Operations / Quality Assurance Officer UNOPS/NAO, Mine Action

Operations / Quality Assurance Officer - Mine Action Pool of Experts (P3)

Vacancy Number: VA/2012/B5001/979

Duty Station: Multiple

Organization: UNOPS/NAO, Mine Action

Deadline for Applications: Aug 29, 2012

Vacancy Details: https://gprs.unops.org/pages/viewvacancy/VADetails.aspx?id=979

THIS VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT IS FOR A POOL OF EXPERTS AND NOT A SPECIFIC POST

Background Information - UNOPS

"UNOPS plays a critical role in providing management services for our life-saving, peacebuilding, humanitarian and development operations. I have seen many examples of how these activities help suffering people in troubled parts of the world."
-Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General

UNOPS mission is to expand the capacity of the UN system and its partners to implement peacebuilding, humanitarian and development operations that matter for people in need.

Working in some of the world's most challenging environments, UNOPS vision is to always satisfy partners with management services that meet world-class standards of quality, speed and cost effectiveness.

By assisting UN organizations, international financial institutions, governments and other development partners, UNOPS makes significant, tangible contributions to results on the ground.

UNOPS employs more than 6000 personnel and on behalf of its partners creates thousands more work opportunities in local communities. With its headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark, a network of five regional offices and a further 20 operations and project centres, UNOPS oversees activities in more than 80 countries.

UNOPS is committed to achieving a truly diverse workforce.

Background Information - MAS

Mine Action Cluster

The UNOPS Mine Action Cluster (MAC) within the North America Office (NAO) is a principal service provider in the field of mine action with the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), UNDP, UNICEF, Governments of mine-affected countries and other mine action partners. The Cluster is responsible to administer, provide support and oversight of the day-to-day management of the Project Field offices, both according to the client requirements and in line with UNOPS rules and regulations. It is headed by the Cluster Chief who has the overall authority and accountability for the performance of the Mine Action Cluster on behalf of its clients.

One of the objectives of the MAC is to rapidly deploy mine action personnel to the field. To accomplish this, the MAC has established a Pool of Experts for the above mentioned position, from which it can deploy and re-deploy personnel in order to meet the known as well as any unknown demand. A Pool of Experts is similar to that of a Roster System, where the MAC completes the time-consuming aspects of the recruitment process in advance, and in turn is left with a pool of pre-approved personnel that can be deployed much more efficiently to FTA, TA or I-ICA (International Individual Contractor Agreement) modality positions in the field. Once approved as a member of a pool, candidates remain members for a period of three years, after which they have to re-interview should they wish to remain part of the pool.

Functional Responsibilities

• Comprehensive general operational management of the area office;
• Coordinate, facilitate and prioritize all operational tasking for MA within the area office;
• Responsible for all aspects of mine action related activities carried out by staff under your supervision and control;
• Oversee and coordinate the implementation, execution and completion of all mine action related operations within the area office;
• Oversee the supervision of contracts with all mine action partners to ensure contractual conformity;
• The maintenance, revision and updating of the Standard Working Procedures;
• Ensure close and effective interaction and coordination of the integral aspects of mine action, such as QA, Mine Victim Support and Mine Risk Education.
• When requested, act as the Investigating Officer for Detailed Independent Investigations or Boards of Inquiry for Mine/UXO Accidents or incidents;
• Debriefing the demining organizations on QA achievements and QA assessments and ensure that all QA assessment data is captured on IMSMA;
• Provide guidance on any specific corrective actions to be taken by demining organizations, following an inspection, which finds a critical non-conformity;
• Ensure proper maintenance of documentation for all inspected land;
• Responsible for control and security of explosives to be used by implementing partners;
• The implementation of a QA management system and ensure that the system is being applied in a fair and equitable manner, and that accreditation, licensing and monitoring does not interrupt or delay demining projects;
• Conduct routine on-site QA of Mine Action Organization operations (for monitoring and post clearance inspections) and as part of the Accreditation process;
• Understand the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS); ensure that Mine Action Organization Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) are in compliance with the IMAS and are conducting safe and effective Mine Action Operations;
• Depending on the role which this position will be assigned to within the project administration setup in a specific country/programme (i.e. office structure, DOAs, ATLAS functions, segregation of duties, etc.), the incumbent will have responsibilities determined by UNOPS rules and regulations embodied in its regulatory framework - Organizational Directives, Administrative Instructions and other documents as periodically issued and updated by UNOPS. Reporting lines with regards to compliance with UNOPS rules and regulations are ultimately to UNOPS Chief Mine Action Cluster through the respective Portfolio Manager. In addition, division of responsibilities when it comes to administrative processes in support of the programme objectives will be as determined for each country office and confirmed in writing by UNOPS Chief of Mine Action Cluster;
• Other tasks as directed by the Programme Manager and Chief of Operations.

Competencies

• Teamwork Skills – Strong interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relations with people in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity.
• Organising and Quality Orientation – Ability to manage, organize, plan and implement work assignments, juggle competing demands and work under pressure of frequent and tight deadlines.
• Decision Making – Demonstrated ability to apply good judgment and decision making skills.
• Communication Skills – Strong spoken and written communication skills.
• Creativity and Innovation – Strong analytical and problem solving skills and ability to handle a range of management and coordination issues.
• Ability to Learn – Willingness to keep abreast of new developments.
• Lives and Breathes UNOPS Values – Takes ownership for all responsibilities and honours commitments.

Education/Experience/Language requirements

• Advanced University Degree (Masters Degree or equivalent) with a minimum of 5 years of relevant experience; or a First Level University Degree (Bachelors Degree or equivalent) with a minimum of 7 years of relevant experience; or Military Experience (or relevant Police Experience) at the Senior NCO (Non-Commissioned Officer) or Officer level (or equivalent) with a minimum of 11 years of relevant experience; or if an applicant lacks both university qualifications and military experience he/she must have at least 11 years of experience with internationally recognized demining organizations.
• At least 5 years of experience in operations management (military or humanitarian mine action), of which 2 years have been proven and applicable experience in management of operations in humanitarian mine action;
• Proven experience with QA and QC process with regard to humanitarian mine action;
• Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) qualifications an advantage;
• A clear understanding of the interactions between the pillars and implementing partners involved in a humanitarian mine action programme;
• Professional knowledge of demining and explosives ordnance equipment;
• A solid understanding of counter mine measures/demining, or UXO clearance operations and related practices;
• Knowledge of the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) is essential;
• Knowledge of the UN system and UNOPS procedures is an asset;
• Computer literacy, in particular experience of using MS Office and IMSMA;
• Fluency in spoken and written English is a requirement, knowledge of a second UN language an advantage;
• Internationally recognized driving licence.

Contract type, level and duration

Contract type: Fixed Term Appointment (FTA) / Temporary Appointment (TA) / International Contractor Agreement (I-ICA)

Contract level: ICS-10: P3 FTA / P3 TA / I-ICA 2

Contract duration: Length of contract will depend on contract modality and funding availability.

For more details about United Nations staff contracts, please follow this link:

http://www.unops.org/english/whoweneed/contract-types/Pages/United-Nations-staff-contracts.aspx

For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link:

http://www.unops.org/ENGLISH/WHOWENEED/CONTRACT-TYPES/Pages/Individual-Contractor-Agreements-ICAs.aspx

Additional Considerations

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time (CET)
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a level below the advertised level of the post
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.