Head of External Relations CST II

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WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or disability.

 Vacancy Announcement №:832457

 Job Title: Head of External Relations CST II

Type of Contract: International Consultant (CST) II 

➡️ Unit / Division: Partnerships, Communication and OIM

   Duty Station: Chisinau, Moldova

➡️ Duration: 11 months (renewable) 

⏰ Closing date: April 22, 2024, midnight (Central European Time) 

❗❗ This is an international position, open to applicants around the world. Moldovan citizens are not eligible to apply.

Successful candidates will be placed on the roster and rostered applicants may be contacted in the upcoming 12 months on an as-needed basis, for immediate opportunities.

ABOUT WFP

The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity, for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change. 

 At WFP, people are at the heart of everything we do, and the vision of the future WFP workforce is one of diverse, committed, skilled, and high performing teams, selected on merit, operating in a healthy and inclusive work environment, living WFP’s values (Integrity, Collaboration, Commitment, Humanity, and Inclusion) and working with partners to save and change the lives of those WFP serves.   

To learn more about WFP, visit our website: UN World Food Programme (WFP) and follow us on social media to keep up with our latest news: YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter. 

What will you do in this position?

The objective of this position is to manage a team to drive WFP’s effective positioning with public, private and external partners to attract policy support, resources, technical assistance and innovative solutions to advance the work of WFP in Moldova and ensure the smooth functioning of the WFP Representative and Country Director’s Office. Under the direct guidance of WFP’s Representative and Country Director, the Head of External Relations will supervise a team to manage the day-to-day operational and administrative support of the Country Director and overall external relations, positioning, and strategic engagement of WFP Moldova.

Why work with us?

Since the beginning of the Ukraine refugee crisis in February 2022, WFP set up operations in Moldova to assist in the refugee response. To respond to the deepening vulnerabilities of the crisis-affected populations and to strengthen the government’s shock-responsive capacity, WFP has drafted a Transitional Interim Country Strategic Plan (T-ICSP), which outlines the activities in the country until August 2023. The TiCSP is likely to be followed by an Interim Country Strategic Plan (iCSP), with an anticipated duration of up to 2 years (end 2025.)

➡️ WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.  

➡️ WFP offers a highly inclusive, diverse and multicultural working environment.  

➡️ WFP invests in the personal & professional development of its employees through a range of trainings, accreditation, coaching, mentorship and other programs as well as through internal mobility opportunities.  

➡️ A career path in WFP provides an exciting opportunity to work across various country, regional and global offices around the world, and with passionate colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches millions of people across the globe. 

➡️   WFP offers a competitive benefits package including salary, leave plus a medical insurance. 

How can you make a difference?

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive, within delegated authority):

Executive Support
• Manage the Country Director’s front office to ensure the smooth implementation of management priorities.
• Support strategic positioning and advocacy, including preparation of strategic analysis, documents, options and guidance notes.
• Monitor global and regional conflicts and trends and their impact on Moldova. Provide regular short updates and reports to Country Director.
• Shape WFP Moldova’s contribution to corporate learning and innovation on optimizing WFP’s business model in ‘exiting responsibly’ in context of transitioning from responding to needs, to shifting the needs to national systems while strengthening the system.
• Proactively highlight strategic opportunities and issues to senior management and propose options.

Partnerships

• Coordinate the drafting of high-quality proposals and donor reporting documents, ensuring conditions and obligations of contribution agreements are met.
• Advise on national, bilateral- and multilateral processes and cooperation frameworks, and engaging and influencing government, stakeholders and other key actors on advancing WFP’s agenda.
• Design and support execution of external relations strategy and lead implementation in close collaboration with relevant CO units and colleagues.
• Facilitate corporate dialogue with partners through preparation of quality briefing materials and organizing necessary missions, meetings and engagements.
• Collate and assist in the dissemination of political and development analysis pertaining to WFP current or future responses and donor policies, trends and preferences to ensure country specific input to WFP’s operational reporting.
• Gather and share partner intelligence (including forecasting), using key information systems and assess results.

Communications
• Manage and implement communications plans that raise WFP’s profile and fundraising activities.
• Maintain and develop a contact list of journalists and media outlets and manage the regular flow of news/information about WFP’s work to the media, ensuring reputational risks are identified and managed.
• Coordinate and oversee the production of donor specific visibility products, ensuring consistency with corporate messages, and technical WFP Moldova documents, across various communication products.
• Track and analyze traditional and online media, to identify trends and/or issues, and propose solutions and ideas to improve the effectiveness of communication strategy and activities.

Reporting
• Provide technical advice, governance and oversight on the integration of Operational Information Management policies and guidance into established systems to drive the quality, consistency and standardization of information management.
• Collaborate with counterparts internally and with other UN agencies to ensure consistency in humanitarian information and to complement WFP analysis and information.
• Collaborate with counterparts in WFP Divisions, supporting performance of activities and ensuring an aligned and consistent approach to information management, analysis and performance reporting.
• Support the Annual Country Report (ACR) for the Annual Reporting Exercise in collaboration with the relevant functions to coordinate and ensure coherence and quality of information.

General:
• Manage a team of national officers (partnership, communication) and other (general support staff), providing coaching and guidance as required to ensure appropriate development and enable high performance.
• Represent WFP in inter-agency, UN Country Team, donor forums and events.
• Other duties as required.

To join us in saving and changing lives, you have:

Education: Master’s degree in a relevant field, or a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field additional years of related work experience and/or training/courses.

Experience: With a master’s degree, at least 8 years of progressively responsible related experience with a background / interest in international development and humanitarian work specifically or 10 years of relevant experience with a bachelor’s degree.

• Experience in reporting and partnerships activities is required.
• Experience designing and/or managing resource mobilization processes and resource strategies, negotiated contract terms and provided resourcing advice to senior management is required.
• Experience in a field context, country office, or similar is required.
• Experience in political economy analysis is desirable.
• Experience managing a front office is desirable.

Language: Fluency in English is required (read, write, speak). Knowledge of Romanian, Russian and/or Ukrainian language is an asset.

Before you apply…

WFP seeks candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our humanitarian principles. All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.  

We aim to achieve parity in our teams in Moldova. Qualified women applicants are especially encouraged to apply.  

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

How do you apply…

To be considered, you are invited to apply via WFP’s recruitment portal. CV and cover letter must be submitted in English language. 

Only those who are short-listed candidates will be contacted for the next steps of our recruitment process.  

We also encourage you to create your candidate profile and set up WFP job alerts to learn more about all the opportunities available to join us and make a difference in the lives of the people we serve.    

WFP Leadership Framework

These are the shared standards of behavior that guide how we work together to accomplish our mission.

Behavioral expectations vary depending on your rank and role/responsibility within WFP.

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WFP has a zero-tolerance approach to conduct such as fraud, sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to WFP’s standards of conduct and will therefore undergo rigorous background verification internally or through third parties. Selected candidates will also be required to provide additional information as part of the verification exercise. Misrepresentation of information provided during the recruitment process may lead to disqualification or termination of employment

WFP will not request payment at any stage of the recruitment process including at the offer stage. Any requests for payment should be refused and reported to local law enforcement authorities for appropriate action.