Regional Portfolio Manager

The UNV Regional Offices (RO) provide oversight and strategic guidance to the UNV Field Units in their respective geographical assignments and are mainly accountable for the placement of UN Volunteers mobilized for UN Agencies, Funds, and Programmes focused on peace, development and humanitarian needs. Furthermore, the Regional Offices represent, and strategically position, UNV and bring UNV’s services and solutions closer to its partners from governments, UN entities, civil society and private sector. The Regional Offices also lead in scoping and delivering UNV’s advisory service offer on volunteer infrastructure. 

Reporting to the Manager of the Regional Office (RM), the Regional Portfolio Manager is responsible for the effective management and monitoring of select portfolio countries in the region as defined by the RM.   She/he is the technical lead for business development and intelligence, relationship management and volunteer mobilization for portfolio countries under his/her supervision. In doing so, she/he remotely manages Field Units (FU) and supports the identification of entry points for UNV’s support and showcasing the value added of volunteers and volunteerism based on UNV’s Strategic Framework.  She/he builds and nurtures relationships with UN partners, government counterparts and other key stakeholders to enhance UNV’s role in key programmatic interventions and supports the RM in overseeing field units for quality performance and the achievement volunteer mobilization targets.
 

• Keep abreast of development challenges and priorities in countries under portfolio to identify relevant entry points for UNV’s mobilization of volunteers;
• Provide strategic guidance on volunteerism in specific focused areas and lead on UNV’s integration into appropriate programming approaches, including technical guidance to countries with and without UNV Field Units in their engagement with UN Agencies and their applicable planning tools (e.g. UNSDCFs, CPDs),
• In partnerships with VASS, support and coordinate the UNV Field Units for UNV positioning in relevant strategic forums, United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks (UNSDCF) planning processes, regional response strategies, UN thematic task forces and assessments to identify opportunities for volunteers and volunteer placement;
• Leverage the value added of UNV’s impact on development through its products and services, with special emphasis on priority countries as defined by the RM, to identify niches for UNV’s positioning, particularly  in countries with no field presence; 
• Oversee performance of the assigned regional country portfolio with special attention to compliance with volunteer mobilization targets, timely and quality delivery of outputs and accuracy and quality of reporting;
• Advise the RM and senior management as requested, on critical and emerging issues including progress/response to evaluations and audit interventions relevant to the region, as well as coordinate, consolidate and substantively review country and regional inputs for developing briefing documents for senior management meetings and missions; 
• Ensure quality and accuracy of comprehensive UN Volunteer data, including analysis of political and socio-economic issues and trends; 
• In partnership with the Programme Specialist/Analyst, Volunteer Advisory Services, support the negotiations of volunteer infrastructure engagements with relevant counterparts and the delivery of volunteer advisory services;
• Supervise the assigned UNV Field Units and non Field Units (with a NUNV Mobilization and Partnerships Officer), in accurate forecasting and demand generation, monitoring of assignments and contract extension negotiation (securing funding), mediation in complex volunteer management cases  and compliance with workplans and delegated authority;
• Serve as the supervisor to the Online Volunteering (OV) programme associate and in that capacity provide guidance on the design and implementation of the regional OV strategy:
• Serve as the supervisor to the Programme Associate, UNV.
   

• In coordination with the New York Office, assist the Manager of the Regional Office in building partnerships with UN organizations including peace keeping mission offices, regional entities and field based organizations to identify opportunities and promote UNV and volunteer mobilization;
• Support Programme Analysts, UNV to develop, strengthen and monitor relationships with the UN partners primarily
• Maintain existing partnerships with VSOs, CSOs, NGOs, universities, community organizations and other partners and establish possible complementarity / linkages in relations with UN partners’ mandates and programmes
• Act as the focal point for key UN partners and thematic priority areas of engagement in the WCA region, with the objective to expand large scale joint initiatives
• Develop and sustain ways of working in countries without UNV Field Units to support volunteer mobilization;
• Facilitate the mainstreaming of on-line volunteers by setting regional and country level targets, monitoring and reporting on results achieved;
• Represent UNV, upon delegation, in relevant fora and inter-agency meetings and events to seize opportunities for volunteer mobilization;
• Participate in the development and inclusion of volunteer solutions in crisis response coordination, peacebuilding mechanisms with UN partners and other stakeholders;
• Plan, negotiate, and monitor partnership and financing agreements and action plans and budgets with existing or new partners;
• In coordination with relevant headquarters units, provide advisory support for the dissemination of UNV ‘s global agenda and mandate to stakeholders of special relevance in the region. 

3. Management and quality assurance, including knowledge and innovation

• Provide support to the Regional Manager in the establishment in the RO workplan and RO budget especially in the decision making process in case a change of course if required; 
• Supervise assigned country portfolio team, establish workplans and monitor performance, including the portfolio Field Units, as well as the UNV Programme Managers in the UN Missions;
• Ensure strategic use and implementation of all UN Volunteer modalities, including on-line volunteering; 
• Demonstrate leadership in embracing and implementing Digital Transformation processes that has been  introduced in the organization since 2020 and beyond;
• Provide oversight to Field Units on volunteer solutions; communication, advocacy and outreach to UN partners and other stakeholders, and on results based management;
• Maintain regional oversight of the Host Entities selection timeframes process for efficient volunteer selection that meets established deployment targets, including identification of challenges;
• Ensure responses to critical incidents are processed in a timely and proper manner; support effective crisis management practice in the field; document lessons learned;
• Contribute to the review of knowledge products development in close coordination with the Volunteer Advisory Services Section through information and data retrieved from country and regional  analysis, targeted interventions in crisis countries and lessons learned exercises;
• Ensure knowledge is documented, systematized and fed back into volunteer opportunities through contributing to knowledge networks; 
• Based on UNV requirements and priorities, organize learning plans and capacity building events (e.g. regional and local meetings, conferences, workshops, etc.);
• Design new and innovative volunteer solutions to support UN partners in response to contexts of protracted crisis;
• Serve as the RO focal point for Volunteer Solutions Section (VSS) and Volunteer Services Centre (VSC) and Information and Communication Technologies Section (ICTS) in ensuring lessons are drawn from the implementation of (new) Conditions of Service and SOPs, (new) Volunteer Management systems and other experiences to make the business model as efficient as possible

• Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact 

Think Innovatively

• Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems 

Learn Continuously

• Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences

Adapt with Agility 

• Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands 

Act with Determination

• Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results 

Engage and Partner

• Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration

Enable Diversity and Inclusion

• Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity
   

UNDP People Management Competencies can be found in the dedicated site.

Cross-Functional & Technical Competencies 

• Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system.

Knowledge generation

• Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need.

Results-based Management

• Ability to manage programmes and projects with a focus at improved performance and demonstrable results.

Digital Awareness and Literacy

• Ability and inclination to rapidly adopt new technologies, either through skillfully grasping their usage or through understanding their impact and empowering others to use them as needed.

Customer Satisfaction/Client Management

• Ability to respond timely and appropriately with a sense of urgency, provide consistent solutions, and deliver timely and quality results and/or solutions to fulfil and understand the real customers’ needs. Provide inputs to the development of customer service strategy. Look for ways to add value beyond clients’ immediate requests. 
• Ability to anticipate client’s upcoming needs and concerns.

Partnership Management  

• Ability to build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts and others in line with UNDP strategy and policies.
   

• Only short-listed applicants will be contacted;
• The successful candidate will hold a UNDP letter of appointment.