Portfolio Senior Manager

UNOPS Horn of Africa Multi-Country Office is recruiting for this position: Portfolio Senior Manager to be based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (Family Duty Station)


Qualified females and candidates from underrepresented groups in UNOPS are highly encouraged to apply.

The Horn of Africa MCO is looking for a  Portfolio Senior Manager for its Transactional Unit.  The position is located in Addis Ababa Ethiopia and responsible for managing and delivering projects across the 4 Countries in the MCO: Ethiopia, Djibouti, South Sudan and Sudan.

The Portfolio Senior  Manager is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Transactional Unit which has a mission to support partners achieve the SDGs by delivering High Quality, Transparent, Cost-Efficient, Timely and Sustainable support solutions in the areas of Procurement, Logistics and HR  services.  The Transactional Unit implements its mandate across three main service offerings: (a) Turnkey Procurement and Supply Chain Management Projects, (b) Management and Delivery of HR Services to our Partners, and (c) Support to other projects across the MCO with Procurement and supply chain management services.

The Portfolio Senior Manager  will be responsible for managing the relevant portfolio of projects, including their delivery, issues and risks. This will require that s/he prepares and follows up on implementation plans, and oversees the status of various procurement and supply-chain activities.

The project(s) rely on a number of external partners and suppliers for its successful delivery, who are expected to work with firm deadlines. The incumbent is responsible for managing all aspects of the project life cycle, as well as these partners/supplier and  must be able to apply, independently, the below duties and responsibilities of the project success criteria.

The Portfolio Senior Manager reports to the  Programme Management Office Team Leader and Country Programme Coordinator, and will be responsible for the following duties.

Portfolio Management and Leadership

• Responsible for developing and leading the implementation of the business plan for the Transactional Unit.
• Defines and implements a partner engagement and satisfaction plan for the unit.
• Develops and maintains tools and reports on quality and performance metrics for the Transactional Unit.
• Holds the role of Project Executive for the Transactional Unit.
• Plans and manages the required resources for the Transactional Unit (both human and financial).
• Promotes an integrated and harmonized approach to delivery within the portfolio, aligned with the strategic plan of the multi-country office.
• Leads and motivates the portfolio team.
• Establishes clear behavioral expectations for team members.
• Ensures that performance reviews are conducted fairly, accurately, and on time.
• Selects, recruits, and trains the team as needed, taking into account gender parity and diversity objectives.
• Ensures safety and security for all project personnel, in compliance with UNDSS standards.
• Fosters a culture of respect and zero tolerance for discrimination, abuse of authority, harassment, sexual harassment, and sexual exploitation and abuse. Holds individuals accountable for their actions and ensures duties are performed in accordance with UNOPS policies, standards, and commitment to protection mechanisms.
• Integrates lessons learned and best practices into new Engagement Acquisitions.
• Promotes UNOPS services by building a network of key partners and staying informed about market, social, economic, and political trends. Demonstrates innovation in service delivery.
• Proactively cultivates and maintains relationships with partners (e.g., governments, country offices, international funding institutions) and contributes to recurrent partnerships.
• Advises and supports the preparation of proposals for new engagements in alignment with the Strategic Direction of the Multi-Country Office and Region.
• Participates in negotiating cost-effective and mutually beneficial terms for UNOPS services with prospective clients and partners.

Portfolio Delivery and Performance

• Oversees the preparation of project initiation documents (PIDs), Legal Agreements, and develops a thorough understanding of the terms, conditions, and respective roles and responsibilities of the partners/stakeholders to ensure that project deliverables meet the business cases for both UNOPS and the client.
• Oversees and ensures the development, completion, and updates of implementation plans.
• Leads the implementation of approved plans (including the establishment of milestones) within tolerances set by the Project Board.
• Embeds sustainability dimensions (including social and gender inclusion, environmental, and economic aspects) throughout the project lifecycle.
• Oversees the management of required outputs, ensuring progress and resource utilization are on track, and initiates corrective actions when necessary.
• Ensures that the quality of project work packages and deliverables complies with the quality requirements outlined in the Implementation Plans.
• Liaises with external suppliers or account managers.
• Ensures the acceptance and delivery of work packages.
• Monitors the progress of projects within the portfolio to ensure that work packages are executed properly.
• Implements project and work package changes as needed.
• Ensures that goods and services delivered by suppliers are accepted.
• Leads contract management duties, including supplier performance evaluation.
• Identifies and anticipates potential risks and issues in a timely manner and advises senior management/Project Board on mitigation measures to maximize benefits for partners and stakeholders.
• Identifies and supports potential business opportunities for UNOPS.

