UNOPS

The UNOPS Global Portfolios Office (GPO) unites the New York Portfolios, including the Peace and Security team (PSC); the Geneva Office; and the Vienna-based Water, Environment and Climate (WEC) teams, to maximize global impact, foster efficiencies and streamline global programmes. Leveraging our collective expertise and networks, GPO supports UNOPS' strategic priorities and the SDGs across over 130 countries. We deliver project management, fund management, advisory services, project implementation, and HR services, working closely with major global partners. Our thematic focus includes sustainable development, climate action, health, peace & security, and humanitarian action.

UNOPS Development and Special Initiatives team works with UN partners and Member States. This portfolio offers support for various initiatives and priorities of the UN Secretary-General in pursuit of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. Additionally, it helps the UN Secretariat in implementing global programs in areas such as political affairs, climate, counterterrorism and peacebuilding, among others.

The Rising Nations Initiative (RNI) is a Member States-led initiative supported by DSI, guided by a core group of champions, including the Pacific atoll countries. Officially launched on 28 September 2022, its objective is to press forward efforts towards protecting the statehood of Pacific atoll countries, preserving their sovereignty, and safeguarding the rights and heritage of affected populations. In this regard, the RNI aims to mobilize the needed political momentum for prompt action at all levels to highlight the climate emergency facing the Pacific atoll countries and inspire global and local action, including through intergovernmental processes of the United Nations. 

The Rising Nations Initiative (RNI) is a Member States-led initiative supported by DSI, guided by a core group of champions, including the Pacific atoll countries. Officially launched on 28 September 2022, its objective is to press forward efforts towards protecting the statehood of Pacific atoll countries, preserving their sovereignty, and safeguarding the rights and heritage of affected populations. In this regard, the RNI aims to mobilize the needed political momentum for prompt action at all levels to highlight the climate emergency facing the Pacific atoll countries and inspire global and local action, including through intergovernmental processes of the United Nations. 

In collaboration with the German Archaeological Institute (DAI), the RNI is supporting the Government of Tuvalu in developing an online repository of Tuvaluan culture and heritage. Through systematic collection management, integration of dispersed Tuvaluan archives worldwide, and the respectful inclusion of oral traditions and intangible knowledge, the project safeguards invaluable cultural resources for future generations. The initiative will enable Tuvaluan communities to become custodians of their own narratives, while fostering partnerships with global institutions, expanding access for scholars and the public, and positioning Tuvalu as a leader in digital heritage preservation. Ultimately, the Repository strengthens cultural resilience, promotes knowledge-sharing, and ensures that Tuvaluan identity and memory remain visible, accessible, and vibrant in the digital era.

Under the umbrella of the secretariat and board of the Rising Nations Initiative, whose secretariat is hosted at UNOPS, the Project Management Support Specialist / Digital Collections Archivist will be responsible for supporting the Project Lead on the implementation of the Tuvalu Online Repository Project. The incumbent will develop the collections-management guide; map museums and libraries holding Tuvaluan artifacts; contribute to building and maintaining partnerships with these institutions; and support the development of the repository database, including through the transfer of existing photographs and videos, as well as the production of new visual documentation of Tuvaluan artifacts housed in these collections.

S/he will report to the Head of the Rising Nations Initiative Secretariat. The incumbent is expected to contribute directly to the timely, high-quality, and on-budget delivery of activities in accordance with established project timelines.

Required: 

• A Bachelor’s Degree in Museum/Culture Heritage Studies or a related subject area, with a focus on managing or preserving culture heritage, in combination with seven (7) years of relevant experience, is required. 

Desired: 

• A Master’s Degree (or equivalent) in the above area, in combination with five (5) years of relevant experience, is highly desirable.

Required:

• Relevant experience is defined as progressively responsible experience in archival or museum collections management and/or digital curation, including contributions across project design and implementation support.

• Demonstrated practice applying archival and metadata standards for analog and born-digital materials, such as Dublin Core, MARC21, EAD3, RDA, PREMIS, and controlled vocabularies/authority files; ability to design workflow and quality-control for ingest, description, and long-term access/preservation is required. 

• Hands-on experience working with digital asset/collections systems (e.g., CollectiveAccess, ArchivesSpace, TMS, Omeka S, ResourceSpace or comparable), and collaborating with IT to stand-up repositories aligned to sustainability and data-sovereignty principles (e.g., OAIS-aligned approaches, role-based access, audit, and backups) is required.

• Experience contributing to public-facing portals/UX and multi-lingual presentations that enable community contributions (uploads, tagging/commenting), working with web designers and product teams is required.

• Demonstrated ability to work within community-led initiatives and respectful handling of traditional knowledge/intangible heritage is required. 

Desired:

• Experience liaising with museums/archives to obtain existing images/video, commissioning new photography/videography, and negotiating rights/permissions (copyright, donor agreements, use and reproduction, culturally sensitive content) is desirable.

• Experience designing or supporting oral-history programs (collection protocols, consent, transcription, metadata, and ethical access), ideally in collaboration with communities, is desirable.

• Work experience in Tuvalu or Polynesia is desirable.

• Working-level proficiency in Tuvaluan or another Polynesian language (e.g., Samoan, Tongan) is desirable.

• 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. 
• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority 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. 
• 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.