Capacity Building Advisor

The UNOPS Global Portfolios Office (GPO) brings together diverse expertise to help partners deliver impact worldwide. With hubs in New York, Geneva, and Vienna, and expert teams operating globally, GPO leads multi-regional initiatives that advance sustainable development, climate action, and peacebuilding - including in some of the world’s most challenging environments. By leveraging our collective expertise and global networks, GPO supports UNOPS’ strategic priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals across more than 130 countries. We work closely with major global partners - including governments, international financial institutions, and UN agencies - to deliver a wide range of services, such as project management, fund management, hosting services, and HR support.

The New York Portfolios Office (NYPO) manages UNOPS' New York-based portfolios, delivering project and programme management, procurement, HR, and financial services to global partners, from the UN Secretariat to Member States. NYPO strategically positions UNOPS with these partners, fostering collaboration to achieve growth and leveraging expertise in global portfolio design and implementation. We support the broader SDGs and 2030 Agenda, primarily assisting the UN Secretariat and other New York-based UN entities with a global reach. NYPO encompasses the Peace and Security Cluster (PSC), focusing on explosive threat management, and the Sustainable Development Cluster (SDC), providing diverse operational support to the UN system in New York.

Background: UNMAS Syria Response 

Operating under the mandate of Security Council resolution 2165 (renewed in 2017 with SCR 2393), UNMAS deployed the Syria Response Programme (SRP) at the request of the Deputy Regional Humanitarian Coordinator in August 2015 and subsequently activated the Mine Action Sub Cluster under the Protection Cluster to address the impact of explosive hazards within Syria. UNMAS is the lead agency for the Mine Action Sub Cluster for the Syria Response. Established in Damascus since 2018, following the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Syrian Arab Republic, UNMAS strives to expand humanitarian mine action in Syria, with the aim of responding to high humanitarian needs. This includes humanitarian mine action activities prioritized in the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for Syria: risk education, victim assistance, survey and clearance.

The conflict in Syria has been characterized by the extensive use of explosive weapons, which resulted in large-scale explosive hazard contamination, with the presence of diversified types of ordnances. According to the Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) 2021 for Syria, 10.3 million people live in communities reporting explosive ordnance contamination; men, women, and children are exposed to the threat of grave injuries and death on a daily basis. Millions of people live with a permanent disability, and new conflict-related trauma cases lead to thousands of permanent disabilities requiring long-term and multi-dimensional support.

Background Information – UNMAS

The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) is the coordinator for Mine Action within the United Nations system, located within the Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions (OROLSI) at the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO). It chairs the Inter-Agency Coordination Group on Mine Action (IACG-MA) and is the lead of the Global Protection Cluster (GPC) Mine Action Area of Responsibility (MA AoR). Mine action comprises five areas of work: clearance, risk education, victim assistance, advocacy and stockpile destruction. The United Nations applies mine action expertise to an increasingly wide range of explosive hazards, from unexploded missiles, artillery shells, rockets, grenades and mortars, to unsafe and unsecured weapons and ammunition, improvised explosive devices and cluster bombs. UNMAS leads, coordinates and carries out efforts to mitigate these threats when mandated by the United Nations Security Council or, when requested by the Secretary-General or an affected country, often in response to a humanitarian emergency.

Background: UNMAS Syria 

UNMAS Syria, with its office based in Damascus, plays a central role in coordinating humanitarian mine action across Syria. UNMAS also actively supports the broader United Nations Country Team (UNCT) by enabling safe access for humanitarian and development operations. UNMAS also works closely with the Syrian Government which has designated the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management (MoEDM) as the national focal point for mine action. As part of its strategic support, UNMAS is actively coordinating advising on the establishment of a national mine action authority and mine action centre, by providing strategic and technical advice and developing a comprehensive roadmap for institutional development and technical capacity. In addition, UNMAS serves as the lead agency for the NA AoR in Syria, coordinating efforts under the broader humanitarian framework.

The Capacity Building Advisor will work under the overall supervision of the Head of Operations and will support the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management (MoEDM) and the Syrian National Mine Action Centre (NMAC) in developing sustainable national operational capacity for humanitarian mine action, in line with international standards and the objectives of the EU-funded project. The role will contribute to both field-level operational readiness and institutional strengthening, while ensuring continued effective coordination of the humanitarian mine action (HMA) sector.

Advice, Planning and Operational Capacity Development

• Support the development of the national mine action authority framework, including legal, policy, and institutional arrangements, in line with international mine action standards (IMAS).

• Design and oversee the implementation of a multi-year capacity-building workplan focused on strengthening national operational teams, ensuring alignment with EU project outputs, available funding, and implementation timelines.

