Partnerships Officer (Partnerships Development) – P2  

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job it is a calling. UNICEF is a place where careers are built, we offer our staff diverse opportunities for personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

The Private Sector Fundraising and Partnerships (PSFP) section within PFP works with National Committees and UNICEF country offices to maximize financial and non-financial support for children. Within this section, the purpose of the Corporate Partnerships Team is to drive impact, defined as financial resources in addition to other valuable assets and opportunities, in order to optimize the value of multi-dimensional partnerships with companies to achieve UNICEF’s strategic goals. The team supports key UNICEF Divisions with partnership strategies as well as National Committees and Country Offices with their strategies for growth. The team also champions and drives global best practices, partnership strategy and issues guidance and policies globally. Team members also play a role in the relationship management of key partners.

For every child, a Champion

Under the general guidance of the Corporate Partnerships Manager, this post will support the management and optimize the impact and results from a determined number of high-value partnerships with international businesses to deliver upon UNICEF’s strategic objectives. Successful outcomes will ensure that the partnerships meet financial resource targets as well as leveraging reach, influence, and other core business assets to meet UNICEF’s goals. The post is responsible for supporting the relationship with these corporate partners, alongside the Corporate Partnerships Manager and UNICEF’s National Committees, driving the strategic direction, management, growth, and renewal of these high value partnerships. This post will work closely with other UNICEF divisions such as Programme Division, Department of Communication, and others to deliver upon the partnerships’ strategies.

Additionally, the post will be responsible for supporting the corporate partnerships team with a number of cross-team projects that support the capacity building of National Committees and co-ordinate the engagement of private sector partners in a number of key global events and platforms such as the World Economic Forum and UNGA.

How can you make a difference?

Supports successful management of internal and external stakeholders for the partnerships with a focus on excellence in: Identifies develops and monitors progress on these partnerships as defined by UNICEF as the priorities. 

• Supports delivery upon the income targets;
• Supports delivery upon the strategic targets as set by the strategic direction for the partnerships;
• Supports agreed vision and partnership strategy is developed, up-to-date and implemented;
• Holds a coordinated global activity plan for the streams of work for all partnerships managed;
• Coordinates the soft-crediting implementation and decision making related to all international partnerships in the portfolio, working with Finance and the lead- and activating countries;
• Develops, maintains, and disseminates, working with the lead country, the partnership knowledge management and best practices.

Supports the partnership manager with activations  of new key global partnerships as they come on board:

• Contributes to and coordinates setting up of partnership parameters in terms of information to participating National committees and country offices
• Develop soft credit models, reporting structures, and KPI management as per PFP guidance and partnership requirements
• Support development and dissemination of an updated account-management toolkit, aiming to build capacity and skills in the countries,
• Support in the development of detailed communication plan and business terms of reference
• Work closely with Legal Specialists to draft and finalise the contractual obligations
• Coordinates and response to inquiries by National Committee/Country Office on the specific partnerships in the portfolio ensuring that the inquiries are dealt with by the appropriate teams.

Support the corporate partnerships team with a number of cross-team projects that support the overall objectives of the corporate partnerships team:

• Lead the co-ordination and dissemination of all Contribution in Kind Request (CIK) from corporate partners. Including supporting country offices to manage the CIK Process.  
• Lead the coordination and monitoring of corporate partners engagement at key global events such as World Economic Forum, UN General Assembly, Word Health Summit, and others and required.

DELIVERABLES:

• Efficient and effective delivery against the above accountabilities will result in strong, strategic, and integrated management of a number of large international partnerships with corporates. This will secure a significant income for UNICEF’s programmes annually but also find these corporates actively engaged in UNICEF work through CSR or advocacy for example.
• Efficiency from the incumbent in the execution of the above functions will furthermore result in best-in-class relationship management of these corporate partners, in an effective and satisfying work-relationship with the National Committees and Country Offices taking part in these partnerships, and inefficient intra UNICEF stakeholder management.

Estimated Duration of the contract

• 364 days

Reporting To:

• The Corporate Partnerships Manager (Partnership Development), Geneva

Working Place:

• Geneva, Switzerland is the official duty station.  (Flexible work arrangements may be applied if there is a need.) 

To qualify as a Champion for every child you will have?

Education:

• A University degree in Business Management, International Relations, Marketing, Social Sciences, Fundraising, or a related field is required.

Experience:

• A minimum of two years of progressively responsible professional work experience in corporate fundraising and account management is required.
• Proven experience of working across teams to manage complex partnerships and/or campaigns and ability to influence buy-in for the resources needed to execute partnerships.
• Experience working within corporate fundraising in an international organization is an asset.
• Experience in supporting the planning and coordination of meetings and events is an asset.
• UN/UNICEF experience is an asset.

Person Profile:

• Excellent problem-solving; ability to effectively collect, analyze, organize, distill, and present information.
• Good commercial awareness and proven business acumen.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment and prioritize while working against multiple deadlines.

Language requirements:

• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (1)
• Works Collaboratively with others (1)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (1)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (1)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (1)
• Drives to achieve impactful results (1)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (1) are required.

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: our competency framework. 

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and discrimination. UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks: 

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason. 

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.

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