Health and Safety Advisors- home based (multiple retainer contracts)

The Health, Safety, Social and Environmental (HSSE) management unit falls under the UNOPS Shared Services Centre (SSC) Group. It is responsible for supporting the development and implementation of HSSE good practices in UNOPS projects and operations in line with UNOPS policies, UN common system standards and international best practices. As part of its duty of care, UNOPS commits to ensuring that people do not fall sick or sustain injuries when the organisation carries out its operations. This applies to personnel at UNOPS workplaces and members of the public that may be affected by the work of UNOPS. Ensuring that people are not harmed requires the establishment of appropriate policies, standards and processes to guide operations. It also requires putting in place key controls, monitoring performance and correcting deviation from requirements. 

Further to the small to medium-sized development projects that the organisation has been carrying out, UNOPS is embarking on multi-billion dollar social impact investments in the areas of renewable energy and affordable housing. 

Therefore, the organisation requires the services of senior social development experts that shall be on retainer contracts to carry out short term work packages when required. 

Please note that the selected candidates who will successfully undergo the assessments will be offered a contract for 1 year (renewable) but proposed a work package only when a specific opportunity arises.

• Assist the Director of SSC and the Head of the HSSE unit, in shaping the strategic direction and policies of UNOPS in health and safety matters. 
• Provide innovative health and safety advice that helps UNOPS to assume a leadership position in implementing health and safety requirements in development sector projects.  
• Carry out health and safety due diligence of partners, contractors and suppliers prior to commencement of project work to ensure that the ones with unsatisfactory performance are not engaged.  
• Develop and implement health and safety management systems and performance monitoring frameworks for projects managed on behalf of a broad range of partners. 
• Develop and implement training programmes to improve the capacity of partners and UNOPS personnel in implementing UNOPS health and safety requirements.

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in safety engineering, occupational safety and health, occupational medicine, public health, industrial hygiene, natural sciences or other relevant field is required. 
• An additional 2 years of relevant work experience in combination with a relevant first university degree (Bachelor’s or equivalent) may substitute for the requirement for a Master’s degree. 

Experience:

• A minimum of 7 years of experience in a health and safety role is required (with an advanced university degree).
• Experience in a project with complex health and safety considerations and worth above USD $100m is an asset. 
• Demonstrable experience in the management of the following areas is an asset: developing and implementing safety improvement plans; HS risk assessments; fatal accident investigation; and HS policy and standards development.  
• Experience in implementing or auditing ISO 45 001 or related systems is a requirement.
• Accreditation by relevant professional institutions such as the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) or Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) is desirable.

Language Requirements:

• Full working knowledge of English.
• Knowledge of either French or Spanish is an asset.

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• 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.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• For staff positions only, 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.  

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.

• Contract type: ICA
• Contract level: I-ICA 3 (retainer)
• Contract duration: 1 year (renewable, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance)

Please note that as this is a retainer contract, successful candidates will be offered a contract for 1 year but proposed a work package only when a specific opportunity arises.

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.