Risk Management Advisor

Background Information and organizational context

The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Mandated as a central resource of the United Nations, UNOPS provides sustainable project management, procurement and infrastructure services to a wide range of governments, donors and United Nations organizations.

UNOPS operating environment and projects are inherently risky. This makes risk management a core competence for UNOPS and a fundamental part of its Governance framework. Risk management is integral to the way UNOPS strategy is set and implemented, ensuring It is aligned with UN values, Sustainable Development Goals as well as UNOPS mandate and capabilities.

Chief Risk Officer (CRO), reporting to the Executive Office and in charge of a dedicated Risk Unit, develops the corporate risk management strategy and oversees the development and implementation of coherent and robust corporate risk management approaches, frameworks and tools. Within the umbrella of risk management, the Risk Unit oversees the functional domains of enterprise risk, information security, internal control and risk transfer.

The Risk Unit’s role is to enable and oversee that the organization’s strategy and key decisions are risk-informed, and that portfolio risk exposures are escalated and addressed in a timely and effective manner. Key to this is ensuring that appropriate risk management requirements are incorporated into Policies, procedures, processes, roles, contractual arrangements and IT systems, and to the way It engages with its stakeholders. Risks are evaluated on the basis of their potential impacts on the achievement of the set contribution goals, specific project targets and internal performance indicators and finally how they may impact the reputation of UNOPS, the UN and our wider stakeholders.

Functional Responsibilities

Under the guidance of the CRO, the Risk Management Advisor is responsible for reviewing and continuously improving capabilities specific to Policies, processes, roles, technologies, offices and project delivery contexts. The position holder is expected to provide strategic advice on integrating risk management into planning, decision making and performance management frameworks. To build capacity and drive tangible improvements, they will lead implementation support initiatives for the regional organization and corporate functions, as agreed with line management and local leadership. In carrying out their duties, the Risk Management Advisor is responsible for managing, guiding and quality assuring the work of junior colleagues as well as actively building a global network of risk management focal points.

Strategic risk management advice

• In assessing framework improvement needs, lead reviews of Policies, processes, Terms of References and Key Performance Indicators of business-critical roles, as well as UNOPS risk taxonomy and risk assessment criteria. Ensure active collaboration with regional and field offices, Policy owners, functional subject matter experts, strategy and change units as well as Internal Audit as part of initiative deployment.
• Coordinate organization-wide analysis of requirements for risk reporting and IT systems, and guide the organization in using artificial intelligence for risk analysis.
• Deliver, and guide others in the analysis of, complex portfolio-wide risk exposures and develop risk scenarios ranging from strategic to operational themes.
• Coordinate – and provide advice to senior management such as Regional Directors, Country Directors, Engagement Acceptance Committee members – on decision analysis methods to support high-quality partnership, engagement and investment commitments.
• Work with senior management and corporate functions in rolling out threshold-based risk escalation protocols and map those to performance metrics. Perform quality assurance of Management Team level risk metrics.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of risk responses and perform post-mortem analysis of realized incidents.
• Support UNOPS Insurance Advisor(s) in optimizing risk transfer strategy
• Delivery of these activities may require frequent travel between UNOPS HQ and project offices around the world.

Capacity building and knowledge management

• The Risk Management Advisor shall provide risk management training, coaching and facilitation support to UNOPS and its regional offices.
• The capacity-building activities may cover but are not limited to the following topics: risk modelling and quantification using Monte Carlo analysis, cause-and-effect analysis, data analytics for improved risk intelligence and Key Risk Indicator (KRI) development, reporting dashboards, awareness of cognitive biases, risk-informed decision analysis, Business Impact Analysis (BIA), mitigation planning and risk transfer strategy.
• Key to success in the role will be ensuring a field-focused approach, and fostering a global Community-of-Practice (CoP) for effective knowledge transfer and capturing of lessons learned.

Team management

• The position holder will define annual work plans and objectives for team members under management, and hold individuals accountable for the achievement of set targets.
• Support risk unit’s talent acquisition activities from role descriptions to candidate evaluation and onboarding.
• Coach and assure the quality of work of Specialists and Analysts in the team
• Set and foster a positive can-do attitude
• Provide peer review support for other Advisors in the Risk unit

The position holder is expected to provide regular updates on progress on priorities agreed with the CRO and hold themselves and any reports accountable for effectively carrying out the appointed duties.

Impact of Results

The successful achievement of results by the incumbent directly affects UNOPS ability to deliver against its mandate and protects UNOPS reputation. The role is imperative to the effective management of risks on an enterprise-wide basis, the quality of key decisions made under uncertainty, impacting the visibility and image of the UNOPS as an effective service provider in project services and management and consequently strengthening its competitive position as a partner of choice.

Education/Experience/Language requirements

Education

• An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or PhD) preferably in Risk Management, physics, mathematics, engineering, finance, accounting or related fields;
• A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s degree or equivalent) with a minimum of two (2) additional years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree;

Experience

• A minimum of seven (7) years (or more depending on academic credentials) of experience in the design, development, and deployment of risk management programs
• Experience in working with senior leadership to support risk-informed decision-making, and driving cultural change in risk management (required)
• Experience in risk analysis, using quantitative and qualitative methods (required)
• Experience in facilitating cross-functional collaboration and managing projects (required)
• Experience in embedding risk management into functional Policies on program and project management, procurement, investments and financial management, HR and IT (desirable)
• Experience in using enterprise systems for risk management (desirable)
• Experience in evaluating and experimenting with artificial intelligence-based solutions to problem-solving (desirable)
• Experience in globally operating development and/or project-based organizations (desirable)

Languages

• Fluent in English
• Spanish and/or French considered an advantage

Certifications

• Certifications in risk management (such as IRM or RIMS) and decision quality (such as SDRM Certificate) are considered an advantage