Project Management Support-Senior Officer(Head of Development Partners Secretariat)
Colombo
- Organization: UNOPS - United Nations Office for Project Services
- Location: Colombo
- Grade:
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Occupational Groups:
- Project and Programme Management
- Managerial positions
- Closing Date: 2025-05-11
Functional Responsibilities
Objective 1: Effective relationship management across stakeholders and development partners, including across vertical and horizontal levels, of donors, multilateral and civil society partners, government counterparts
- Coordinate regular engagement meetings with key stakeholders and development partners.
- Facilitate information-sharing and feedback mechanisms across donor and government counterparts.
- Support joint planning and collaboration initiatives among multilateral, bilateral, and civil society partners.
Objective 2: Effective coordination of the DP strategic group, DP forum, Bilateral Donor Group, and Thematic working groups
- Prepare workplans and terms of reference (ToRs).
- Monitor progress in line with ToRs, objectives and workplans.
- Ensure, under the substantive guidance of respective chairs, all aspects of planning, convening and following up on regular and ad-hoc DP Forum meetings including all active Working Groups.
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Act as a central focal point for information exchange amongst DPs.
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Oversee and maintain an evergreen mapping of donor initiatives organized by sector/working group.
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Encourage the collaboration of National Planning Department (NPD) and External Resources Department (ERD) in coordination of ODA-initiatives, for example, through participating in the Global Partnership on Effective Development Cooperation (GPEDC).
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Foster that collaboration of DPs in agreed knowledge and information sharing modalities.
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Facilitate strategic linkages between the various DP fora and working groups including groups on gender and climate action.
Objective 4: Enhanced DP coordination in key strategic areas
- Identify and analyse issues including those related to gender equality, and those that are of high strategic priority to GoSL and DPs.
- Disseminate information to the development partners on GoSL's policies, strategies and statements, including on gender equality.
- Facilitate coordination on the implementation of existing policies, such as the National Policy on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, National Policy on Social Protection etc. ensuring alignment with DP and GoSL priorities.
- Establish a regular engagement mechanism with the Ministry of Finance/NPD/ERD/Department of Project Management and Monitoring (DPMM) to support the implementation of ODA-funded initiatives as aligned with GoSL policies and priorities.
- In consultation with DPs, identify areas that would benefit from closer communication with or engagement of CSOs and facilitate the same.
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Leverage knowledge amongst DPs and relevant DP Working Groups, organizing studies, desk reviews, and assessments on specific topics of interest to the DP community, including gender equality and its impact on development.
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Oversee the collection of existing data sets, reports, assessments and other available information on development and ODA matters, and gender equality to inform policy and programming.
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Provide oversight for commissioning or undertaking of primary data collection, analysis, and desktop studies to fill data and evidence gaps, including those related to gender equality as requested by DPs.
- Implement the approved project workplan, ensuring milestones are met and activities align with DP Secretariat priorities.
- Oversee contract management processes, including supplier performance evaluation, acceptance of goods and services, and timely payments.
- Identify potential risks and challenges, proposing mitigation measures to senior management to maximize benefits for stakeholders.
- Ensure compliance with UNOPS policies, guidelines, and project management standards, maintaining accurate project documentation and reporting obligations.
- Regularly monitor and evaluate project progress, providing timely reports and performance updates to partners.
- Facilitate stakeholder engagement by ensuring effective communication, coordination, and alignment between DP Secretariat activities and partner priorities.
- Promote a culture of accountability, ethical conduct, and respect within the Secretariat, ensuring adherence to UNOPS policies on workplace safety, security, and inclusion.
- Support knowledge sharing and capacity-building initiatives to strengthen the DP Secretariat’s long-term effectiveness and institutional learning.
Education/Experience/Language requirements
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Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in social sciences, economics, political science, law, international relations, development studies, gender mainstreaming or a related field.
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A University Degree (Bachelor or Undergraduate Degree) with two (2) additional years above the minimum required below would be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.
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A Secondary School Diploma / High-school diploma with six (6) additional years above the minimum required below would be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.
Experience
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Minimum of two (2) years of relevant professional experience in the development sector, in roles which include strong relationship management components, coordination and collaboration across horizontal and vertical relationships.
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Previous work with the UN or in an international environment is an advantage.
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Experience in the field of donor coordination, government liaison, gender equality and gender mainstreaming is desirable.
Language requirements
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Fluency in English is required.
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Knowledge of Sinhala or Tamil is highly desirable.
Applications from non-qualifying applicants will most likely be discarded by the recruiting manager.