Regional Partnerships Adviser, P5, Geneva (#85969)

The Regional Advisor Partnerships will lead the Partnerships Section to build strategic partnerships that can deliver and leverage results for children in Europe and Central Asia.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child,

UNICEF in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) Region is expanding strategic public and private partnerships & high-value alliances for children, including through resource mobilization, and leveraging resources and policy influence with key stakeholders.

To have meaningful impact for children in the region, UNICEF must mobilize significant Other Resources (OR) from both the public and private sectors. The Region is therefore shifting to a more strategic and purposeful approach to partnerships, based on solid evidence and analysis, and pro-active targeting of opportunities for strategic partnerships on a larger scale – within countries and across clusters of countries.

Given the critical role of regional bodies in the ECA region, (e.g. the EU and Council of Europe), UNICEF seeks to leverage increased resources for children across the region, through partnership and advocacy. Enhanced engagement with EU institutions, based on a common agenda for children and adolescents, is the key priority in this regard. Other work includes strengthening the nascent ODA programmes of several countries to become more child-focused; advocacy with IFIs and regional banks for child-friendly investments, and increased South-South and Horizontal Cooperation within and beyond the Region. Furthermore, partnerships with the private sector are being leveraged in those countries where potential is greatest and across clusters of countries, covering various types of strategic engagement.

To provide greater support and coordination at the regional level to achieve these results, a Regional Office Partnerships Section was established in 2017. The Section works in close collaboration with others across the Regional Office, and with PPD and PFP colleagues at UNICEF headquarters in New York, to ensure a multi-pronged approach which pro-actively targets strategic partnerships.

How can you make a difference?

The Regional Advisor Partnerships will lead the Partnerships Section to build strategic partnerships that can deliver and leverage results for children in Europe and Central Asia, some of which are listed below:

Advocate for strategic child rights issues in the ECA region and strengthen regional partnerships with key stakeholders, including the European Union, the Council of Europe, Central Asian fora, civil society networks, and other key partners.
• Provide clear and appropriate direction to the Brussels-based Partnerships Manager and concerned Country Offices (CO) on strengthening partnerships with the EU;
• Oversee the dialogue with the Council of Europe and other regional bodies on common child rights priorities, drawing on the inputs of Regional Office (RO) Programme Sections;
• Foster collaboration with new and existing civil society networks and partners to advance the cause of children’s rights, in collaboration with RO Programme Sections.

Design and manage engagement strategies and plans with the objective of increasing quality resources for UNICEF in the Region; identify all possible sources of new and continued funding from both the public and private sectors; monitor and evaluate existing fundraising channels.
• Lead the implementation of the Regional Resource Mobilisation Strategy and Action Plan, in cooperation with COs;
• Ensure that dialogue and relations are maintained in a well-coordinated manner with priority donors and potential public and private sector partners, including IFIs, foundations, and corporate partners;
• Ensure clear policy direction for all private fundraising and partnership activities in compliance with UNICEF guidelines, rules and regulations;

Ensure the provision of technical guidance and support to COs to strengthen capacity for partnerships and resource mobilization and management of public and private partnerships.
• Oversee the development and use of tools and resources to support resource mobilization and the management of partnerships;
• Ensure proper staff capacity and skill level training and development within the region on public and private sector partnerships;
• Assure effective knowledge management, including sharing of lessons learned and taking good practice to scale.

Facilitate and maintain relations with Embassies, missions, and other public and private sector partners based in Geneva, in close cooperation with concerned Headquarters Divisions, notably PPD and PFP.
• Supervise the preparation of comprehensive and substantive briefs and reports for the RD’s high level meetings with Government and Embassy officials;
• Ensure regular dialogue and information exchange with PPD and PFP;

Collaborate with RO Sections on the development of regional multi-country, multi-sectoral funding concept notes and proposals and manage the provision of quality assurance to RO and CO donor proposals and donor reports.

Supervise and guide the work of the partnerships section.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• Advanced university degree in in social sciences or other appropriate fields.
• Minimum 12 years of progressively responsible professional work experience in the areas of development of strategic partnerships, external relations.
• Proven experience and demonstrated results in building, leveraging, and nurturing productive partnerships with both the private and public sector to mobilize funding is required.
• Experience in building alliances with regional inter-governmental bodies such as EU and Council of Europe, as well as with IFIs, foundations and key partners like the Word Bank and region-wide civil society networks is required.
• Proven capacities to provide technical guidance to country offices in developing, nurturing and manage public and private partnerships will be an advantage.
• Work experience in or familiarity with the Europe and Central Asia region would be an asset.
• Fluency and highly developed writing skills in English are required. Knowledge of another UN language is desired.
• Proven excellent managerial and convening skills are required.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

The technical competencies required for this post are….

View our competency framework at

http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

Remarks:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.