JOB DESCRIPTION
| Job Title: | International Partnerships and Business Development Officer |
|---|---|
| Division: | Partnerships, Integration and Resource Mobilisation (PIRMO) |
| Location: | Suva, Fiji – Noumea, New Caledonia |
| Reporting to: | Business Development Manager |
| Number of Direct Reports: | 0 |
| Purpose of Role: | The International Partnerships and Business Development Officer plays a key role in supporting SPC's strategic resource mobilisation and partnership development efforts. Working within PIRMO and in collaboration with SPC divisions and flagships. This role contributes to securing sustainable funding, enhancing and monitoring donor engagement on various finance instruments, and supporting the development of strategic partnerships. The officer will help embed UBPP within the pilot period and play a key role in the Blue Finance Mobilisation function They will ensure consistent, high-quality engagement with key donors and partners, and support divisional efforts to align with SPC's strategic goals and funding priorities. |
| Date: | September 2026 |
Organisational Context and Organisation Chart
The Pacific Community (SPC) is the principal scientific and technical organisation in the Pacific region, supporting impactful development since 1947. We are an international development organisation owned and governed by our 27 country and territory members. In pursuit of sustainable development to benefit Pacific people, our unique organisation works across more than 25 sectors. We are known for our knowledge and innovation in such areas as fisheries science, public health surveillance, geoscience, human rights and social policy development, and conservation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.
SPC shares the vision for our region as endorsed in SPC's Strategic Plan 2022-2031. SPC's mission is to work for the well-being of Pacific people through the effective and innovative application of science and knowledge, guided by a deep understanding of the Pacific Islands' contexts and cultures.
Guided by the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, UBPP is a continent-wide initiative to achieve transformational results, nurture collaboration, and unlock financing to deliver on Pacific Leaders goals for sustainable ocean management, robust food systems and healthy and productive Pacific people. UBPP was endorsed by the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders in 2023 and reaffirmed in 2024, and internationally launched at COP28 in Dubai in December, with the Bezos Earth Fund (BEF) committing US $100 million and USD $37.5 million in grants was mobilized to support 12 SPC Member countries and territories. TUBPP is being positioned as a Pacific-led platform that connects global ambition with Pacific implementation. It will help aggregate, package and promote investment opportunities across priorities already identified through regional Ocean-Climate Nexus discussions, including sustainable ocean management, resilient blue economies, ocean protection and 30x 30
implementation, blue food systems, ocean monitoring, climate resilience, regenerative tourism, maritime decarbonization and innovative ocean finance.
During the UBPP pilot phase, SPC will work with partners to establish the systems, partnerships, governance arrangements. The longer-term objective is to support UBPP's transition from a time-bound pilot initiative to a permanent function, with a sustainable institutional and financing model. PIRMO will contribute through partnership development, resource mobilisation, donor engagement, pipeline management, knowledge products, monitoring and reporting.
Within UBPP, and under a new GEF program, a Blue Finance Mobilisation function will be mobilised that strengthens investment readiness, supports the preparation and aggregation of blue economy opportunities, and connects credible projects and portfolios with appropriate sources and tiers of capital.
Key Result Areas (KRAs):
The position of International Partnership and Business Development Officer encompasses the following functions:
- Programme planning and execution
- Communications and stakeholder engagement
- Knowledge management, monitoring, reporting and learning
The performance requirements of the Key Result Areas are broadly described below
| Jobholder is accountable for | Jobholder is successful when |
|---|---|
| KRA 1: Resource Mobilisation and Partnerships (50%) - Help identify and track funding opportunities aligned with SPC's strategic goals and its flagships, more specifically the Climate change flagship and Climate finance for ocean climate nexus. - Ensure alignment with divisional requirements, business plans and flagships supporting integrated and cross-sectoral programming. - Assist in preparing documents and research to support funding proposals, in particular for blue economy initiatives | - Development of high-quality proposals and partner engagements are supported and new sources of finance are leveraged - Strong relationships built with colleagues from other divisions in supporting their partnership and resource mobilisation needs - SPC's blue finance and ocean-related resource mobilisation portfolio, including integrated approaches across UBPP components, is understood |
| - Use tools and templates to support fundraising and programme development. - Keep the funding pipeline updated and aligned with members' needs. - Support monitoring and coordination of new funding opportunities across SPC including a range of funding instruments and modalities. - Help draft and format proposals and grant agreements. - Maintain records of partnerships and engagement activities. - Support development and implementation of the GEF-funded proposal and complementary financing pathways for Component 3, including engagement with bilateral, multilateral, philanthropic and private-sector partners. | - Resource mobilisation and partnership efforts for UBPP Component 3 and the Blue Finance Mobilisation function are scaled up, with GEF and complementary financing pathways effectively supported and monitored. - Partnership and financing pathways are developed to help establish the Blue Finance Mobilisation function and support UBPP's transition from its pilot phase to a permanent function. |
|---|---|
| KRA 2: Integration, Engagement and UBPP Support (25%) - Collaborate on and quality assure UBPP knowledge products for alignment with donors, SPC and members requirements. - Help coordinate meeting and event planning and arrangements including UBPP informal working group, virtual donor roundtable and sub-regional missions. - Collect and organise information to support integrated planning. - Assist in linking partnership activities to UBPP process ensuring knowledge management of UBPP programme including the funding and engagement data is accurate and accessible. - Maintain strong working relationships with stakeholders, including government counterparts, donors, and civil society. | - Relevant donor and partner information are provided across divisions with focus on UBPP, GEF, and Climate Change Flagship - Effectively move between partnership and resource mobilisation functions within the team and with key stakeholders |
| KRA 3: Communication and stakeholder engagement (25%) - Align tasks with the Resource Mobilisation Strategy, SPC Strategic Plan and climate change flagship. - Help coordinate member country engagement activities. - Collect and organise information to support integrated planning. - Assist in linking partnership activities to the UBPP process and SPC's flagships. - Ensure funding and engagement data is accurate and accessible. | - Tasks and data contributions are well aligned with strategic priorities and effectively support integrated planning, CC flagship and UBPP processes. - UBPP has an effective MEL plan in place with effective monitoring and reporting to SPC senior management and donors and learnings being captured and shared across SPC. - Ensure SPC's approach and principles are reflected in any applications for climate change activity. |
The above performance requirements are provided as a guide only. The precise performance measures for this job will need further discussion between the jobholder and supervisor as part of the performance development process.