• Contribute to the development of mine action management and operational capacities of national teams through the design, delivery, and coordination of delivery by other partners  of tailored training and mentoring programmes, including:

  • Survey and clearance operations

  • Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE)

  • Victim Assistance specific efforts

  • Quality management, information management, operational planning and oversight

  • Management of national mine action standards 

  • Safe use of PPE and technical equipment

• Support the structured provision and effective use of equipment and tools (including PPE and operational assets), ensuring that national teams are equipped to safely and effectively conduct mine action operations in the field.

• In collaboration with partners such as the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining, support the development of National Mine Action Standards (NMAS) and a national mine action strategy, ensuring they are operationally relevant and enable progressive national ownership.

• Advise on and support the establishment of a quality management system ,  and operational tasking mechanisms, enabling national authorities to progressively assume operational oversight responsibilities.

• Provide strategic, operational and technical advice to UNMAS Syria management on capacity-building approaches, sequencing, and delivery modalities, ensuring coherence between institutional strengthening and operational outputs.

• Provide targeted technical and operational support to the programme’s operations team, as required by the Head of Operations, to ensure alignment between capacity-building efforts and operational delivery on the ground.

• Ensure systematic tracking, documentation, analysis and reporting of capacity-building results, including progress toward operational readiness and self-reliance of national actors.

Sector Coordination and Transition to National Ownership

• Support UNMAS in continuing to coordinate the HMA sector, while progressively enabling the NMAC/MoEDM to assume a stronger leadership role within the MA AoR

• Facilitate the gradual transition of coordination functions to national counterparts by strengthening their capacity in:

  • Sector coordination mechanisms

  • Information management and reporting

  • Prioritisation and tasking of mine action activities

• Strengthen national information management systems within NMAC/MoEDM to ensure that data is collected, analysed, and shared in a transparent, accurate, and operationally useful manner, enabling national authorities to progressively lead evidence-based planning, prioritisation, and reporting of mine action activities.

• Support and progressively transition engagement with humanitarian and development sectors (e.g. shelter, WASH, infrastructure, early recovery) to national authorities, ensuring that NMAC/MoEDM is positioned to coordinate mine action in support of safe access and broader programme delivery across sectors.

Stakeholder Engagement and Partnership Building

• In support of the HPU and CMAP, manage strategic relationships with MoEDM, NMAC, and relevant national authorities, promoting ownership and sustainability of mine action structures.

• Engage with international and national mine action operators, UN agencies, and partners to ensure coordinated implementation of capacity-building activities and alignment with national priorities.

• Strengthen collaboration with key technical partners, including the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining and the MA AoR, to ensure coherence with global standards and best practices.

• Act as a collaborative team player, working closely across programme, operations, and support functions to ensure coherent and effective delivery of capacity-building and operational objectives.

Knowledge management 

• Establish and maintain systems to track capacity development progress, operational performance, and lessons learned.

• Develop and implement tools, templates, and guidance to support effective operational and capacity-building delivery.

• Promote learning and adaptive programming, ensuring lessons learned are systematically integrated into future planning and implementation.

People management 

• Ensure the effective planning, recruitment and development of a flexible workforce with the skills and competencies needed to ensure optimum performance, and ensure gender and geographical diversity.

• Lead and motivate the project team.

• Foster a positive work environment, respectful of both men and women, and ensure that the highest standards of conduct are observed.

• Have a thorough understanding of UNOPS personnel contract modalities (including ICA and Staff).

*Carry out any other related duties as needed.

Required

• Advanced university degree (master's degree or equivalent) with 7 years of relevant experience

OR

• First-level university degree (bachelor's degree or equivalent) with 9 years of relevant experience

OR 

• Secondary school diploma (high school or equivalent) with 13 years of relevant experience
• An Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD)  qualification from internationally military- and/or civilian-accredited training is required.

Desired

• Improvised Explosive Device Disposal (IEDD) qualification from internationally military- and/or civilian-accredited training is desired.

Required

• Relevant experience is defined as experience in the field of capacity building of National Mine Action Authorities.  

  • A minimum of seven years of humanitarian mine action technical experience is required

  • A minimum of three years of experience in advising and/or training National/Regional Authorities or National/Regional/Local NGO’s on mine action

  • Experience with quality management in humanitarian mine action is required.

Desired

• Experience in weapons and ammunition management is desired.

• Experience with an international HMA capacity-building organization is desired.

• Previous working experience in the Middle East is desired.

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. 
• Please note that 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. 
• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments. 
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. 
• UNOPS evaluates all applications based on the skills, qualifications and experience requirements outlined in the vacancy announcement. We are committed to considering all candidates in a fair and transparent manner, and we value diverse perspectives and experiences, including those of women, indigenous and racialized communities, individuals with diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.
• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

• 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 [link removed]. 
• For more details about the contract types, please click here. [link removed]
• 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.