Background Information - Jerusalem
Jerusalem Office – UNOPS Project Management and Infrastructure Centre of Excellence
Since the opening of the Jerusalem Office in 2006, UNOPS has significantly strengthened its operations in Palestine. Our expert knowledge, skills and management systems contribute to the sustainable development of public infrastructure in Gaza and the West Bank, including Area C and East Jerusalem.
Background Information - Job-specificThe Israeli – Palestinian conflict remains a protracted and complex conflict. While political efforts are pursued at various levels to bring the wider conflict to an end, it is essential that progress be made on the ground in a manner that will create a more conducive environment for final status negotiations.
The mandate of the Office of the Quartet is to increase Palestinian institutional and economic development and empowerment, as a support towards achieving a two-state solution. In the event of a resumption of final status negotiations, the OQ would support Quartet members in their efforts to realize a successful outcome.
The OQ works to deliver its mandate by supporting sustainable policy change through working with the international community, the Palestinian Authority and the Government of Israel. This allows the OQ to facilitate engagement between the parties, encouraging agreement and progress at the political level, while also drawing on its sectoral expertise to support the technical-level work. A key focus of working with the international community is to strengthen the engagement with the parties. This is achieved through facilitating and supporting international community discussions at various levels towards tangible action and ownership as well as providing technical expertise for a collective international community wide approach.
The OQ is a fast paced and dynamic office operating in the areas of energy, water, telecom, governance and economic development. The following strategic principles guide the OQ’s work to support the parties while also ensuring alignment with the strategic objectives of the Quartet members and donors to the OQ.
Bridging between the parties and providing creative solutions that enable progress on the ground;
Playing a catalytic role in working towards sectoral solutions in partnership with other actors, while taking on direct responsibility for specific elements of those solutions when the Office is well positioned and requested to do so;
Focusing on policies and projects that have a multiplier effect – that is, an outcome that extends beyond the direct output of the policy or project;
Focusing on the implementation of agreements reached and announcements made by the parties to ensure that they are translated as quickly as possible into results that have a positive impact on people’s lives;
Maintaining the vertical depth of our work from the granular, technical level to the strategic and political level while engaging the broad array of actors required to make progress, including the parties, members of the international community and others;
Ensuring complementarity of the OQ’s work with that of other key actors, including those which also play a convening role;
Continuing support to Quartet members.
The Associate Advisor – Energy (AA-E) is part of the Energy Team, reporting to the Director of Energy.
The AA-E will be working closely with the members of the Energy Team, and members of the other OQ teams. S/he will be engaging with the stakeholders as described in the ToR, under the direction of the line manager. The AA-E is responsible for delivering the ToR and additional tasks assigned by the line manager and is expected to advance the sectoral objectives with minimal supervision.
As part of the Energy Team, the AA-E is key and an integral part of implementing the Sector Strategy and Workplan, contributing towards the delivery of overall OQ Strategy.
The AA-E will contribute towards the strategy and work of Energy Team and OQ within the below scope.
Sectoral strategy and technical advisory
Stakeholder Engagement
Team and Workstream Management
Cross program collaboration and capacity building
Communication, outreach and knowledge sharing
The work of AA-E is highly sensitive, hence s/he must maintain the highest standards of confidentiality
The AA-E is responsible for the deliverables below, following the assignment objectives and work scope.
Sectoral strategy and Technical advisory
Undertake original research, including advanced technical and economic analysis (quantitative & qualitative)
Provide sectoral insights, inputs and workstream recommendations to the DoE and energy team
Draft actionable briefings, analysis, literature reviews, etc. based on the research findings and the local/regional context (economic, technical, social and political)
Draft policy briefs based on regional developments in the sector
Contribute to the energy sector strategy and budgeting by drafting the strategy and work plans by considering developments in each of the sector’s workstreams.
Stakeholder engagement
Identify, map and maintain an overview of external stakeholders (e.g. government, private sector, international community), their mandates & capacities
Maintain working level relationships with the Palestinian Authority, international community and the private sector to support energy programming and planning.