Most Challenging Duties Typically Undertaken (Complexity):
- Balancing high demand for PIRMO services with other strategic PIRMO activities.
- Managing competing priorities across the partnerships and resource mobilisation workstreams and effectively and to high quality.
- Navigating and effectively managing multiple stakeholder needs across SPC and externally.
- Delivering high quality written proposals drawing on SPC's capability and aligned with donor priorities pertaining to different donor requirements including for climate finance
Functional Relationships & Relationship Skills:
| Key internal and/or external contacts | Nature of the contact most typical |
|---|---|
| External: - SPC Members - Staff at all levels of development partners and donors - Civil society representatives - Consultants and contractors | - Assisting at meetings with representatives to brief on SPC policy, programmes and projects. - Supporting consultations and negotiations - Follow-up on agreed actions |
| Internal Key internal contacts are: - PIRMO team - SPC Executive team - Divisional directors, managers and other senior staff - CC flagship team - Technical experts in divisions - Other staff | - Providing support and advice to your director and managers on issues related to UBPP design and engagement, climate change monitoring and resource mobilisation. - Seeking technical input and advice to inform UBPP design. - Briefing and reporting on engagements and meetings. |
Level of Delegation:
Routine Expenditure Budget: None
Budget Sign off Authority without requiring approval from direct supervisor: 0 EUR
Personal Specification:
This section is designed to capture the expertise required for the role at the 100% fully effective level. (This does not necessarily reflect what the current position holder has.) This may be a combination of knowledge / experience, qualifications or equivalent level of learning through experience or key skills, attributes or job specific competencies.
Qualifications
| Essential: | Desirable: |
|---|---|
| - Bachelor's degree in political or social sciences, business management, law, international relations, environmental management or a related field, is required or equivalent body of knowledge and experience. | - Postgraduate qualifications in political or social sciences, business management, law, international relations, environmental management or a related field, is required. |
Knowledge/Experience
| Essential: | Desirable: |
|---|---|
| - A minimum of 7 years of progressively responsible professional work experience in a project management, policy development or related role. - Good knowledge and understanding of project design, technical cooperation, resource mobilisation and stakeholder engagement. | - Experience working with intergovernmental organisations and multilateral donors. - Experience working in the Pacific region. - Working experience with enterprise resource planning systems and fund management tools or other similar systems. |
| - Demonstrated experience in climate change, biodiversity or conservation policy development. - Experience in managing project budgets, procurement and consultant contracts. - Excellent written and verbal communication skills. - Good research and analytical skills. - Able to apply sound judgement in the context of assignments given. - Excellent computer skills (Microsoft Word and Excel). - Ability to work self-sufficiently and self-motivate. - Fluency in English. | - Fluency in French. |
|---|
Key Skills/Attributes/Job Specific Competencies
The following levels would typically be expected for the 100% fully effective level:
| Expert level | - Strong understanding of donor landscapes, funding mechanisms, and proposal development processes, particularly in the Pacific development context. - Demonstrated ability to synthesise complex technical information into clear, compelling donor-facing materials. - Strategic mindset with the ability to align day-to-day tasks with broader organisational goals and funding strategies. - Excellent interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills, with the ability to engage confidently with senior stakeholders, including government representatives, donors, and civil society. |
|---|---|
| Advanced level | - Strong facilitation and coordination skills for meetings, workshops, and donor roundtables. - Experience supporting or coordinating multi-stakeholder initiatives, ideally in a co-design or participatory planning context. - Familiarity with monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) frameworks, especially in relation to donor reporting and strategic planning. - Capacity to work both independently and collaboratively in a matrixed, multicultural environment. |
| Working knowledge | - Proficiency in using CRM systems, donor databases, or pipeline tracking tools to manage funding opportunities and partner engagement. - Ability to write clearly and persuasively for different audiences, including donors, technical experts, and member countries. - Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage competing priorities and deadlines across multiple workstreams. |
| Awareness | - Adaptability and resilience in dynamic, fast-paced environments. - Commitment to inclusive development and Pacific-led solutions. - SPC Regulations and Policies |
Key Behaviours
All SPC employees are expected to demonstrate the following behaviours:
- Change and Innovation
- Interpersonal Skills
- Teamwork
- Promotion of Equity and Equality
- Judgement
Personal Attributes
High level of professional integrity and ethics
Friendly demeanor
Demonstrated high level commitment to customer service
Change to Job Description:
From time to time it may be necessary to consider changes in the job description in response to the changing nature of the work environment - including technological requirements or statutory changes. Such change may be initiated as necessary by SPC. This Job Description may also be reviewed as part of the preparation for performance planning for the annual performance cycle.