Case Story - Leveraging Blue Line learning offerings for leadership capacity-building

Partner

United Nations Office for Project Services

Background

The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) provides infrastructure, procurement and project management services for a more sustainable world. Its meaningful technical expertise supports countries in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, maximizing the positive impact of their peace and security, humanitarian and development projects in over 80 countries worldwide.

UNOPS has been collaborating with the Blue Line – UNSSC's unique and global online learning hub - since August 2022 to offer all its personnel - both in headquarters and country offices - the opportunity to embrace lifelong learning, access content covering a broad range of topics of interest for the UN System, and join a growing community of 50 thousand UN learners.

Since they hold a corporate subscription to the Blue Line, UNOPS has decided to leverage the option of tailoring the platform’s courses and learning paths to their needs, creating a unique learning and development initiative and enabling collective intelligence.

Now on its third edition, UNOPS has developed the Aspiring People Leaders Certification, a blended training solution that combines internal webinars, forums, and discussions with Blue Line’s self-paced modules.

Objectives

The programme aims at building leadership-capacity among personnel, creating a tailored learning path that:

  • Develops and enhances skills, knowledge and competencies necessary to become, in future, an effective people leader.
  • Equips UNOPS’ personnel who do not yet formally supervise others with some of the essential tools needed to make a positive impact in the organization.
  • Enables the sharing of experiences among participants globally and the expansion of their network.

Audience

The Aspiring People Leaders Certification is open to all UNOPS’ personnel (GS/IP/ICA contract holders) who do not yet hold a formal supervisory function but have expressed an aspiration for leadership.

Learning solution:

This programme is divided into different “chapters”, all characterized by a distinct theme. Participants are encouraged to attend workshops with subject-matter experts, engage in breakout-room activities, and discuss the different topics.

  1. Chapter 1: Introduction to Leadership

Blue Line courses: Introduction to Ethical Leadership & Leveraging Diversity in the Workplace

  1. Chapter 2: Leading Self and Others

Blue Line courses: Transformational Leadership - Leading Self & Transformational Leadership - Leading Others

  1. Chapter 3: Communication & Relationship-building

Blue Line courses: Mastering the art of active listening & Empathy: Your Leadership Superpower

At the end of the programme, participants are invited to a graduation ceremony where they receive their certifications and attend a Leadership Insights Virtual Roundtable. - an interactive online event held during the graduation ceremony where two UNOPS leaders come together with the graduates to discuss the key leadership topics of the certification, sharing insights, exchanging ideas, and responding to questions. Throughout the course, participants are also offered numerous networking and social learning opportunities, as well as the opportunity to reach out to “people leaders” across the organization for leadership guidance.

Outcome

Now on its 3rd cohort, the programme counts over 600 graduates, with an impressive 82 per cent completion rate, of which 65.7 per cent female.

82.8 per cent of participants are located outside of headquarters, , and 71 per cent are national personnel on local contracts – accurately reflecting UNOPS’ personnel demographics and leadership potential.

By leveraging Blue Line:

  1. We offered personnel a unique blend of the UN system-wide perspective provided by the Blue Line, paired with a closer focus on corporate dynamics within UNOPS.
  2. After completing the course, participants can continue their learning journey on the Blue Line, accessing content that reinforces and expands on key takeaways from the training.
  3. We fostered a training culture that embodies the UN System Leadership Framework.

Set a scalable and cost-effective example for future training initiatives

Partner Feedback
Xavier Mussgnug
Senior HR Assistant - Learning and Development, UNOPS

"When you have a corporate subscription, the development process for learning paths on UNSSC’s Blue Line requires few resources and can be tailored entirely to our organizational needs. The impact for personnel is high and it truly fosters individuals’ aspirations. The modules available serve as an UN-wide learning foundation that can then be applied to organization-specific knowledge, so to build upon Blue Line’s training gives the opportunity to showcase a baseline, and then add nuances specific to each agency.“

Kirsten Fonager
HR Specialist, Learning and Talent Management, UNOPS

“One of our main objectives was to build interaction and community. What is great about UNSSC’s Blue Line is that personnel can interact, read answers from other colleagues, and build a community that goes beyond country offices and even agencies.  Having a common learning space among the UN system means everyone gets acquainted with the same terminology, colleagues can share experiences with one another, and certifications are recognized across agencies.”