Intern - Advisory Services and Partner Coordination

Background Information - UNOPS

UNOPS mission is to serve people in need by expanding the ability of the United Nations, governments and other partners to manage projects, infrastructure and procurement in a sustainable and efficient manner.

Within these three core areas of expertise, UNOPS provides its partners with advisory, implementation and transactional services, with projects ranging from building schools and hospitals, to procuring goods and services and training local personnel. UNOPS works closely with governments and communities to ensure increased economic, social and environmental sustainability for the projects we support, with a focus on developing national capacity.

Working in some of the world’s most challenging environments, our vision is to advance sustainable implementation practices in development, humanitarian and peacebuilding contexts, always satisfying or surpassing partner expectations.

We employ more than 6,000 personnel and on behalf of our partners create thousands more work opportunities in local communities. Through our headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark and a network of offices, we oversee activities in more than 80 countries.

Background Information - Job-specific

The Sustainable Procurement Practice Group (SPPG) at UNOPS leads the organization’s sustainable procurement practice and is responsible for all matters of organizational development in procurement and supply chain management. SPPG is also responsible for a significant percentage of the transactional procurement volume of UNOPS which totalled USD 740 million in 2012. The overall aim of SPPG is to ensure sustainability in all activities, including its partnerships, to provide speedy and quality advice and services by leveraging on existing global knowledge, to build and share knowledge, and to support revenue generation.

UNOPS is looking for an intern to support the work of the Advisory Services and Partner Coordination team. The Advisory Services and Partner Coordination Team is responsible for corporate outreach and business development to achieve revenue growth in the sustainable procurement service lines of UNOPS. It analyses the business model of UNOPS, matches it with key priorities of partners and donors and provides strategic recommendations on how to grow business. The Advisory Services and Partner Coordination Team identifies and reaches out to key partners and donors, but also supports and liaises with the Global Partner Services Office, as well as the Regions and Operational Centres of UNOPS. It provides direct support to procurement business developers in the field. The Advisory Services and Partner Coordination Team is also responsible to identify and develop new services that UNOPS can offer to its partners. Additionally, the team creates partnerships with other UN organizations, universities, think tanks, private sector organizations and NGOs that expand the reach of the procurement practice to achieve its goals.

Functional Responsibilities

Work within the Advisory Services and Partner Coordination team on data collection, research and analysis on specific topics of strategic interest for UNOPS SPPG such as donors priorities, aid dynamics, UNOPS business opportunities, etc. This will comprise, but is not limited to, the following:

· Analyse strategic priorities and regional focus of identified key partners, such as bilateral donors, International Governmental Organizations (IGOs), International Finance Institutions (IFIs), NGOs and other such relevant donors;

· Conduct data collection, research and analysis in order to identify UNOPS references, methodologies, client information and major achievements in the area of procurement of infrastructure, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment and common user items, by reviewing UNOPS past project data/information and reaching out to the procurement officers/project managers when needed;

· Identify best practices and lessons learnt and document such findings in a standardized format;

· Design, coordinate and develop knowledge sharing methodologies and implement them across the organization;

· Manage and develop work planning tools such as work plans, action lists and other relevant tools to structure work packages, assign responsibilities and follow-up on the implementation of action items;

· Liaise with representatives from different UN agencies and provide logistical support to the practice management in organizing conferences, workshops and other relevant events;

· Propose measures to improve the visual appeal of business development materials such as presentations, flyers and brochures and coordinate with graphics and design service providers to implement such recommendations.

· Develop case studies of UNOPS work for use by officers in the field in their business development activities;

· Liaise with the Global Partner Services Office in driving cross-practice business development efforts;

Other related duties may need to be performed as required.
Competencies

High degree of personal initiative and results orientation;
Creativity and maturity of judgment;
Timely delivery on current assignments in order to take on new ones;
Checks accuracy of output produced to ensure it meets established quality standards;
Sets daily, weekly, and monthly goals and monitors progress;
Ensures timely and consistent follow up on projects;
Is aware about self-development and identifies ways to enhance competencies;
Consistently delivers accurate, clear and concise messages in written or oral form;
Motivated to work in a team to accomplish goals / tasks;
Seeks fast and specific feedback from superiors;
Responds positively to critical feedback and differing points of view;
Excellent interpersonal skills and teamwork attitude, ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity.
Education/Experience/Language requirements

To be eligible to apply for this internship, you must currently study towards a Bachelors or a Master’s degree - preferably in the field of International Politics, Business Administration, Finance, Economics, International Development or related subject areas - or have completed a University degree in this field within the past 3 years.

A good understanding of the public sector, namely of national administrations or international organisations is required;

Good analytical skills are required;

Experience in procurement processes in the public and/or the private sector will be considered an asset;

Solid computer skills, in particular substantial expertise with PowerPoint and Excel are required, experience in spread sheet analyses using pivot tables, visual basic and other relevant applications is considered an asset;

Experience in project-related work in a dynamic private sector environment, e.g. in management consulting, financial institutions or banks, will be considered an asset;

Fluency in English is a requirement. Language skills in French or Spanish will be considered an asset.

Contract type, level and duration

Contract type: Internship
Contract duration: 3-6 months

Additional Considerations

Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time (CET)
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.
For staff positions UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.
Interns might be elilgible for an internship stipend of aprox. 865 USD provided they do not receive other funding

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.

How to apply:

https://gprs.unops.org/pages/viewvacancy/VADetails.aspx?id=4456