Senior Officer, Minerals and Green Value Chains

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. 

UNOPS Global Portfolios bring together a range of expertise to help partners deliver impact worldwide. With hubs in New York, Geneva and Vienna, and expert teams operating across regions, we lead complex, multi-regional initiatives that advance sustainable development, peacebuilding and climate action.

We work in close collaboration with the UN family, governments and other local and international partners. Our work ranges from supporting mine action in some of the world’s most fragile and conflict-affected contexts, to expanding access to healthcare and clean water, to helping protect the environment.

From Geneva, UNOPS strives to facilitate the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), by working with governments, other United Nations (UN) agencies and partners. This includes supporting platforms and hosting high-profile, flagship initiatives and funds focusing on health, nutrition, water and sanitation, sustainable cities, environment, energy, climate and trade.

UNOPS is a recognized resource for the UN system in Geneva – from fund management and oversight and advisory services, to providing hosting solutions to a range of global initiatives, as well as operational support to partner organizations.

UNOPS provides quality services, integrated solutions and management support to UN agencies, initiatives and partners in a strategic, cohesive, cost-effective and results-oriented manner. Geneva is also home to UNOPS Europe and Central Asia Regional Office.

Sustainable Energy for All has a global mandate to accelerate progress on the energy transition in emerging and developing countries. Hosted by UNOPS, we work at the intersection of energy, climate and development, partnering with governments and organizations worldwide to end energy poverty, double energy efficiency, significantly expand renewable energy and combat climate change.

Our vision is a world where everyone, everywhere, can lead a dignified life on a healthy planet, powered by sustainable energy. We promote this vision by pushing for higher ambitions, stronger policies, greater finance flows, increased localization and green jobs, and faster results toward an energy transition that leaves no one behind. 

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the Sustainable Energy for All initiative in 2011. Since then, our CEO has served as the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Sustainable Energy for All and Co-Chair of UN-Energy.

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 nine global partnerships focused on health (RBM, Stop TB, ATscale), nutrition (SUN), water/sanitation (SHF), sustainable energy (SEforALL) 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.

This position is located within the Green Industrialization team at SEforALL supporting the development of local energy transition technology value chains in emerging economies. Within the programme, SEforALL implements several initiatives, including the Renewable Energy Manufacturing Initiative (REMI) and the Council for Critical Minerals Development in the Global South. Launched in 2024, the critical minerals workstream aims to develop state-of-the-art data and analytics to guide decision-making and facilitate south-south cooperation enabling countries to attract investments in local minerals processing and refining, and build forward linkages with manufacturing for energy transition technologies. The minerals workstream is expanding to cover additional in-country activities with a focus on the African continent, including strengthening engagement of regional value chain development. 

The role serves as a technical resource to support SEforALL’s expanding activities on energy transition minerals, including increasing in-country engagement for the Council for Critical Minerals Development in the Global South specifically in the African region. As a member of the Green Industrialization team, the Senior Officer will support the expansion of activities and be responsible for government engagement on minerals, delivery of country support on energy transition mineral value chain development, and developing data and analytics.

The Senior Officer, Minerals and Green Value Chains will have the following functional responsibilities: 

• Undertake country-level analysis on energy transition minerals, including assessing opportunities for value addition and forward linkages to manufacturing linked to SEforALL Energy Transition and Investment Plans;

• Support engagement with governments on energy transition minerals specifically in the African region;

• Coordinate partnerships with international and regional institutions working on energy transition minerals identifying opportunities for collaboration linked to the Council’s workplan; 

• Support the organization of in-person/virtual events on energy transition minerals, including capacity building events, and maintenance of the Council’s outreach platforms (e.g. website); and

• Support resource mobilization efforts by providing technical inputs to funding proposals and identifying new donor leads linked to current and future priorities. 

Required

• An Advanced Degree (Masters or equivalent) in Economics, Engineering, Public Policy, Energy, International Relations, Natural Resources or a related field. 

• A Bachelor’s Degree in Economics, Engineering, Public Policy, Energy, International Relations, Natural Resources related field with additional two years of experience may be accepted in lieu of the Master's Degree.

Required

• Minimum of two (2) years of experience in energy transition, mineral policy, industrial policy or resource governance.  

• Experience in technical and economics aspects of energy and mineral resources is required.  

Desired

• Demonstrated knowledge of energy transition minerals (e.g., lithium, nickel, cobalt) and their role in green value chains is highly desirable.  

• Experience working with governments, regional bodies, or international organizations on mining regulation, taxation, and environmental compliance is desirable.  

• 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. 
• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority 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.