Technical Services Unit Senior Manager

Located in Nairobi, Kenya, the Kenya Multi Country Office manages a growing portfolio of engagements, including associated strategic and operational risks. The KEMC/East and Southern Africa sub-region currently consists of an established Operation Centre in Nairobi/Kenya which manages a portfolio of engagements in multiple countries in East and Southern Africa. This includes transactional projects in partnership with the Nairobi based UN Agencies, UN-Habitat and UNEP, and multiple ‘operational’ projects in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and several island states.

The Technical Services Unit (TSU) office is based in Nairobi, and will require extensive travel to other UNOPS locations as required by the Multi Country Office Director.  The TSU engages in multidisciplinary design, assessments and advisory work, and manages relationships with other technical stakeholders such as specialist design firms for high risk structures.  The TSU provides design services for infrastructure works to project managers.  Recently the team has expanded its offering to include consulting services such as assessments, feasibility studies and advisory services on a wide range of infrastructure types.  We want to continue and further expand technical services to our partners and clients at a wider field of operations.

The TSU currently has 15 permanent and 40+ retainer personnel including architects, civil engineers, structural engineers, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, quantity surveyors, GIS and specialist infrastructure advisors (for dams, ICT and biomedical works) and CAD technicians as well as support personnel.  Current projects are underway / imminent in Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, Eswatini, Zambia, Mozambique and Cameroon.  The Technical Services Unit Senior Manager will provide leadership, design management and business development for the TSU and integrate the technical offering as a key differentiator for UNOPS in the sub-region.

The TSU is a business unit for the Multi Country office and comes under the direction of the Director for East and Southern Africa office (KEMC).

The Technical Services Unit Senior Manager will be required to undertake the following tasks and responsibilities:-

1. Technical Service Management

• Provide leadership, financial control, advice and guidance for infrastructure work undertaken by the TSU;

• Expand the offering of the TSU to include more advisory projects;

• Responsible for establishing solid working relationships with key stakeholders. Manage communications and ensure stakeholders are aware of project activities and progress to ensure smooth handover of the work without any issues;

• Secure new commissions by proactively engaging with a range of existing and potential clients;

• Advise the client on issues that may impact the achievement of their outcomes (including issues of progress, sustainability and post project requirements such as revisions);

• Manage the implementation of approved design work plans (including the establishment of milestones) in agreement with the client;
• Embed sustainability dimensions including social and gender inclusion, environmental and economic aspects into project life cycle;
• Identify and manage opportunities and risks to optimize benefit to client and stakeholders;;
• Ensure design office capacity and personnel levels are appropriate and maintained in accordance with workload and budget;
• Select, recruit and train TSU team based on competencies required
• Lead, motivate, mentor and manage the multidisciplinary TSU team;
• Ensure safety and security for all personnel and comply with UNDSS standards whilst on mission;
• Establish and maintain schedules and budgets for the design work;
• Serve as the spokesperson and representative for the TSU and the Multi-Country office on technical and business matters;
• Conduct regular performance appraisals of personnel;
• Develop and implement a Quality Management System for the office, including monitoring to ensure products are accepted;
• Works closely with the TSU Project Support Officer on financial management and oversight of the work including approval of project invoices and ensure the Unit is self-sufficient to operate throughout the year; takes responsibility for managing budgets, cash flow and obligations to ensure that deliverables are met and payments made 
• Perform other special projects as instructed by the Multi-Country office Director.

2. Partnership Development

• Maintain close contact with clients and pursue future work;

• Develop new collaboration opportunities with clients and partners;

• Prepare expressions of interest and proposals (personnel, resourcing, methodology, proposal preparation and coordination, preparation of financial proposals and quotations etc.) that generate additional revenue and partnerships;

• Define TSU business development strategy for UNOPS that integrates use of the services for increased growth and impact;

• Explore opportunities for wider engagement of the TSU team with industry and academia;

• Drive innovation by developing partnerships and recommending new solutions and ideas across the organization that are designed to meet the future challenges of our operations and project delivery for the Multi-Country office;

• Perform market analysis and identify potential areas of new work for TSU;

• Develop the communication strategy and delivery of information around the TSU’s use of technology solutions for UNOPS;

• Provide, promote and/or facilitate personnel development opportunities (for technical and non-technical personnel in TSU);

A Master’s degree in Architecture, Architectural Engineering, Structural Engineering, Civil Engineering or related Engineering field is required;

A university Degree (Bachelor’s degree / first level) with a combination of 2 additional years of relevant professional experience in Architecture, Architectural Engineering, Structural Engineering, Civil Engineering or related Engineering field, may be accepted in lieu of the advance university degree;

• At least 7 years of relevant professional experience in the field of Infrastructure designs and projects is required;

•  At least 2 year experience in managing multidisciplinary and/or multicultural teams is required;

• At least 2 years exposure of infrastructure designs or infrastructure projects in fragile state or developing countries is required; Experience working in conflict or post-conflict context is an advantage.

• Experience in budget management, leadership, partnership development, stakeholder management, advisory services and project financial control will be an added advantage

Contract type: International Individual Contractor Agreement

• 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.

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.