Head of Corporate Partnerships and Business Development P4 - based in Rome, Italy

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WFP seeks candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our humanitarian principles.

Selection of staff is made on a competitive basis, and we are committed to promoting diversity and gender balance.

ABOUT WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide.  The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes.  Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need.

Join us and make a difference !

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

The Private Partnerships and Fundraising Division (PPF) is responsible for engaging the private sector (corporations, individuals, foundations) through high-impact partnerships in support of WFP's strategic priorities. Serving as a broker between WFP and the private sector, PPF strives to mobilize funding, technical assistance, innovative solutions, and visibility and awareness to help WFP fulfil its mission while offering the public and companies the opportunity to create a world with zero hunger. PPF also serves as the in-house ‘consultant’ guiding WFP Regional Bureaux (RB), Country Offices (COs) and HQ Functional Units on partnership development, best practices, compliance and rules and regulations.

Starting in 2020, WFP will embark upon a new partnership and engagement strategy, which will focus on cooperation with the business sector, foundations and individuals to drive progress towards zero hunger. WFP will concentrate its efforts over the next strategic period (2020-2025) around three key pillars:

• Impact: partnerships that provide expertise and skills to support capacity strengthening for WFP and local governments.
• Income: investing in and growing fundraising.
• Innovation: identifying areas for innovation – particularly with businesses –uniquely able to drive change at scale.

JOB PURPOSE

We are looking for a talented Head of Corporate Partnerships and Business Development based in Rome, Italy at a P4 level to lead the ‘Income’ pillar. The position is part of the leadership team and will mainly responsible for the execution of the global corporate fundraising strategy that proactively targets partnerships focusing on income for WFP and developing successful approaches to secure new multi-year and multi-million corporate partners, with a minimum threshold of $1M for corporates and $500k for corporate foundations.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

• Lead and coach a dynamic and talented team to drive development of new markets of relevant private sector actors to partner with WFP and support its mandate around the world. Drive also strategy implementation, partnerships maximization, and revenue growth. Establish clear individual KPIs, objectives, goals, and timelines; and provides timely guidance to enable the team to achieve their goals.
• Work collaboratively with your team to selectively identify, research, and target commercial income streams and develop a corporate pipeline of potential new partners through relationship and network mapping.
• Leverage the connections of WFP senior leadership to identify and engage potential new private partnerships.
• Lead the account management teams in developing and executing a growth strategy for the largest existing corporate partnerships and ensure smooth handover of newly secured relationships from new business to the partnership management team.
• Cultivate key relationships, monitor delivery of support to meet potential and existing partner needs, expectations, and priorities, and oversee all internal and external activities tied to meeting partner requirements.
• Oversee stewardship strategy, including: facilitating meetings between senior WFP and corporate leadership for highest value partnerships; communicating, presenting to and influencing key stakeholders at all levels of the partner organization, including executive and C-level; and ensuring account management team embodies and delivers on strategy.
• Evaluate and pre-screen new income opportunities that meet the minimum financial thresholds and develop proposals for high potential new partners.
• Leverage WFP and external awareness events (such as conferences, forums, panels, and roundtables) to position WFP as a ”go-to” organization for partnership and transform WFP into a “go-to” brand for new partners.

• Collaborate with other areas across the organization to develop effective customized “pitch” materials for successful approaches, as well as materials to support senior leadership meetings with prospects and potential partners.
• Prepare for negotiations with new partners, create and brief the “pitch team” and, where appropriate, lead or participate in the negotiations, secure contracts, and agree on partnership expectations.
• Serve as the main point of contact to support fundraising efforts and new business opportunities, providing advice to WFP regional bureaus and country offices.
• Liaise with other colleagues on the due diligence process and contracting.
• Create communications for external and internal audiences and report on partnership impact.
• Supervise and nurture an effective team; support the professional development of team members.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

• You have at least eight (8) years of relevant and demonstrated experience in business development partnership development, marketing and communications, sales or agency account management, brand management, fundraising with large-scale corporations.
• You have extensive sales and marketing experience—experienced in research, planning, preparing, and landing pitches and negotiating with potential partners with a proven track record of successful negotiations with global enterprises.
• You have a demonstrated track record of securing multi-million dollar and multi-year ‘income’ partnerships from prospect research and identification to an agreement in the business or non-profit sectors.
• You have a demonstrated track record of stewarding complex high-value corporate fundraising partnerships, delivering sustained revenue growth, and successfully securing partnerships renewals.
• At have at least eight (8) years of experience in managing a team of sales or account specialists, setting clear targets and KPIs, and continuously tracking progress to achieve financial goals.
• You have a vast existing network of corporate contacts in key markets, including the US, which will be used to establish a prospecting pipeline.
• Experience prospecting and landing new high-value partners in an international organization with a development/humanitarian mission is desirable. Experience prospecting new clients for a private sector company and/or agency is preferred.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• You have a First University degree in Political Science, International Development, Development Economics, Marketing Communications, or another relevant field.

Languages

• You are fluent in oral and written English;
• You have an intermediate knowledge of another UN language (French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Russian) or Portuguese (one of WFP’s working languages).

Soft skills

• You have excellent written and verbal communication skills;
• You have strong interpersonal skills and the ability to cultivate relationships and influence senior decision-makers;
• You have superior ability in explaining complex issues to external partners, presenting the organization and diverse operations compellingly, including when to leverage the experience of internal stakeholders in a sales pitch, and understanding how to align the needs and interests of the organization with those of a corporate partner;
• You are highly adaptable to change and comfortable dealing with ambiguity, stress, and competing demands with grace and a sense of humor.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

The selected candidate will be employed on a fixed-term contract with a probationary period of one year. He/she will be required to travel abroad sometime to remote and challenging locations.

Mobility is and continues to be a core contractual requirement in WFP. These positions are rotational, which means that the incumbent shall be subject to the regular reassignment process unless the position is reclassified as non-rotational. Professional-level positions are rotational on a period of 2 to 4 years.

WFP offers an attractive compensation and benefits package, including basic salary, post adjustment, relocation entitlement, travel and shipment allowances, 30 days’ annual leave, home leave, an education grant for dependent children, pension plan and medical insurance.

Please visit our website for detailed information on working with WFP: http://www.wfp.org ; Click on: “Our work” and “Countries” to learn more about WFP’s operations.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

Tuesday, December 15th, 2020

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Female applicants and qualified applicants from developing countries are especially encouraged to apply

WFP has zero tolerance for discrimination and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status.

No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.