Senior Advisor, Impact Management

The Strategy and Transformation Group (STG) supports the Executive Director in driving the UNOPS long-term vision, guiding the organization through strategic planning, transformation, and change. It leads the development of the UNOPS strategic plan, ensuring alignment with evolving priorities and global contexts; and it manages the midterm review of the strategic plan and the Executive Director’s annual report ensuring transparency to the Executive Board, including through external evaluation suited to the UNOPS mandate and efforts to enhance impact management. STG also provides high-level analysis, oversight advice, and secretariat support to the Audit Advisory Committee, fostering informed decision-making.  

With deep expertise in United Nations strategic planning and organizational transformation, STG serves as a trusted advisor and implementation partner for major change programmes, including designing transformation strategies, delivering change management support, and coordinating cross-organizational initiatives that address operational challenges and advance institutional ambitions. STG generates practical, innovative solutions that strengthen UNOPS resilience, efficiency, and impact - positioning the organization to adapt, excel, and deliver on its mandate in a dynamic operational environment.

Under the overall leadership of the Director, Strategy and Transformation, and as a member of the Corporate Strategy team, the Senior Advisor, Impact Management, plays a central role in advancing UNOPS' 2026-2029 strategic commitment to measure and manage for impact, contributing to the ambition to scale up and speed up impact by bridging implementation gaps affecting hundreds of millions of vulnerable people in challenging contexts. 

1. Impact management agenda

• Develop, implement and continue to evolve the global impact management agenda, integrating guidance from the Executive Board, senior leadership and oversight functions.

• Monitor performance, recommending adaptive actions to maintain effectiveness.

• Develop and implement the team's work plan; identify and manage risks; advise the Director, STG on mitigation measures.

• Represent the impact management agenda in dialogue with the Executive Board, Management Team, and other stakeholders to ensure strategic alignment and support.

2. Leadership

• Advise STG leadership and contribute to key Group deliverables.

• Lead, mentor and foster a high-performing team that collaborate well with others

• Foster a culture of curiosity, evidence-based decision-making, and accountability.

• Cultivate and uphold respect and zero tolerance for discrimination, abuse of authority, harassment, sexual harassment, sexual exploitation and abuse.

3.Change management

• Develop stakeholder engagement strategies tailored to HQ, transformation programmes, and regional needs.

• Manage stakeholder partnerships and expectations, ensuring active participation across HQ and regional teams.

• Implement change management activities in dialogue with the Transformation Office, and in line with UNOPS approach to managing change. 

• Lead systematic engagement with colleagues to create awareness, desire, knowledge, ability and reinforcement of impact management practices, including by nurturing and shaping a community for impact management practitioners.

• Coordinate with regional offices, HQ groups, and leads of transformation programmes to align, build consensus and manage interdependencies.

4. Impact management framework development

• Formulate corporate policy and global standards for impact management. Serves as the corporate authority on compliance, ensuring effective integration across all regions and portfolios.

• Formulate integrated policies, standards, processes, guidance and methodology for impact management, and outcome-based reporting across the UNOPS portfolio. 

• Liaise with the Development Coordination Office and agencies, funds and programmes in the UN development system to collaborate and align practices, as appropriate, considering the mandate, role and operating model of UNOPS.

• Engage and collaborate with funding partners, and international financial institutions to harmonize impact management and reporting practices, and meet external expectations.

5. Results-Based Management and Outcome Reporting

• Enhance capabilities and digital systems to systematically capture, analyze, and synthesize outcome-based evidence and contributions to impact across global operations.

• Develop and maintain a catalogue of impact focused project case studies 

• Develop and implement an approach for assessing UNOPS portfolio impact management readiness to understand impact management capabilities across the organization.

• Reinforce efforts to strengthen impact management and demonstrate UNOPS impact management capabilities to the Executive Board. 

• Collaborate to develop, introduce and implement an enhanced approach for internal self-evaluation of projects, programmes and/or the offices through which they are managed.

• Collaborate to develop the concept and application of impact dashboards for senior-management oversight and reinforcement.

• Accountable for the integrity and quality of corporate-level outcome reporting to the Executive Board.

Required

• Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in Public/Business Administration, International Development, Political Science, International Relations, or related field is required. A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s) with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu.

Desired

• Formal certification/training in project management (e.g., PRINCE2), impact assessment, strategic planning, policy development, leadership, or change management.

Required

• A minimum of ten (10) years of progressively responsible experience in strategic management, transformation, and/or corporate governance, with a demonstrated track record of leading institution-wide policy changes at an international level.

• Demonstrated expertise and practical experience from the operationalization of the UNOPS mandate as a non-programmatic, demand-driven service provider.

• Substantiated experience from engaging with senior stakeholders and personnel in multicultural environments.

Desired

• Experience for development, humanitarian or peace contexts.

• Experience for working in UN system organizations.

• 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.