Advisor, Technical (Energy Transition)

The Partnerships and Futures Group (PFG) is responsible for strengthening and expanding UNOPS partnerships and building knowledge, innovation and foresight capabilities through non-programmatic missions, underpinning UNOPS ability to scale up and speed up delivery for impact - for the people we serve. 

PFG works across the range of UNOPS partner segments - including UN agencies, international financial institutions and multilateral/regional development banks, donors, partner country governments, vertical funds and multilateral initiatives, south-south cooperation, and the philanthropic and private sectors - to deepen engagement, expand implementation capacity and accelerate progress toward the SDGs. 

PFG collaborates closely with HQ groups and geographic offices on partner segment strategies, partner leadership, and opportunity development, ensuring that partner engagement is coherent, intelligence-driven and aligned with UNOPS strategic priorities to strengthen UNOPS positioning and visibility.

PFG leads the development of knowledge, innovation and foresight through eight thematic missions relating to the sustainable development goals, enabling UNOPS to anticipate partner needs and emerging trends and respond proactively to strengthen mission readiness. It brings mission-led intent to partnerships and opportunity development, and drives the horizontal integration of missions into policy framing, service offering refinement and service delivery. It provides expertise and business partnering support to teams across UNOPS, and technical advice to partners.

PFG has personnel based in UNOPS headquarters in Copenhagen and in locations close to key partners: Beijing, Brussels, Manila, Riyadh, Tokyo, and Washington.

UNOPS Technical Advisors provide technical leadership across eight non-programmatic, thematic missions: triple planetary crisis; energy transition; small island developing states (SIDS) resilience and sustainability; quality healthcare; just digital transformation; social protection, equality, education and jobs; humanitarian, development and peace nexus; and food systems transformation. The Technical Advisors serve as UNOPS principal focal points and thought leaders for assigned mission(s).

In the energy transition mission, this includes grids and storage (including the SG’s global grid accelerator initiative), energy access (including Mission 300), distributed renewable energy for public infrastructure such as health facilities, schools and water systems, and project preparation for energy investments financed by multilateral development banks and climate funds. 

The Technical Advisor (Energy Transition) leads UNOPS technical positioning on that mission, in coordination with PFG Partnerships colleagues and the Chief Climate Officer,and may contribute to furthering one or more of the following missions depending on experience and organizational need: just digital transformation, SIDS resilience and sustainability, food systems transformation, and humanitarian, development and peace nexus. The role drives the integration of mission-led knowledge, innovation and foresight into UNOPS partnership development, opportunity development, policy framing, service offering refinement and service delivery, to strengthen mission readiness and accelerate progress toward the SDGs. The role also supports the translation of partner and country energy commitments into investable and deliverable pipelines. 

1. Thematic Leadership 

• Serve as UNOPS principal focal point and thought leader for assigned mission(s), strengthening UNOPS visibility and positioning as an implementation partner.
• Define UNOPS expertise, comparative advantage and value proposition within the assigned mission(s).
• Serve as internal and partner-facing technical expert for the assigned mission(s), including on related knowledge, innovation and foresight.
• Develop, contribute to and disseminate mission-aligned materials, such as thought-leadership and knowledge management products for use internally and with partners.

2. Mission-Aligned Partnerships and Opportunity Development

• Bring mission-led intent to partnership development, reinforcing mission readiness and the strategic alignment of UNOPS portfolio.
• Provide technical expert input in high-level discussions with partners and UNOPS colleagues, including in collaborative opportunity development.
• Support partner-facing colleagues in project ideation discussions with partners.
• Provide advice on the strategic alignment, value and balance of UNOPS portfolio across assigned missions.
• Support the translation of partner and country energy commitments into investable and deliverable pipelines, including engineering, procurement and implementation solutions, in collaboration with Regional and Country Offices.
• Contribute technical input to partner segment strategies and key partner engagement, particularly with multilateral development banks, climate funds and major energy initiatives.

3. Integration of Knowledge, Innovation and Foresight through Missions

• Drive the integration of mission-driven knowledge, innovation and foresight into UNOPS policy framing through Management and Policy, and service offering refinement and delivery through Delivery and Partnerships.
• Provide advice on mission-aligned outcomes and indicators to support corporate and partner-facing performance frameworks.
• Provide business partnering support on missions to HQ groups, service lines and geographic offices, fostering coherence, coordination and learning.
• Collaborate with PFG and UNOPS colleagues to strengthen mission-led knowledge and innovation systematically and sustainably, through the establishment and enhancement of processes and operating mechanisms for knowledge and learning and for innovation.
• In collaboration with PFG foresight colleagues, link internal knowledge and learning with long-term external perspectives and trends to develop new ideas, support ideation and drive innovation.

4. People Leadership

• Create, foster and role model a culture of trust, empowerment, and accountability.
• Build engagement and foster a diverse and inclusive work environment, respectful of all, and ensure that the highest standards of conduct are observed.
• Create, foster and role model a culture of respect and zero tolerance for discrimination, abuse of authority, harassment, sexual harassment and sexual exploitation and abuse. Ensure accountability for actions and perform duties in accordance with protection mechanisms and action plans, as expected by UNOPS policies, standards and commitments.
• Promote teamwork, collaboration and diversity, by providing timely guidance and supervision to the team to enable them to perform their duties responsibly, effectively and efficiently.

Required

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in Energy Policy, Renewable Energy Engineering, Climate Change, Sustainable Development, Economics (with a focus on energy), or any related discipline with 9 years of relevant experience OR
• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in any of the above disciplines with 7 years of relevant experience is required.

Desired

• Specialized training or certification related to the energy transition, sustainability, innovation, foresight, or partnership development is desirable.

Required

• Demonstrated experience providing technical advisory support on energy transition, including the social and economic dimensions of a just transition.
• Demonstrated expertise in areas such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, grid modernization, and energy policy.
• Experience conducting foresight and trend analysis, developing case studies, and extracting lessons learned in the energy sector.
• Experience facilitating stakeholder engagement and collaborative approaches to energy transition initiatives.
• Experience of working in multicultural environments.
• Experience in the preparation or implementation of energy infrastructure projects or programmes.

Desired

• Experience working on issues related to one or more of: just digital transformation, SIDS resilience and sustainability, food systems transformation, and humanitarian, development and peace nexus.
• Experience in development or humanitarian contexts.
• Experience of working in UN system organizations.
• Experience with energy operations financed by multilateral development banks, development finance institutions or climate funds. 

• UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. 
• 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. 
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the selection process, which may include various assessments. 
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of a wide range of nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. We strive to sustain and strengthen this diversity, fostering an inclusive working environment where all personnel are treated with respect and have equal access to opportunities.
• UNOPS evaluates all applications based on the skills, qualifications and experience outlined in the vacancy announcement. We are committed to a fair and transparent selection process and welcome diverse perspectives, including those of women, indigenous and racialized communities, individuals of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, and persons with disabilities.
• We are committed to enabling all candidates to perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require support or reasonable accommodation to complete any assessment, please inform our human resources team upon receiving your invitation.
• UNOPS has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment, and other forms of abusive conduct, including discrimination, abuse of authority, and harassment. To uphold these standards, background checks are conducted for all final candidates to help ensure that individuals with a history of such conduct are not hired. By applying for a position with UNOPS, candidates acknowledge and consent to these verification processes.
  

• 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.