Background

Through the Regional Office for the Americas and the Caribbean in Panama and a number of country and multi-country offices as well as programme presences across the region, UN Women builds on a long history of support to governments, civil society and other actors, including the UN, to promote gender equality and empower all women and girls. UN Women stands behind women’s equal participation in all aspects of life, focusing on five priority areas: addressing gender in governance and leadership; enhancing women’s economic empowerment; ending violence against women and girls; and promoting women’s participation in peace and security and humanitarian action.

Under the supervision of the Regional Director, the Partnerships and Resource Mobilization Specialist will provide technical support to the development and management of UN Women’s strategic partnerships and relationships, and resource mobilization strategy, as well as enhance resource mobilization capacity of UN Women in the region.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Research, identify and map potential partners for the regional office mainly amongst traditional donors, philanthropic foundations, private sector corporations and foundations.
• Develop and maintain regional relationships with key partners; support the relationship building as well as provide advice and insights to senior management’s efforts at the country level to develop new and innovative partnerships.
• Set and monitor annual priorities, goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) for regional partnerships;
• Develop and ensure the preservation of partnerships with potential bilateral and non-traditional partners for the Regional Office, programme presences and Country Offices/ Multi Country Offices in the region;
• Design, implement and advice on an effective advocacy strategy for targeting of partners for the regional office as well as for country and multi country offices in the region.

2. Implement regional resource mobilization strategies and initiatives:

• Develop and implement differentiated fund-raising strategies, aligned and coordinated with country- level activities and outreach activities;
• Develop targeted products and initiatives to mobilize programmatic resources and attract additional funding;
• Provide technical support to the development of project proposals in line with UN Women’s strategy and the interest of bilateral and non-traditional partners (including the private sector);
• Identify and follow up on opportunities to secure additional non-core resources;
• Lead the implementation of a strategic partnerships and resource mobilization strategy for the Regional Office, including innovative models for resource mobilization from private companies and individuals, as well as development banks and governments, including through government cost-sharing;
• Review and refine the strategy at regular intervals to harness new emerging opportunities;
• Identify and monitor regional partnership priorities, goals, and key performance indicators (KPIs) in line with the partnership and resource mobilization strategy;
• Maintain effective relationships with counterparts in other UN Agencies, funds and programmes to promote and strengthen coordinated funding support for the work of UN Women.

3. Build trust and maintain effective relationships with donors:

• Provide substantive technical support to the Regional Director and other senior managers in the preparation of missions, meetings and other consultations with bilateral and non-traditional partners, including the preparation of notes, briefs and other materials;
• Act as a direct entry point for bilateral and non-traditional potential partners, building institutional relationships;
• Provide regular updates on funding trends and partnership opportunities.

4. Promote the submission of high quality and timely reports to donors

• Promote compliance with the terms of grants and agreements, across the region;
• Provide substantive technical support to programme managers for the preparation of high quality and timely donor reports;
• Coordinate with the regional Monitoring and Reporting Specialist for the collection of information and preparation of results-based reports for external constituencies.

5. Strengthen internal capacity in strategic partnerships and resource mobilization:

• Manage the regional strategic partnerships and resource mobilization activities with a view to ensuring alignment and coherence with communications and programmatic work to position the organization for new partnership opportunities;
• Advise and support UN Women Regional Office and field offices on strategic partnerships and resource mobilization procedures and guidelines as well as funding modalities;
• Facilitate partnerships and resource mobilization trainings to program staff and managers based in Country Offices/ Multi Country Offices including the development of tools and products.
• Liaise with the corresponding regional areas to oversee the development of knowledge products and mechanisms to effectively position UN Women in the region;
• Share knowledge and enhance organizational learning among UN Women regional and field offices through the development and use of on-line tools, templates, tips, mechanisms and guidelines;
• Monitor emerging issues that could affect partnerships and resource contributions at the national or regional levels (risk management).

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

Competencies

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES:

• Strong knowledge of gender equality and women’s rights issues;
• Demonstrated ability to interact effectively with government representatives of Member States (donor and programme);
• Demonstrated ability to effectively forge partnerships with non-traditional partners, including the private sector;
• Understanding of shared-value based partnerships and individual giving a distinct advantage;
• Proven networking skills, and ability to mobilize support on behalf of UN Women;
• Excellent negotiating skills;
• Knowledge and understanding of UN system and familiarity with inter-governmental processes;
• Excellent IT skills, including databases, extranet and office software packages;
• Strong analytical and interpersonal skills.

Required Skills and Experience

• Master’s degree or equivalent in economics, business management, social sciences, public administration, international relations, communications, women’s studies, or a related field is required.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• At least 7 years of progressively responsible experience in resource mobilization, communications/ advocacy, and/or business development;
• Experience in gender equality and women’s empowerment;
• Proven experience in successful development of partnerships, network-building, and/or resource mobilization;
• Extensive experience in clearly communicating results, evidence, and issues and in conducting research and policy analysis;
• Experience working with national/international bilateral partners on development projects/programmes;
• Experience working with private sector partners in development issues;
• Experience in the UN system and in the Latin American and Caribbean region is an advantage.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English and Spanish is required
• Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (French, Arabic, Chinese or Russian).

Application:

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2022-07/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form-en.doc Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

Note:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (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.