Director, Knowledge, Innovation and Foresight

The Partnerships and Futures Group (PFG) is responsible for strengthening and expanding UNOPS partnerships and building knowledge, innovation and foresight capabilities through eight non-programmatic, thematic 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 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.

Reporting to the Director, Partnerships and Futures Group (PFG), the Director, Knowledge, Innovation and Foresight (KIF) leads and manages a team of professionals with technical expertise in knowledge and innovation, foresight, and the following 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 Director provides strategic leadership and direction, ensures coherence across the KIF function and drives the integration of knowledge, innovation and foresight through missions, helping to align partnership development, opportunity development, service offering refinement and service delivery. In doing so, the role strengthens UNOPS ability to anticipate and respond to partner needs and emerging trends, driving mission readiness and accelerating progress toward the SDGs.

Strategic Alignment and Direction

Define and lead the overarching strategic and operational priorities for Knowledge, Innovation and Foresight in alignment with UNOPS multi-year strategic plan.

Elevate knowledge, innovation and foresight capabilities within corporate planning and standard-setting processes, working closely with relevant groups and offices across UNOPS.

Contribute to shaping UNOPS organizational strategies and priorities by advising the Director, PFG and participating in senior management discussions on current and future operations.

Mission Leadership

Provide strategic oversight and direction across the missions, supervising a team of technical experts, and ensuring coherence, quality and impact across all mission areas.

Strengthen UNOPS positioning and visibility across mission thematic areas, representing the missions collectively at senior level and supporting mission leads in their role as UNOPS principal focal points and thought leaders for assigned missions.

Work closely with the Head, Strategic Partnerships to ensure mission-led intent is embedded within partner segment strategies, key partner strategies, and partner-facing materials.

Oversee the integration of knowledge, innovation and foresight through missions, helping to align partnership development, opportunity development, service offering refinement and service delivery and reinforcing mission readiness.

Knowledge and Innovation

Set strategic direction and supervise a team of technical experts in the development and operation of knowledge and innovation frameworks, systems, processes, tools and organizational linkages across UNOPS.

Ensure knowledge and learning systems enable the codification of service offerings to support refinement and standardization, driving scale up and speed up of delivery for impact for beneficiaries.

Ensure UNOPS knowledge and learning is positioned within the wider UN learning ecosystem, contributing to and drawing from inter-agency platforms and communities.

Ensure that internal knowledge and learning are linked with long-term external perspectives and trends through foresight, supporting ideation and driving innovation.

Set strategic direction for innovation across UNOPS, ensuring that innovation processes for ideation, testing and progression to service offering and delivery are connected to mission thematic areas, knowledge, learning, and foresight.

Champion a culture of experimentation and learning across PFG and the wider organization.

Ensure innovation capabilities are built across UNOPS through training, business partnering and communities of practice.

Foresight

Set strategic direction for foresight, supervising a foresight personnel and ensuring that horizon scanning, trend analysis and scenario planning inform UNOPS positioning, mission readiness and partnership development.

Oversee the establishment and continuous improvement of foresight mechanisms that involve internal and external parties, including other UN agencies and external bodies.

People Leadership

Create, foster and role model a culture of trust, empowerment and accountability in the KIF team.

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.

Plan, recruit, manage and develop a flexible and diverse workforce, with the skills and competencies needed to ensure optimum performance.

Required

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in international development, business administration, public policy, economics, political science, futures studies or a related discipline with 12 years of relevant experience OR

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in any of the above or related fields with 10 years of relevant experience is required

Desired

• Formal training or certification in strategic foresight/futures thinking, innovation management/design thinking, leadership and organizational transformation, or knowledge management systems

Required

• Extensive senior leadership experience in international or similarly complex organizations with a strong track record in advising senior decision-makers and leading interdisciplinary teams of technical experts.

• Demonstrated experience of designing and implementing initiatives in at least two of the following areas: knowledge management and organizational learning, innovation, and/or strategic foresight, including developing organizational infrastructure to support these functions and integrating these capabilities into operations across organizations.

• Proven experience overseeing complex portfolios and thematic areas, linking strategy to delivery and partnerships, and representing organizations externally through partnerships, senior-level engagement, and thought leadership.

• Experience of working in multicultural environments.

Desired

• Experience in development or humanitarian contexts.

• Experience of 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.