Procedures

• Complies with all organizational policies, specifically the Project Management Manual.
• Prepares/adapts all relevant plans for approval by the Project Board.
• Manages the reporting obligations defined in the Legal Agreement(s) and Implementation Plans.
• Drafts the requirements for procurement processes, approves requisitions and requests for non-purchase order payments, and evaluates submissions if appointed to the evaluation team.
• Ensures proper maintenance of project files and records lessons learned.
• Develops and implements project financial management guidelines and control mechanisms in compliance with UNOPS rules and regulations.
• Manages budgets, cash flow, and obligations to ensure deliverables are met, and that payments to contractors and personnel are processed on time.
• Understands and manages UNOPS overheads, allocable charges, and related corporate charges as they apply to the project.
• Understands the unique structures of the UN and budgets appropriately for personnel.
• Manages expenditures against the budget based on accurate financial reports.
• If the Portfolio Senior Manager does not have delegation as a committing officer, they retain these responsibilities and will monitor and instruct others to carry out the relevant commitments and disbursements.
• For project closure, ensures the formal handover of projects in the portfolio to the closure manager.
• Supports project audit activities, including planning, preparation, coordination during audits, and follow-up on audit observations/recommendations.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Establishes solid working relationships with the project board (Executive, Senior Users, and Senior Suppliers), clients, and key stakeholders.
• Develops stakeholder profiles and facilitates the formulation of stakeholder engagement strategies.
• Assists in formulating project communication plans and coordinates internal project communications.
• Monitors the effectiveness of project communications and ensures that stakeholders are informed about project activities, progress, exceptions, and are ready to accept handover products.
• Coordinates stakeholder engagement and communication, ensuring effective timing and interdependency management of communications.
• Advises clients on issues that may impact the achievement of their outcomes, including sustainability and post-project requirements (e.g., maintenance).
• Ensures stakeholders are kept informed of project activities, progress, exceptions, and are prepared to accept handover outputs.

Monitoring and Reporting

• Prepares and issues regular project and/or financial reports in accordance with partner and UNOPS requirements.
• Regularly reviews project status, evaluating performance criteria (scope, cost, schedule, and quality).
• Maintains diaries and progress reports as required by the organization’s standard procedures.
• Provides routine oversight and analysis of delivery data within the dashboard system.
• Ensures that all project team members track and regularly update milestones and targets throughout the project lifecycle.

Quality Assurance

• Collaborates with internal stakeholders to ensure projects comply with audit requirements.
• Works with procurement/purchasing staff to ensure effective interfaces with suppliers’ quality systems.
• Coordinates quality reviews of project documents and deliverables.
• Provides quality control for management outputs (e.g., project documents, reports).

Knowledge Management and Innovation

• Encourages the routine and effective conduct of capacity-building activities to build the long-term and sustainable capacity of staff.
• Actively engages with other Portfolio, Programme, and Project Managers, and the wider PM community to share case studies, lessons learned, and best practices.
• Contributes to the oversight of lessons learned procedures, ensuring timely and appropriate sharing of lessons learned. Participates in relevant Communities of Practice.
• Researches and logs lessons learned throughout the project lifecycle.
• Provides feedback to Practice Groups on policy and supporting guidance to contribute to the continuous improvement of UNOPS policies.

Impacts of results
The Portfolio Senior Manager directly impacts project results by adhering to project management methodologies and strategies, reducing risks, cutting costs, and improving success rates. This reinforces the visibility and image of UNOPS as an effective service provider in project services and management and strengthens its competitive position as a partner of choice in sustainable development and project services.