Partnership Advisor

1. Integrated Partnerships Development Strategy

1. Partnerships Development and Stakeholder Engagement

1. Partner Relations and Inter-Agency Collaboration

1. Monitoring and Reporting

1. Project Identification, Formulation and Support for Project Offices

1. Team/ Unit Leadership

1. Knowledge Management and Innovation

1. Integrated Partnerships Development Strategy

• Under the direction of the Country Director, and in collaboration with the Senior Regional Advisor, Partnerships and Planning, lead the development of a comprehensive partnerships development strategy in line with UNOPS’s Strategic Plan, the regional strategy and the Country Office Plan. This includes country context, analyses of the regional and national development and humanitarian landscape, identification of main partners, and strategic positioning of UNOPS in the potential operational niches identified while considering and recommending changes in in-house capacity, typology of projects and availability of internal tools and knowledge resources.

• Collaborate closely with the Country Director and the Senior Regional Advisor, Partnerships and Planning in the development and execution of the country’s and regional partnerships strategies.

• Advise Office Senior Management Team on implementation of the partnerships strategy. 

• Advise and support Office Senior Management Team throughout the project development  planning process, including definition of high-priority partners, countries, sectors and service areas.

• Research and analyze specific donor strategies, programming priorities and political situations in order to identify potential funding opportunities appropriate to UNOPS’s strategy and mandate.

• Drive a disciplined approach across the partnerships functions to project and programme development which balances costs, risk, revenues and beneficiary impact within the mandate and spirit of the UN and UNOPS’ Pricing Policy.

Partnerships Development and Stakeholder Engagement

• Lead the partnerships team to develop, extend and maintain strong partnerships with key partners, including governments, UN agencies, donors, foundations, NGOs, foundations, academia, and the private sector. 

• Work closely with the Head of Programme (HoP), Head of Support Services (HoSS), Project/Programme Management Office (PMO) Manager, and technical experts at the country and regional level (gender & PSEA, environment, HSSE) to ensure new projects are developed by project managers and partnerships officers in tight coordination with programme and support services. 

• Develop and model the high standards of partnership positioning and development necessary to inspire and guide the partnerships officers in their work. 

• Work closely with communications to ensure the external positioning of UNOPS Office is aligned with the Office and Partnerships strategies. 

• Participate and lead in key partnership-building meetings and negotiations with donors and clients, ensuring that cost-effective and mutually beneficial terms are achieved for UNOPS’ services while ensuring systematic and timely follow-up on agreed actions. 

• Coordinate, advise, mentor and coach relevant partnerships and programme personnel at country, programme and project ensure aligned and coherent interactions with partners.

• Connect and collaborate with other peer, regional and HQ levels of partnerships to stay in touch with good practices and share and build UNOPS capabilities in partnerships development.

• Facilitate and/ or manage and lead meetings between Office management and key government representatives as and when required. 

• Plan and facilitate high-level meetings between UNOPS senior management and sub-regional/ country-level partners, including during key events such as conferences and other fora.

• Support partners in examining available options for effective project implementation and achievement of results while promoting national ownership.

• Showcase the Office’s capabilities and set Office standards for developing and distributing corporate communication materials, capacity statements and success stories which enhance clients’ understanding of the impact of various services provided and/ or delivered by UNOPS.

3. Partner Relations and Inter-Agency Collaboration

• As delegated, participate in meetings with senior government counterparts on behalf of UNOPS and represent the Country Director in meetings and negotiations with partners as required. 

• Participate in inter-agency planning and cluster/sector/results group meetings for the UN System development and humanitarian plans.

• Contribute at the sub-regional/ country level to the harmonization of policies, practices and approaches within the UN System, including the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF).

Monitoring and Reporting

• Ensure programmes/ projects developed are in line with the Results Based Management (RBM) principles.

• With technical collaboration and inputs from the PMO, ensure partnerships projects and programmes are developed with appropriate monitoring and evaluation frameworks that allow for effective oversight and evaluation of impact. 

• Collaborate with Project Managers and PMO to formulate the project results frameworks and establish measurable long- and short-term targets for performance monitoring.

• Ensure up-to-date/ informative/ accurate reports are prepared and submitted on time related to partnerships development across the Office.

• Lead the quarterly inter-office dialogue regarding partner outreach and project development activities. 

• In coordination with the Senior Regional Advisor, Partnerships and Planning, contribute to the regular global Partner Survey exercise and the related regional and country-level follow up and action points. 

• Develop and lead the set-up of tracking systems for tracking partnerships development and progress. 

Project Identification, Formulation and Support for Project Offices

• Support and guide partnership officers in the Country Office in researching and assessing the stakeholder landscape to identify priority themes and opportunities.

• Review of previous and ongoing similar and/or related and/or interfacing projects in order to identify gaps, and areas of improvement and instill lessons learnt into the proposal. These will also provide inputs for the determination of baselines for the logical framework.

• Support the Country Office and partnerships officers on various activities/ deliverables that help take potential partnerships forward, including drafting concept notes, preparing project proposals, producing other relevant knowledge products, and participating in negotiations on new projects and programmes with key partners.

• Provide inputs and suggestions across all aspects related to the project formulation phase and analyze implementation approaches for soundness, sustainability, gender mainstreaming, feasibility, resource availability and cost implications.

Team/ Unit Leadership

• Develop a clear monitoring system in monitoring  partnership and communication priorities.

• Develop clear annual unit  work plans in line with the unit strategic plan. 

• Ensure individual performance plans are accordingly aligned on an annual basis.

• Lead and motivate the partnerships team members, ensuring relevant information and communication flows on all partnerships development opportunities and portfolio development and with other departments/ units. 

• Provide coaching, training and development of partnerships officers to enhance their skills and capacity

• Provide leadership in the standard setting of proposal writing, develop systems of quality control and collaboration.

• Be prepared to develop and manage critical projects as the project manager while necessary before and after start-up depending on the requirements of the Office.

• Collaborate with the Head of Support Services and Head of Programme and Support Units to ensure focus on client satisfaction while taking quality and innovation into consideration.

• Ensure that individual performance reviews are conducted fairly, accurately and timely.

• Create, foster and role model a culture of respect and zero tolerance of discrimination, abuse of authority, harassment, sexual harassment, and sexual exploitation and abusements.

• Coordinate the work of the Partnerships Unit through the preparation of its work plan and the establishment of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Develop and ensure implementation of the unit’s annual work plans and targets.

Knowledge management and innovation 

• Implement UNOPS standards, and utilize UNOPS tools and templates in  effective management of partnership and project development activities within the team.

• Contribute to the ongoing global research, development and implementation of best practice and innovative approaches to maximize performance and sustain achievements in project and partnerships development, including the re-design and / or localisation of tools, templates, dashboards, processes and systems for Office partnerships management. 

• Help build partnerships capacity and negotiation skills among project managers and partnerships officers.

• Contribute to the dissemination and sharing of best practices and lessons learned for planning and knowledge building within project and partnerships development.

• Provide regular feedback on existing systems, tools and resources to ensure relevance to day-to-day operations.

The effective and successful achievement of results by the Partnerships Advisor impacts on the performance of the Country Office by maintaining a robust and diverse pipeline of project opportunities, which leads to sustainable and diversified growth of the UNOPS’ presence and strengthens the achievements of UNOPS management results and the fulfillment of its mandate.