WFP recruits a Partnerships Officer

WFP is hiring a Partnerships Officer

Background and purpose of the assignment

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes. Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need.

This position is with WFP’s Regional Bureau for West and Central Africa, based in Dakar, Senegal. The Regional Bureau provides policy guidance, oversight and technical assistance to 19 Country Offices in the region.

The job holder drives WFP’s effective positioning with partners to attract policy support, resources, technical assistance and innovative solutions to advance the work of WFP in achieving the SDGs and Zero Hunger together with its partners. The position reports to the Head of Partnerships unit and operates across the assigned area as described below and work independently, using technical knowledge and experiences. In particular, this position provides policy guidance as well as operational and technical support to the 19 Country Offices in the region while also leading the partnership portfolio with the regional partners. These partners can include governments, UN agencies, intergovernmental institutions and their member states, international financial institutions, individuals, corporations, foundations and NGOs.

Accountabilities/Responsibilities (within delegated authority):

Share corporate partnership strategies, normative guidance and standards with the Country Offices and ensure that they are adhered to.
Support the development of partnerships strategies by the Country Offices by providing both strategic and technical advice.
Proactively support Country Offices in their partner engagement and fundraising efforts by supporting their partnership landscape analysis and sharing good practices.
Provide technical advice and assistance to the Country Offices throughout the process of fundraising and fund management, including advocacy, preparation of proposals and agreements, grant negotiation and contribution management as well as reporting, taking into account corporate norms, processes, legal agreements and external regulations; Ensure quality control of content by engaging with relevant functional units and HQ.
Ensure the proper sharing of necessary knowledge and skills among the Partnerships Officers in the region, by organizing webinars, facilitating knowledge sharing, and supporting organization of regional workshops.
Support the Head of Unit and the Regional Bureau management in positioning WFP at the regional level by proactively highlight strategic opportunities and issues, preparing quality brief, and support the preparation of external events and meetings.
Coordinate with other units and Country Offices to consolidate regional partner proposals and reports, as well as manage operational communication with regional partners.
Provide coaching and guidance to junior staff to enable high performance of the unit.
Contribute to corporate planning and reporting processes, by providing technical recommendations and guidance.
Other duties as required.

Qualifications & Experience required

Education: Advanced University degree in Political Science, International affairs, / Humanitarian / Development studies, Marketing, Public relations or any other relevant areas, or First University degree with additional years of related work experience.
Experience: At least three (3) years of relevant professional experiences in partnerships management in the humanitarian or development operations.

Knowledge & Skills

External partnership / relationship management
Resource mobilisation including preparation of proposals and reports
Excellent written and spoken communication skills
Information management, Analytics & Reporting
Experience with / knowledge of WFP operation is an asset

Languages: Fluency in English (mandatory) and French (strongly preferred)

Female applicants and qualified applicants from developing countries are especially encouraged to apply

WFP has zero tolerance for discrimination and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status.

No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if a suitable candidate is found.