Partnerships Specialist

Position description

The Crisis Bureau (CB) spearheads UNDP’s efforts to support countries on a key challenge: how to anticipate, prevent, respond to, and recover from fragility and crisis. CB addresses the risks that precipitate crises, prevent early exit from them, and perpetuate long-term dependency on humanitarian assistance.  Guided by UNDP’s Crisis Offer (2022), CB works within the GPN and with Regional Bureaux (RBx) and Country Offices (COs) to implement solutions across prevention, response and recovery that help break the cycle of protracted fragility and crisis. 

CB is organized into five core teams. Each team integrates gender considerations across all areas of work to ensure inclusive and sustainable outcomes, leaving no one behind.

The Strategic Partnerships and Communications (SPC) Team builds, maintains, and strengthens a network of strategic partnerships across key constituencies – UN, IFI, bilaterals, private sector, foundations, civil society, NGOs – to raise visibility, deepen engagement and generate increased political support and funding for UNDP’s work on fragility and crisis.  The SPC’s objectives include resource mobilisation through custodianship of a multi-year strategy to secure higher quality funding from traditional and non-traditional sources.  The team identifies, builds, and helps sustain broad-based partnerships across key constituencies with particular emphasis on operations from Brussels, Geneva, New York and Washington, DC.  SPC provides advice on relevant UN system policies and programmes and supports UNDP’s engagement strategy for and contributions to relevant UN inter-agency coordination mechanisms, such as the IASC and JSC, among others.  In addition, the SPC team serves as the custodian of a CB-wide communications strategy and coordinates, monitors, and reports regularly on its implementation.  To this end, it also leads within CB and the GPN on crisis communications, working closely with BERA, RBx and COs. 

The Partnerships Specialist will contribute across the SPC team, and will:

• Provide technical advice on EU/EC policies and programmes.
• Implement CB’s Partnership and RM Action Plan and contribute to UNDP’s External Engagement Strategy
• Lead the development of a ‘hub’ in Brussels to forge a strategic partnership between UNDP and the EU as well as key European bilateral partners.
• Maintain and strengthen in-house relationships with BERA, BMS and RBx, working closely with the C3RT.
• Ensure the visibility of UNDP and EU/European bilateral partnerships in key internal, UN and external fora.

Position Purpose

The Partnerships Specialist reports directly to Senior Partnership Advisor, Bilateral and Multilateral Partnerships, with secondary reporting to Deputy Director in UNDP Brussels. S/he works across CB teams, in helping coordinate engagement to mobilize resources for crisis and fragile contexts, as well as develop and strengthen partnerships, coordinating efforts with CB, RBx and representation offices.

In close collaboration with UNDP’s BERA, Regional Bureaus, the GPN Joint Directorate, and Sustainable Finance Hub, s/he will support the strengthening of bilateral partnerships to driving coherence and impact across UNDP’s engagement, with a particular focus on the European Union (EU/EC) and European bilateral partners.

The incumbent will develop mechanisms to support UNDP’s strategic partnerships for crisis and fragile settings in coordination with the CB Executive Support and Management Oversight Unit and the GPN Joint Directorate in the framework of UNDP’s External Engagement Strategy. Integral to the Strategic Partnerships and Communications Team, the Partnership Specialist engages and collaborates with the across CB Teams, and the GPN to provide policy inputs to promote and strengthen partnerships and financing for fragility in the support of developing countries through the exchange of experiences.

Duties and Responsibilities

In this section list up to five primary functions/accountabilities of the position (Typically one sentence each) and examples of duties that must be performed to successfully accomplish key responsibilities. 

Advisory role on EU/EC and European bilateral partnerships, positioning, and engagement 

• Maintain an up-to-date overview of strategic EU/EC and European bilateral partnerships, initiatives, and opportunities relevant to UNDP’s work on crisis and fragility and engage with key UN and external partners for coordinated engagement on crisis and fragility-related issues.
• Track and analyze, through active engagement with relevant EU/EC services and institutions, EC policy initiatives in prevention, crisis response, stabilisation, recovery, and resilience, and identify entry points for collaboration.
• Provide technical support to senior managers in the GPN, Regional Bureaus and the Administrator in their engagements with the EU/EC and European bilateral partners, and relevant crisis and fragility related mechanisms.
• Maintain an overall view of events, policy development and programme directions of relevance, identify opportunities across the EU/EC and European bilateral partners, and ensure UNDP’s offer on crisis, fragility and resilience dimensions are visible and promoted.
• Lead the organisation of the flagship EU-UN Annual meeting on Prevention, Stabilisation and Peace and position UNDP strategically throughout the event.
• Prepare strategic partnership and financing briefs, working papers, knowledge products, blogs, speeches, and other advocacy pieces on partnerships and financing for fragility.

