of a diverse team of subject matter experts in HR, Administration, Legal, Finance, Procurement, Project Management and Infrastructure. IPAS is composed of seven teams - one team for each of the six practice areas, and the surge team that provides short term support to country offices. IPAS has three main roles: - Support to operations in the country offices: IPAS provides timely advice and supports actively finding solutions to everyday implementation challenges, based on policy and best practices. It also provides operational support in specific areas. - Business efficiency: IPAS recommends changes to policies, processes and systems based on the feedback and experience of the country offices. IPAS also ensures transparent and efficient project implementation, in line with policy and business needs. - Body of knowledge: IPAS contributes to research and coordination within the policy groups and project practitioners. It provides structured knowledge and subject matter expertise which is used across practice areas to provide coherent and tailored advice to the requesting offices.

Functional Responsibilities

IPAS is led by the IPAS Manager, reporting to the Director of the Shared Service Centre. The role of the IPAS Manager is to create an enabling environment for the IPAS team to fulfill its roles as described above, in both a proactive as well as responsive manner. He/she has strong people management skills, an ambition for continuous improvements, and a good understanding of the field context. He/she understands the operational requirements and has a good grasp of risks and opportunities. The IPAS Manager enables the integrated approach across the teams and is committed to the six success factors of IPAS - to be trusted advisors, striving for efficiency, having a team centered approach, quality orientation, client focus and being equal partners.

Summary of functions:

1. Leadership, management and accountability
2. Advice and Support Services
3. Cross-functional integration and process efficiency improvements
4. Monitoring and reporting

5. Knowledge Management and innovation

6. Leadership, management and accountability

• Lead and be responsible for management of staff directly reporting to the position
• Develop long-term strategy and short-term work plans for the unit
• Ensure that strategies and priorities for IPAS are executed, resources are efficiently allocated, further developed and optimized.
• Plan, monitor and evaluate the work of each unit within IPAS to ensure accountability and provide timely support and supervision to ensure high performance standards.
• Monitor processes and function-level performance against key performance indicator.
• Provide line management and mentoring for personnel within IPAS to promote the professional growth, motivation and satisfaction of personnel while ensuring appropriate personal development and succession planning.
• Define working relationships with field operations and practice groups to provide support and feedback on policy and process

2. Advice and Support Services: - Ensure that the implementation activities across the regions are continuously and efficiently provided with solutions to challenges - Support corporate changes and initiatives towards streamlining and efficiencies in global transactional services in an integrated and coordinated manner - Work with business units to identify risk factors and problem areas and develop early warning indicators to predict where support is most needed and can have the largest impact - Ensure appropriate systems and tools are in place to manage requests and maintain high quality, including service level agreement indicators (SLA e.g. on response time) - Ensure engagement of key stakeholders in country offices such as Head of Support Services, Head of Programme, Partnership and others

3. Cross-functional integration and process efficiency improvements: - Continuously work towards the improvement of corporate products and processes, and coordinate such changes between practice groups, business development entities and end users/projects; leverage the integrated approach of the different IPAS units - Contribute to the efforts of the practices in the formulation of products and services of practices along with project implementation needs - Support and advice on functional business process mapping and development of effective corporate guidance and policies

4. Monitoring and reporting: - Utilize existing (and tailor) systems to provide factual evidence to support recommendations for policy/process change, based on trends and business needs, and for the assessment of operational risks versus gains - Develop reports to allow easy monitoring of service levels - Perform analysis of organizational data to identify issues and make policy / process recommendations, ensuring the effectiveness and relevance of UNOPS internal control framework - Ensure UNOPS practices and services are constantly benchmarked and in line with global best practices - Constant monitoring and analysis of operating environments, timely readjustments, and improvements in close consultation with practice leads - Contribute with management practice knowledge to the training programmes for project managers to ensure continuous application of SOPs - Establish a mechanism for testing new services and validating products

5. Knowledge Management and innovation: - Facilitate and support the IPAS team in the provision of tailored trainings and other knowledge products - Develop a knowledge management strategy for IPAS - Use data analytics to analyse trends and patterns in regions and offices, in order to identify potential risks, opportunities and improvements of efficiencies, as well as to monitor workload - Use the corporate knowledge system to capture best practices, case studies and processes: facilitate the capture of local procedures and the identification and dissemination of best practices at the local, regional and corporate levels.

