Tiered Approach
In line with the commitment to safeguard capacity and support personnel already in the Organization, a majority of UNDP UNCDF/UNV vacancies are advertised using a tiered application process whereby:
- Tier 0: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV IP staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments, whose posts will be abolished, or contracts will be terminated or not renewed during 2026.
- Tier 1: Other UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments
- Tier 2: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding temporary appointments (TA), personnel on regular PSA contracts, and Expert and Specialist UN Volunteers
- Tier 3 or no tier indicated: All other contract types from UNDP/UNCDF/UNV and other agencies, and other external candidates
Please make note of the Tier(s) indicated in the vacancy title, if any, and ensure that you satisfy the eligibility to apply.
Background
As the lead United Nations agency on international development, UNDP works in 170 countries and territories to eradicate poverty and reduce inequality. We help countries develop policies, leadership skills, partnerships and institutional capabilities to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
As outlined in the UNDP Strategic Plan 2026-2029, UNDP’s work is guided by four strategic objectives that together define our contribution to human development: expanding prosperity for all, strengthening effective governance, safeguarding a healthy planet and building crisis resilience. These objectives are enabled by three accelerators that drive transformative impact across our portfolio: digital and AI innovation, gender equality and sustainable finance. Through this integrated approach, UNDP supports countries to deliver tangible improvements in people’s lives and to advance sustainable development at scale.
UNDP, through its Sustainable Finance Hub (https://sdgfinance.undp.org/), supports partners in promoting financing for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As an accelerator of the UNDP Strategic Plan, sustainable finance strengthens countries’ ability to mobilize, align and deploy finance at scale for national priorities. UNDP supports international and country level policy reform as a catalyst for system-wide change, stronger policy environments, better-functioning markets and more coherent financing strategies for sustainable development.
Based in UNDP, the Better Than Cash Alliance (BTCA) is a partnership of over 80 governments, companies and international organizations that accelerates the transition from cash to digital payments in order to reduce poverty and drive inclusive growth by:
- Advocating for the transition from cash to responsible digital payments in a way that advances financial inclusion and promotes responsible digital finance.
- Catalyzing the development of inclusive digital payments ecosystems in member countries to reduce costs, increase transparency, advance financial inclusion-- particularly for women-- and drive inclusive growth; and
- Conducting action research and sharing the knowledge and experiences of our members to inform strategies for making the transition.
Billions of dollars in cash payments and transfers are made daily in emerging and developing economies, including payment of salaries, social welfare and relief, payments to suppliers, remittances, etc. The problems with these cash payments include a lack of transparency, accountability and security, as well as inefficiency. Individuals who receive cash payments are often part of the 1.7 billion excluded from the formal financial sector. This means they are excluded from access to a range of appropriate and affordable financial services to help them save safely take advantage of economic opportunities and reduce their vulnerability to risk.
Shifting these payments from cash to digital has the potential to improve the lives of low-income people, particularly women, while giving governments, the development community and the private sector a more transparent, time and cost efficient, and often-safer means of disbursing payments.
From a corporate perspective, payments completed in the value chain of businesses represent some of the most significant payment flows of national economies. To highlight this impact, the Alliance published a report on “The Future of Supply Chains: Why Companies are Digitizing Payments" showcasing how companies in different business sectors have benefited from digital payments in their supply chains and play an important role in building an inclusive digital payment ecosystem. Thus, the Better Than Cash Alliance is committed to supporting digitization of companies' payment flows in different business sectors across the corporate payment grid (B2B, B2P, B2G, and P2B).
The Better Than Cash Alliance Team’s Core Values are the following:
- Achieving together
- Striving for excellence
- Service oriented
- Results oriented
Through its Strategy 2030, the Alliance seeks to ensure that 100 million more women, young people, micro and small businesses, and displaced and marginalized communities have the choice to use responsible digital payments that improve livelihoods, strengthen resilience and expand economic opportunities. Achieving this ambition requires strong strategic communications, advocacy and partnerships to position responsible digital payments as a development priority, strengthen collaboration with governments, development partners, Alliance members and UNDP Country Offices, and translate evidence into policy dialogue and action.
Under the overall supervision of the Global Advocacy and Communications Specialist, and in close collaboration with programme, partnerships and communications colleagues, the Strategic Communications, Advocacy and Partnerships Specialist will lead strategic communications, advocacy and partnership engagement across the Alliance's priority programmes in Africa, with a primary focus on East and West Africa, while providing strategic communications support to initiatives in Arabic-speaking countries, particularly Jordan and Sudan.
The Specialist will strengthen the Alliance's visibility and influence, foster strategic collaboration with Alliance members, governments, central banks, UNDP Country Offices and development partners, and translate programme evidence into strategic communications, advocacy and policy engagement at country, regional and global levels.
Duties and Responsibilities
The Specialist will drive the implementation of the strategic communications, advocacy and partnership priorities of the Better Than Cash Alliance Strategy 2030, with a primary focus on East and West Africa and strategic communications support to programmes in Arabic-speaking countries, particularly Jordan and Sudan.
The assignment will contribute to:
- Strategic communications, thought leadership and executive positioning;
- Advocacy and policy engagement to advance responsible digital payments;
- Strategic partnerships and stakeholder engagement;
- Country and regional communications support across Africa and the Arab States.
Coordinate the strategic communications, thought leadership and executive positioning.