Support the DoE with overall stakeholder management, particularly at the senior levels, through technical analysis and background research on key organizations and institutions.
Ensure timely reporting to key stakeholders (e.g. donors) on ongoing work and sector developments
Draft project and fundraising proposals based on the OQ’s ongoing work and the regional context.
Support developing sector stakeholder engagement strategy
Arrange and facilitate meetings and missions where needed
Document engagements to help ensure aligned stakeholder engagements
Team and Workstream Management
Coordinate the timely delivery of workstreams deliverables and review materials produced by the energy team for quality and consistency.
Draft Terms of References for studies, coordinate procurements, manage consultants and provide initial quality control on deliverables.
Work with the energy team to identify key workstream or sector risks and propose mitigation plans.
Support in monitoring and evaluation of workstreams
Cross program collaboration and capacity development
Contribute to integrated planning, action, and strategy development considering different sectors
Work closely with other OQ teams to ensure a coordinated approach across multi-sector issues.
Encourage effective use of office-wide resources to develop and leverage a common knowledge base.
Work with the DoE to identify technical skills requirements of the team
Support delivering skills development plan through technical guidance & mentoring
Support develop and maintain of a knowledge database for the energy program
Communication, Outreach, and Knowledge Sharing
Coordinate team inputs towards sector strategy and team plans
Draft & compile close to final sector strategy and team plans, for the review of the director
Coordinate team inputs towards high level reports, briefings papers, proposals etc.
Draft high-quality reports, briefing papers, proposals etc. for the review of the director
Coordinate with the team and generate document structure, content, graphics & illustrations maps, presentations, data visualizations to produce compelling set of communication materials.
Review, comment and edit materials produced by the team for quality and consistency
Support the director with drafting letters, memos, emails, talking points etc.
Bachelor’s degree in engineering, economics, law, international relations, development management or other development areas is the minimum requirement. Master’s degree is desirable and may compensate for some years of experience.
PMP, Prince II or similar and PPP (Public Private Partnership) Certification will be an asset.
Work Experience:
Minimum of 4 years of relevant work experience with bachelor’s degree, or a minimum of 2 years of relevant work experience required with master’s degree
Demonstrates strong knowledge of one or more areas in energy such as renewable energy, energy access, energy economics, oil & gas, energy efficiency, energy finance, hydropower, power systems, grid design, etc.
Experience working with public private partnerships and other commercial models for government infrastructure is an asset.
Experience in the public sector is desirable.
Experience and understanding of the local political & economic context is desirable.
Experience in external stakeholder engagement is desirable.
Experience in research, analytics and publications is an asset.
Experience in spatial mapping using relevant tools is an asset.
Experience in working in challenging environments is preferred. Skills & Abilities:
Stakeholder engagement: Ability to identify and prioritize key stakeholders; understand and align stakeholder expectations; assess stakeholders’ power, influence and interest; anticipate future problems and address potential concerns throughout the lifetime of the project.
Project management skills: Ability to develop and deliver on activities; ability to plan in a coordinated manner, manage priorities and meet deadlines; management experience (preferable delivery teams); ability to accurately monitor, evaluate and report on project progress; ability to manage and mitigate risks.
Skilled in research and analysis: strong qualitative and analytic skills; keen attention to detail and data accuracy is highly recommended.
Excellent communication skills: strong writing ability, skilled in creating knowledge products such as papers, guidance notes and other pieces directed at multiple audiences is highly recommended.
Strong team player: strong interpersonal skills; ability to consistently is highly recommended demonstrate a professional manner in dealing with individuals at all levels, both internally and externally to the organization; team player and flexible as tasks and priorities shift; ability to work independently and in teams in a small office environment.
Other: Demonstrated competence with using standard office software packages (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) is required. Language Requirements:
Excellent command of written and spoken English.
Working knowledge of Hebrew and Arabic is an advantage.
Competencies For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link:
https://www.unops.org/english/Opportunities/job-opportunities/what-we-offer/Pages/Individual-Contractor-Agreements.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. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. 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.