Technical support on resource mobilization with EU/EC institutions and European bilateral partners

• Implement CB’s Partnership and RM Action Plan and contribute to UNDP’s External Engagement Strategy by positioning UNDP in fora relevant to the EU and European bilateral partners as the leading UN development actor in crisis and fragile settings, in close collaboration with UNDP’s Bureau for External Relations and in coordination with the CB’s Management Support Unit and the GPN Joint Directorate.
• Develop and implement plans for UNDP/CB’s strategic positioning and visibility, through the proactive organisation of annual meetings and dialogues, with the EU and European bilateral partners on key policy issues such as the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus, Prevention, Stabilisation, Recovery and Resilience, as well as for Global Gateway investments in crisis and fragile contexts.
• Monitor EU and European Bilateral partners funding instruments and resource allocations and position UNDP strategically as a potential implementing partner for global, regional and in-country initiative.
• Provide substantive contributions to the development of projects/programmes in the area of crisis and fragility in close collaboration with Regional Bureau Policy and Programme Specialists.
• In close consultation with GPN Hubs and CB’s team, develop innovative project proposals and advocate for financial support from the EU and European bilateral partners.
• Coordinate UNDP’s participation and positioning in EU-UN fora related to crisis and fragility such as the EU-UN Steering Committee on Crisis Management and the EU-UN Conflict Prevention Dialogue.
• Actively contribute to relevant Communities of Practice and share lessons learnt/best practices on successful partnerships between the EU, European bilateral partners, and UNDP.

Lead the CB Brussels hub for EU/EC and European bilateral partnerships 

• Establish the CB Brussels hub as a centre of excellence on EU and European bilateral partnerships.
• Serve as the CB focal point for collaboration with UNDP representational offices in Europe (Nordic Office; Germany Office).
• Assist the programme team in Brussels on maintaining database on EC and European bilateral partner-financed projects related to crisis and fragility and develop digital tools share intelligence across CB and RBx on opportunities and partnership initiatives.
• In close collaboration with BERA, provide partner intelligence on issues of strategy, policy and funding opportunities related to crisis, fragility, and resilience.
• Maintain overall view on partnership initiatives and opportunities across CB, as well as corporate partnership initiatives; and ensure crisis, fragility and resilience dimensions are reflected in relevant documents and initiatives.
• Maintain up-to-date key messages and background information on UNDP partnership with the EU/EC and European bilateral partners.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organisation.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: CB staff in Brussels as required. 

Competencies

Core competencies:

Achieve Results

• Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact.

Think Innovatively

• Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems.

Learn Continuously

• Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences.

Adapt with Agility 

• Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands.

Act with Determination

• Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results.

Engage and Partner

• Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration.

Enable Diversity and Inclusion

• Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity.

People Management:

UNDP People Management Competencies can be found in the dedicated site. 

Cross-Functional and Technical competencies:

Business Direction and Strategy: Systems Thinking           

• Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system.

Business Direction and Strategy: Entrepreneurial Thinking           

• Identify and seize opportunities to service and add value to clients, create clarity around UNDP value proposition to beneficiaries and partners, develop clear service offers responding to client needs in line with UNDP’s organizational priorities and mandate.

Business Direction and Strategy: Business Acumen

• Ability to understand and deal with a business situation in a manner that is likely to lead to a good outcome.
• Ability to make good judgments and quick decisions within such frameworks Knowledge and understanding of the operational frameworks in the organization.

Business Management: Portfolio Management 

• Ability to select, prioritise and control the organization’s programmes and projects in line with its strategic objectives and capacity.
• Ability to balance the implementation of change initiatives with regular activities for optimal return on investment.
• Knowledge and understanding of key principles of project, programme, and portfolio management.

Business Development: Integration within the UN

• Ability to identify, and integrate capacity and assets of the UN system, and engage in joint work; knowledge of the UN System and ability to apply this knowledge to strategic and/or practical situations.

Partnership Management: Emerging partnerships

• Ability to engage with emerging partners, develop and manage a strategy and develop approaches to developing and managing these new strategic partnerships.

Partnership Management: Multi-stakeholder engagement and funding

• Knowledge and ability to forge multi-stakeholder partnerships and remove any obstacles to resource mobilization and multi-stakeholder funding platforms.

2030 Agenda Peace: Conflict Prevention, Peacebuilding and Responsive Institutions       

• Aid Management.

2030 Agenda: Engagement and Effectiveness – Crisis management / Country Management Support 

• Crisis coordination

Digital: Innovation ecosystem curation

• Ability to identify key players in an ecosystem, engage with them and mobilize them to build a community and over time a movement around a common mission that can bring about changes at the system level.
• Ability to give sense of purpose and build trust, develop programmes of activities and platforms to build and strengthen relationships.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in either Public/Business Administration, International Development, Knowledge Management, Development Finance, and/or related fields. OR
• A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

 Experience:

• Minimum seven (7) years of relevant experience in an international development context, preferably including UN partnership experience, with a focus on crisis and fragility.
• Demonstrated track-record of excellence in partnership development in areas related to crisis and fragility.
• Experience working with European Union Institutions, European partners, and OECD-DAC donors. 
• Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of crisis and fragility policy debates, partnerships and financing mechanisms.
• Experience of managing complex inter-agency processes is highly desirable.
• Proven experience working in different geographical areas, and development settings, including crisis and fragile environments is highly desirable.

Language requirements: 

• Excellent communication skills, both spoken and written in English required.
• Fluency in French is strongly desirable.

Please note that continuance of appointment beyond the initial 12 months is contingent upon the successful completion of a probationary period.

Application instructions

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