Resource Mobilization and Partnership Expert

The UNESCO Regional Office for the Gulf States and Yemen (hereinafter ‘the Office”) is based in Doha and covers the six Gulf countries comprising the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Kuwait, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman, the State of Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the Republic of Yemen.

The vision of the UNESCO Office for the Gulf Countries and Yemen is to “empower women and men to contribute to peaceful and inclusive knowledge-based societies, through education, the sciences, culture, and communication, and information, in partnership with Member States, the private sector, and civil society, to fulfill the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).” In consultation with national and regional stakeholders, the Office sets a local programme of action based on UNESCO’s global priorities and five major programmes as defined in the Programme and Budget for 2024-2025 (42 C/5). 

The overarching goal of the UNESCO Resource Mobilization Strategy for 2024-2025 is to mobilize adequate and quality resources to achieve the results outlined in the Programme and Budget for 2024-2025 (42 C/5) and place UNESCO on a pathway to sustainable financing and maximize the impact of its actions. In line with this strategy, the Office seeks to recruit an expert to support resource mobilization and partnership development aiming at strengthening efforts and expansion of projects and giving continuity to some of the emerging opportunities for funding that arise in this region. In order to seize these opportunities, the incumbent is expected to support the Office in forging strategic alliances resulting in the mobilization of additional resources, with a strong emphasis on the engagement with the private sector and philanthropic foundations as well as with Gulf donors for the mobilization of funds for global programmes and projects in the Global South. 

OVERVIEW OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE POST

Under the overall authority of the Director of the Bureau of Strategic Planning (hereinafter BSP) and the direct supervision of the Director of the UNESCO Regional Office for the Gulf States and Yemen, based in Doha, the incumbent will contribute to resource mobilization and partnership building, advising the Director of the Office on decentralized funding opportunities, ensuring quality assurance of project proposals and reports, and providing backstopping on the negotiation of funding agreements. The incumbent shall provide support to the following tasks: 

Strategy

• Support the Office in formulating, implementing, and keeping the Resource Mobilization Strategy up to date in line with the defined priorities and the field reform. This includes the related action plans, which detail ongoing fundraising efforts across the Office to address resource gaps and priorities.

Donor intelligence and knowledge management

• Act as the main knowledge point for intelligence on decentralized donors. Keep up-to-date with the latest developments and initiatives of relevance to the Arab Region (e.g. donor trends, new funding initiatives on thematic areas announced by international donors, donors announcing interest in relevant countries, donors contributing to emergency appeals, etc.);
• Monitor all pipeline resource mobilization efforts including intersectoral programmes in the region and systematically share information and updates with concerned colleagues and BSP and track in the Constituency Relationship Management tool.
• Participate in relevant webinars, training, workshops, etc. organized by the Office or other UNESCO field offices in the region and by headquarters.
• Participate in external meetings to identify fundraising opportunities (e.g. in the context of UNCTs) and other thematic groups of technical and financial partners.

Coordination 

• Coordinate with other resource mobilization focal points in the region and headquarters through regular meetings and exchanges, with a view to keeping abreast of new developments and opportunities and developing collaborations and synergies for impactful programming and partnerships in the region.
• Coordinate internal clearance processes of new and pipeline projects/agreements through BSP.

Proposals and pitching materials 

• Support the Office in developing a constant pipeline of impactful proposals aligned with the office priorities and follow up on their progress with the relevant programme specialists.
• Ensure accountability for the quality assurance of any proposals to be submitted to donors by providing technical review and checking cohesion with partnership priorities and cross-mapping.
• Support the Office with the development of a set of compelling communication assets such as fact sheets, a standard slide presentation, etc. that can be customized easily for different donors.

Relationship management 

• Identify, nurture, and engage new and existing partners aligned with UNESCO’s priorities and values through targeted engagement initiatives and proposals.
• Negotiate formal aspects of existing and new agreements with donors when required.
• Ensure that the relevant programme specialists in the Office are fully engaged in the resource mobilization initiatives in their areas of work.
• Provide unofficial and irregular soft donor updates outside the agreed reporting schedule if required to demonstrate progress and impact to the donor.
• Act as the focal point and responsible person to respond to any ad-hoc queries coming from decentralized representatives of donors.

Monitoring and reporting

• Monitor and track the successful implementation of donor agreements in line with the agreed proposal, including expenditure monitoring together with responsible programme specialists.
• Monitor reporting schedules under donor agreements and ensure timely submission.
• Undertake any other pertinent professional duties as assigned by the Director of the UNESCO Office for the GCC and Yemen.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

• Advanced University degree (Masters or equivalent) in business administration, public management, development studies, international relations, project management, communication, marketing or other fields relevant to partnerships building.

WORK EXPERIENCE

• Minimum 4 years of proven work experience and demonstrated record of accomplishment in partnership building and resource mobilization.
• Working experience at the United Nations or other international or development organization is preferred.
• Experience in writing material for partnerships, including policies, project proposals, donor reports and promotional material.

SKILLS/COMPETENCIES

• Excellent interpersonal skills for teamwork in a multicultural setting and ability to interact effectively with different stakeholders inside and outside the Organization;
• Excellent ability to communicate orally and in writing with stakeholders to convey tailored messages and translate and articulate organizational priorities to potential private partners. This includes strong written, oral, and presentation communication skills;
• Excellent IT and analytical skills including the ability to extract, analyze and synthesize credible information from electronic knowledge/information systems to support decision making and planning related to partnerships. Knowledge of CORE manager and/or CRM will be an asset;
• Excellent knowledge of rules and regulations in developing and managing extra budgetary projects within the United Nations or other international or development organization is preferred;
• Ability to work on performance-based targets for building new partnerships;
• Capacity to work in a team as well as independently;
• Strong contextual knowledge of the Middle East and Gulf region;

LANGUAGES

• Perfect command of English. Knowledge of Arabic will be an asset.

Source: https://careers.unesco.org/job/Doha-Resource-Mobilization-and-Partnership-Expert/794408702/