Education/Experience/Language requirements

Education: - An advanced university degree, in Business Administration, Engineering, International Relations, Social Sciences or a related area is required.

• First-level university degree (Bachelor’s Degree) in combination with 2 additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree

Experience: - A minimum of ten (10) years of professional experience in Project Management, Operations, and/or other relevant field to the practice is required - At least five (5) years of field experience at senior level with at least one (1) of the management practices (eg. Project Management, Procurement, etc) is required - Management experience in projects implementation within the United Nations system is desirable - Strong knowledge of corporate operational processes, in HQ and in operations, is desirable

Language: - Fluency in English required. - Fluency in French or Spanish is a significant advantage. - Working knowledge of other official UN languages is desirable.

Competencies

Develops and implements sustainable business strategies, thinks long term and externally in order to positively shape the organization. Anticipates and perceives the impact and implications of future decisions and activities on other parts of the organization.(for levels IICA-2, IICA-3, LICA Specialist- 10, LICA Specialist-11, NOC, NOD, P3, P4 and above) Treats all individuals with respect; responds sensitively to differences and encourages others to do the same. Upholds organizational and ethical norms. Maintains high standards of trustworthiness. Role model for diversity and inclusion.

Acts as a positive role model contributing to the team spirit. Collaborates and supports the development of others. For people managers only: Acts as positive leadership role model, motivates, directs and inspires others to succeed, utilizing appropriate leadership styles. Demonstrates understanding of the impact of own role on all partners and always puts the end beneficiary first. Builds and maintains strong external relationships and is a competent partner for others (if relevant to the role). Efficiently establishes an appropriate course of action for self and/or others to accomplish a goal. Actions lead to total task accomplishment through concern for quality in all areas. Sees opportunities and takes the initiative to act on them. Understands that responsible use of resources maximizes our impact on our beneficiaries. Open to change and flexible in a fast paced environment. Effectively adapts own approach to suit changing circumstances or requirements. Reflects on experiences and modifies own behavior. Performance is consistent, even under pressure. Always pursues continuous improvements. Evaluates data and courses of action to reach logical, pragmatic decisions. Takes an unbiased, rational approach with calculated risks. Applies innovation and creativity to problem-solving. Expresses ideas or facts in a clear, concise and open manner. Communication indicates a consideration for the feelings and needs of others. Actively listens and proactively shares knowledge. Handles conflict effectively, by overcoming differences of opinion and finding common ground.

Contract type, level and duration

Contract type: Fixed-Term Appointment (Staff)

Contract level: P5 (ICS 12) Contract duration: One year initially, renewable subject to satisfactory performance and funding availability

For more details about United Nations staff contracts, please follow this link: https://www.unops.org/english/Opportunities/job-opportunities/what-we-offer/Pages/UN-Staff-Contracts.aspx

Additional Information

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce.
• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.
• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

Terms and Conditions

• 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. For more information on a retainer contract 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.

Background Information - IPAS

Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, the UNOPS Integrated Practice Advice and Support (IPAS) serves all the regions and headquarters, primarily with advice and solutions to everyday implementation challenges. IPAS consists of a diverse team of subject matter experts in the six practice areas of HR, Administration, Legal, Finance, Procurement, Project Management and Infrastructure. IPAS has three main roles:

Support to operations in the field offices: IPAS provides timely advice and supports actively finding of solutions to everyday implementation challenges, based on policy and best practices. It also provides operational support in specific areas.

Business efficiency: IPAS recommends changes to policies, processes and operating standards based on the feedback and experience of the field offices. IPAS also ensures transparent and efficient project implementation, in line with policy and business needs.

Body of knowledge: IPAS contributes to research and coordination within the policy groups and project practitioners. It provides structured knowledge and subject matter expertise which is used across practice areas to provide coherent and tailored advice to the requesting offices.