Partnerships Officer

The UNOPS Africa Regional Office, based in Nairobi, Kenya, oversees the delivery of over 250 projects across 40 countries, with a focus on fragile and conflict-affected settings. Supported by more than 1,000 personnel across five multi-country offices—spanning North, West, Central, Eastern and Southern Africa, and the Horn of Africa—the office advances national priorities through strategic initiatives in Climate Action, Health, Infrastructure, Peace and Security, Middle-Income Country Support, and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The Regional Office provides strategic leadership, operational support, and oversight in key areas including Partnerships, Communications, Management and Oversight, Infrastructure and Project Management, Health and Safety, and Security. By promoting excellence in project delivery, fostering knowledge sharing, and driving continuous improvement, the office contributes to sustainable infrastructure, transparent resource management, and a better quality of life for communities across the continent.

Since 1995, UNOPS Somalia (SOCO), headquartered in Mogadishu and part of the East and Southern Africa Multi-Country Office, has been a trusted partner to the Government of Somalia and international donors. Through the provision of project management, infrastructure, procurement, and financial services, SOCO plays a critical role in supporting national priorities in health, rule of law, security, transport, and resilience. The office has delivered impactful infrastructure projects—including the Immigration Headquarters ($6.8M), Maritime Police Headquarters ($3.7M), and regional hospitals ($20M)—and leads key national initiatives such as the Joint Police Programme ($56.4M). UNOPS also manages large-scale procurement, including over $75M in non-lethal support to security actors. Advisory support to urban resilience and crisis recovery efforts further strengthens institutional capacity, with projects valued at $8.1M, $8.8M, and $7.4M. SOCO’s integrated approach contributes to sustainable peacebuilding and development outcomes across Somalia.

Under the overall guidance and direct supervision of Country Director and in close coordination with the Partnership Specialist, the Partnerships Officer is responsible in supporting and contributing of the development new project opportunities, cultivating partner relationships, and advancing resource mobilization efforts and supporting key stakeholders.  

The Partnerships Officer supports and contributes to the development of new projects, partnership development, resource mobilization, and the strategic positioning of UNOPS. The Partnerships Officer plays an active role in identifying and developing business opportunities, cultivating relationships with partners and donors, advancing the resource mobilization pipeline, and supporting key stakeholders. 

Positioning and Project Development

• Identify and analyze  potential project and business opportunities aligned with UNOPS' mandate, strategic priorities and areas of comparative advantage. 
• Analyze development priorities, government programmes, donor strategies, investment priorities and emerging needs to identify opportunities for UNOPS engagement and positioning.
• Assist in developing expressions of interest, concept notes, capacity statements, proposals, logical frameworks and other project development documents for prospective engagements.
• Coordinate with internal teams and prospective partners to clarify project requirements, develop project concepts and formulate initial project requests.
• Develop high-level estimates of project scope, effort and costs and consolidate the technical, financial and contextual information required for project development. . 
• Prepare substantive partner profiles, opportunity assessments, background analyses, briefing notes, talking points and presentations for project development discussions, strategic meetings and missions. 
• Participate in discussions with prospective partners and stakeholders and ensure systematic follow-up of opportunities, commitments and agreed next steps. 
• Maintain and analyze information on prospective projects, opportunities and partner intelligence to support the development and prioritization of the project pipeline.

Partnerships and Resource Mobilization  

• Identify, map and assess funding and partnership opportunities with governments, UN entities, bilateral and multilateral donors, international financial institutions, multilateral development banks, foundations, NGOs, civil society and the private sector. 
• Contribute substantively to the implementation of the UNOPS partnership and resource mobilization priorities, including the identification, qualification and advancement of opportunities through the pipeline.
• Assist in developing and maintaining a structured overview of key partners, donor priorities, funding cycles, funding mechanisms, partnership modalities and emerging funding opportunities.
• Build and maintain effective working relationships with existing and prospective partners and support targeted engagement based on identified opportunities and shared priorities.
• Prepare and coordinate  inputs for donor and partner meetings, strategic missions, consultations and other resource mobilization activities.
• Follow up on partnership opportunities (as assigned) from initial identification through project formulation and, where relevant, engagement approval.
• Assist in gathering and providing inputs to support the negotiation and refinement of project and partnership documentation in collaboration with relevant internal stakeholders.
• Coordinate the preparation and consolidation of project documentation, budgets, legal agreements and other information required for the development and review of new engagements.
• Contribute to the quality assurance of new engagements by reviewing the completeness, consistency and quality of information and facilitating the required internal reviews, clearances and approvals.
• Monitor and analyze the resource mobilization pipeline, identify bottlenecks and opportunities, and provide regular updates and recommendations to the supervisor.

Knowledge Building and Sharing

• Support the organization, facilitation and delivery of training and learning sessions on partnerships.
• Participate in knowledge-sharing initiatives and Communities of Practice (CoPs), contributing insights and lessons learned.
• Conduct research on partnerships-related topics and contribute to the drafting of reports, summaries and briefing notes.

Required

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) with 2 years of relevant experience OR
• A master's degree (or equivalent) in any discipline with 0 years of relevant experience is required.

Required

• Relevant experience is work in international development, involving support of partnership and programme development plans, project development and proposal writing, establishment of partnerships with UN agencies, international development organizations, governments, foundations or private-sector organizations, or related areas.
• Experience working directly with internal and external partners, including governments and international donors is required.
• Experience in professional proposal writing is required.

Desired

• Good knowledge of Google Suite tools and experience in handling web-based management systems is desired. 
• Experience of working in multicultural environments or UN system organizations in a developing country is desired.
• Experience in development or humanitarian contexts is desired.

• UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. 
• UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
• Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. 
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the selection process, which may include various assessments. 
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of a wide range of nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. We strive to sustain and strengthen this diversity, fostering an inclusive working environment where all personnel are treated with respect and have equal access to opportunities.
• UNOPS evaluates all applications based on the skills, qualifications and experience outlined in the vacancy announcement. We are committed to a fair and transparent selection process and welcome diverse perspectives, including those of women, indigenous and racialized communities, individuals of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, and persons with disabilities.
• We are committed to enabling all candidates to perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require support or reasonable accommodation to complete any assessment, please inform our human resources team upon receiving your invitation.
• UNOPS has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment, and other forms of abusive conduct, including discrimination, abuse of authority, and harassment. To uphold these standards, background checks are conducted for all final candidates to help ensure that individuals with a history of such conduct are not hired. By applying for a position with UNOPS, candidates acknowledge and consent to these verification processes.
  

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here. 
• For more details about the contract types, please click here.
• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda. 
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.