- Actively contribute to the implementation of the Alliance's strategic communications priorities in alignment with Strategy 2030;
- Develop executive communications, including speeches, talking points, opinion pieces and strategic messaging for senior leadership;
- Coordinate to the development and dissemination of flagship publications, knowledge products and multimedia content across digital and traditional platforms and partner networks to communicate and bring greater visibility to programme results and institutional priorities;
- Collaborate closely with Alliance members, UNDP Country Offices, Regional Bureaux and strategic partners to amplify communications efforts.
Advance advocacy and policy engagement to ensure usage of responsible digital payments.
- Coordinate the implementation of advocacy initiatives that translate implementation evidence into policy dialogue and strategic engagement;
- Coordinate in cooperation with the Head of Communications and Advocacy the Alliance's participation in global and regional policy platforms and initiatives, including the G20, the G7 Partnership, Digital Public Infrastructure initiatives, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and Africa CDC;
- Develop policy briefs, executive briefings, advocacy materials and key messages for high-level engagement;
- Coordinate the planning and delivery of policy dialogues, high-level events and advocacy campaigns;
- Promote the integration of implementation evidence into policy and regulatory discussions.
Strengthen strategic partnerships and stakeholder engagement.
- Collaborate with the Partnerships Specialist to strengthen engagement with Alliance resource members and strategic partners;
- Coordinate joint communications and advocacy initiatives with global and regional partners, including development finance institutions, philanthropies and private sector actors;
- Facilitate collaboration across partners to strengthen programme coherence and collective impact.
Deliver country and regional communications, advocacy and knowledge exchange.
- Coordinate strategic communications and advocacy for priority country programmes, with a focus on East and West Africa and Arabic-speaking countries, particularly Jordan and Sudan;
- Capture, package and translate implementation evidence, country experiences and lessons learned into strategic communications, advocacy and knowledge products;
- Facilitate knowledge exchange across Alliance members to support policy dialogue, peer learnings and internal organizational learning.
The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization
Institutional Arrangements
The Strategic Communications, Advocacy and Partnerships Specialist will be recruited by the Better Than Cash Alliance and will report to the Global Advocacy and Communications Specialist.
The Specialist will work in close collaboration with programme, partnerships and communications colleagues across the Alliance Secretariat, UNDP Regional Bureaux, UNDP Country Offices, Alliance members and strategic partners.
Competencies
Core Competencies
- Think Innovatively: LEVEL 3: Proactively identify opportunities, mitigate risks and develop innovative solutions to complex challenges.
- Learn Continuously: LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand knowledge and promote continuous learning.
- Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 3: Champion change and respond effectively in evolving environments.
- Act with Determination: LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate barriers and achieve strategic results.
- Engage and Partner: LEVEL 3: Demonstrate political acumen, cultivate strategic relationships and foster collaboration across institutions and sectors.
- Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 3: Champion inclusive approaches and promote diversity.
Cross Functional & Technical Competencies
Business Direction and Strategy
- Systems Thinking
- Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system.
Business Development
- Knowledge Generation
- Ability to research information and to turn it into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need.
- Ability to apply existing concepts to new situations, and to develop new concepts to generate workable solutions and new approaches. Knowledge of relevant concepts, conceptual models, and theories that can be useful in addressing new situations.
External Relations & Advocacy – Communications
- Advocacy strategy and implementation
- Ability to create and implement advocacy strategies which lead to impactful change.
Communications
- Media Relations
- Ability to develop media relations across all aspects of media work including relationships with media and preparing media materials such as messages.
- Campaign management
- Ability to produce and implement communications and advocacy campaigns which lead to impactful change.
Partnership Management
- Relationship Management
- Ability to engage with a wide range of public and private partners, build, sustain and/or strengthen working relations, trust and mutual understanding.
- Strategic Engagement
- Ability to capture and sustain attention, interest and agreement of high-level, influential policy and decision makers and secure their buy-in of high-level vision and objectives.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- An advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in Communications, Journalism, International Relations, Public Policy, Development Studies, Political Science or another relevant field.
OR - A first-level university degree (Bachelor's degree) in the above fields, combined with an additional two years of qualifying experience, will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.
Experience:
- A minimum of 5 years (with a Master's degree) or 7 years (with a Bachelor's degree) of progressively responsible experience in strategic communications, advocacy, partnerships or stakeholder engagement.
Required Skills
- Demonstrated experience in developing and implementing strategic communications and advocacy initiatives in the field of international development is required;
- Experience building and managing partnerships with governments, development partners, donors and international organizations is required;
- Experience in supporting high-level stakeholder engagement, policy dialogue and institutional positioning is required.
Desired Skills
- Experience in developing communications products for resource mobilization, partnership development and institutional positioning is highly desirable.
- Experience working with Africa and/or the Arab States region is highly desirable
- Experience working with UNDP, UN agencies or multilateral organizations, including collaboration with Country Offices or regional bureaux, is desirable.
- Experience in communicating on digital financial inclusion, responsible digital payments, digital public infrastructure, women's economic empowerment or digital transformation is desirable;
- Experience designing and delivering strategic communications campaigns, high-level events and knowledge products for international audiences is an asset.
Languages
- Fluency in written and spoken English and French is required.
Professional Certificates
- Additional professional training or certification in strategic communications, advocacy, digital communications, public affairs or partnership development is desirable.
Equal opportunity
As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination.
UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.
Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority
UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles.
Right to select multiple candidates
UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.
Use of AI by candidates
Applicants are invited to read UNDP’s guidance for candidates on using AI responsibly in UNDP recruitment and selection
Scam alert
UNDP does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process. For further information, please see www.undp.org/scam-alert.
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