Country Project Specialist

The UNOPS Global Portfolios Office (GPO) brings together diverse expertise to help partners deliver impact worldwide. With hubs in New York, Geneva, and Vienna, and expert teams operating globally, GPO leads multi-regional initiatives that advance sustainable development, climate action, and peacebuilding - including in some of the world’s most challenging environments. By leveraging our collective expertise and global networks, GPO supports UNOPS’ strategic priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals across more than 130 countries. We work closely with major global partners - including governments, international financial institutions, and UN agencies - to deliver a wide range of services, such as project management, fund management, hosting services, and HR support.

As part of the Global Portfolios Office, UNOPS Geneva provides comprehensive solutions in secretariat hosting, operational support, and fund management. We manage global programmes, including the Water, Environment and Climate (WEC) Portfolio, offering project management, procurement, HR, and financial services. Geneva hosts the secretariats of eight global partnerships focused on health (RBM, Stop TB, ATscale), nutrition (SUN), water/sanitation (SHF), humanitarian leadership (GELI), urban development (Cities Alliance), and disaster displacement (PDD). We also provide fund management for EIF and UN Water, and operational support to Geneva-based partners like the Global Fund and UNHCR. 

UNOPS Geneva Office is providing support to a wide range of portfolios, including UNEP, UNICEF, UNHCR, and other partners. 

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

This position is a Partner Personnel role. UNOPS is supporting UNICEF-DI as a UN partner and is acting on its behalf to provide recruitment and administrative support for this position. The selected candidate will be recruited through UNOPS in accordance with UNOPS recruitment rules, and will be engaged as UNICEF-DI personnel. The incumbent will work under the effective management and supervision of UNICEF-DI, not UNOPS.

About UNICEF Digital Impact Division (DID)

Digital Impact Division (DID) is at the heart of reshaping how UNICEF delivers lasting results for children. We are committed to harnessing the full potential of emerging digital technologies

to advance UNICEF’s mission.

DID works in close collaboration with regional Digital Impact teams and colleagues across headquarters divisions, regions, and country offices to leverage technologies and capabilities that accelerate progress on UNICEF’s goals, strengthen community resilience, and expand access to essential digital services and information.

Our mission is to enhance UNICEF’s global digital impact by promoting equitable access to information and services, empowering communities to create lasting, positive change for children, and foster a more inclusive, interconnected, and sustainable world for every child, everywhere.

About UNICEF Digital Inclusion (DI)

UNICEF’s Digital Inclusion (DI) programme supports governments and partners to improve equitable, affordable digital access for children, schools, and communities. The programme engages with regulators, operators, and public institutions to explore innovative approaches to connectivity, infrastructure governance, and digital public goods

The Country Project Specialist will work within the Digital Inclusion Country Engagement team under that guidance of the Country Connectivity Manager to coordinate with UNICEF Country Offices in initiating and implementing Digital Inclusion programmes, including its flagship Giga initiative.

The Digital Inclusion Country Engagement team supports Country Offices in initiating Digital Inclusion programmes, engaging in technical and strategic discussions with governments, developing country-level work plans, and managing country-level project deliverables. The team develops and provides guidance materials and ensures coordination with Giga partner ITU at headquarters and regional levels. It tracks developments, progress, and challenges related to Digital Inclusion programme implementation, at country level and iterates implementation processes based on lessons learned.

The team is currently supporting over 70 Country Offices across all UNICEF regions—most notably in East and Southern Africa, West and Central Africa, Central America and the Caribbean, and Central Asia. Demand for information and engagement on Digital Inclusion programmes continues to grow, and the number of countries and sectors requiring support for Digital Inclusion implementation is expected to increase.

Under the supervision and guidance of the Country Connectivity Manager, the Country Project Specialist will coordinate engagement with UNICEF Country Offices and, where relevant, national stakeholders to support the implementation of Digital Inclusion programmes. This includes acting as a liaison between Country Offices and Digital Inclusion technical teams, and Giga’s partner ITU. The Specialist will ensure effective engagement of relevant stakeholders in-country and across the Digital Inclusion teams, onboard COs and governments, and will track in-country implementation on an ongoing basis.

Key responsibilities include supporting Digital Inclusion country engagement, implementation and project management, through country onboarding, coordination, development of country strategies, implementation planning, in-country project management and stakeholder relationship management.

Country Onboarding and Intelligence

• Develop tailored onboarding strategies, narratives, materials, and briefing notes aligned with different country archetypes.

• Engage with UNICEF COs and governments to onboard them for DI activities

• Coordinate internal DI pre-onboarding planning and discussions to determine most appropriate approach for each new interested country

• Contribute to Digital Inclusion lead generation and opportunity identification based on country context knowledge and engagement with Country Offices.

• Maintain the country engagement and intelligence databases capturing country context and readiness, stakeholder dynamics, and relationship history.

• Document lessons learned in onboarding, and collect monitoring and impact information from COs.

Country-level Implementation and Project Management

• Manage in-country implementation through development of country strategies and implementation planning across teams. 

• Provide country-level project management of DI services delivery, including development of cross-team workplans and coordination of deliverables from DI technical teams, management of workplans to time and scope and stakeholder management including CO, Govt, DI, UNICEF and external partners.

• Track country engagement and implementation status in each region and maintain up-to-date data in project management tools.

• Liaise between Country Offices and Digital Inclusion technical teams, including Technology, Finance, and Contracts, to support procurement, contracting, resource mobilization, and fund flow processes.

• Contribute to the organization and implementation of Digital Inclusion-related events, recruitment, and missions in-country.

• Guide UNICEF COs in the establishment and functioning of country-level governance       mechanisms, such as steering committees or project coordination groups, where appropriate.

• Coordinate closely with ITU on in-country planning, data activities, and implementation

Monitoring and Progress Controls

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) is required in one of the following fields: statistics, economics, social sciences, development sciences, and management or related degree is required. 

• A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree.

Required:

• A minimum of 5 years of professional experience in either international development with strong exposure to Country Office programming, or management consulting focused on policy and international development.

• Proven experience leading end-to-end delivery of multi-stakeholder projects (government, partners, technical teams), managing planning, execution, and monitoring phases with defined workplans, KPIs, and reporting mechanisms; consistently delivered outputs within agreed timelines and scope.

• Demonstrated experience managing in-country project delivery in development contexts, including coordinating cross-functional teams (e.g., technical, finance, procurement) and driving execution against national priorities.

Desired:

• Experience working within UNICEF.

• Exposure to implementing technology-enabled programs (e.g., connectivity, data systems, digital public goods) with an understanding of how technical outputs translate into operational delivery. 

• Formal Project Management certification and experience with PM approaches (e.g., PRINCE2) and use of tools for tracking KPIs, risks, and dependencies across distributed teams. Exposure to national policy frameworks related to technology development, implementation, and infrastructure development..

• Experience supporting policy engagement or integration of digital connectivity into national strategies or sector plans.Translated complex, cross-sector concepts (e.g., policy, technology, education) into clear, actionable guidance, producing structured frameworks, briefs, and implementation plans used by decision-makers.

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. 
• Please note that UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
• Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement. 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. 
• UNOPS evaluates all applications based on the skills, qualifications and experience requirements outlined in the vacancy announcement. We are committed to considering all candidates in a fair and transparent manner, and we value diverse perspectives and experiences, including those of women, indigenous and racialized communities, individuals with diverse 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.

• 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. 
• For more details about the contract types, please click 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.