Senior Officer, Multilateral and International Financial Institutions (IFI) Partnerships

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC or “the Federation”) is the world’s largest volunteer-based humanitarian network.  The Federation is a membership organisation established by, and comprised of its 192 member National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (the “National Societies” – NSs).  Along with National Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Federation is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (“the Movement”).  The overall aim of the IFRC is “to inspire, encourage, facilitate, and promote at all times all forms of humanitarian activities by National Societies with a view to preventing and alleviating human suffering and thereby contributing to the maintenance and promotion of human dignity and peace in the world.”  It works to meet the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable people before/during/after disasters, health emergencies, and other crises.

The Federation is served by a Secretariat based in Geneva, with regional and country offices throughout the world. The Secretariat is led by the IFRC Secretary General, and provides the central capacity of the Federation to serve, connect, and represent National Societies.  The IFRC Secretariat also provides support to the IFRC governance mechanisms by: setting norms and standards; providing guidance; ensuring consistency & coordination, accountability for performance, knowledge sharing; promoting collaboration within -and respect for- the RCRC Movement.  The IFRC Secretariat’s headquarters is organized around three main business groups, led by three different Under Secretary General covering:

• Global Relations, Humanitarian Diplomacy and Digitalization (GRHDD)
• National Society Development and Operations Coordination (NSDOC)
• Management Policy Strategy & Corporate Services (MPSCS)

The GRHDD Division is in turn organised around three Departments, each of them led by a Director of which

the Strategic Partnerships and Resource Mobilisation (SPRM) is one.  The Division also oversees the work of liaison offices covering the African Union(Addis Ababa), the European Union (Brussels), and Gulf Countries.

TheSenior Officer is a member of the Global SPRM Team.

Provide leadership, entrepreneurship and innovation to execute IFRC’s strategy of engagement with multilateral organisations and International Financial Institutions (IFI) to consolidate and/or establish strategic partnerships and increase income to reach the targets set in IFRC’s Plan and Budget 2021-2025. 

Lead Partnership Development

• Explore/develop/manage new relationships with multilateral and IFI partners, in particular with:

            (a) Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs, e.g.: World Bank and regional ones),               (b) specialised funds (e.g.: Global Fund, GAVI, GCF),

             (c) UN agencies, and

             (d) European Union.

• Lead and represent IFRC in dialogue, strategic meetings, events, and consultations with multilateral and IFI partners to strengthen responsiveness and effectiveness of resource mobilization.

• Stay abreast of relevant multilateral and IFI policies and decisions to remain aware of organizational and political shifts, identify ways IFRC can respond to such shifts as well as to ensure coherence across operations; ensure systematic analysis of funding trends, develop funding targets, and forecast income projections.
• Monitor reporting requirements and proactively address any areas of risk and potential solutions. Advise management on requirements and areas of risk as well as proactive mitigation measures.

• Provide key strategic advice and support to IFRC senior management including accompanying senior leadership and/or attending on their behalf high level meetings; prepare briefing notes, talking points and reports for such meetings.
• Maintain partner relationships through innovative approaches and promote organizations’ objectives and strategies with partners while ensuring complementary of work and objectives between IFRC and its partners.

Explore, Identify and Secure Investment Opportunities and Projects

• Conduct research, analysis and advise accordingly on identifying partners that are able to engage with and define opportunities for the organization.

• Develop and manage a system to regularly track new funding opportunities from multilateral and IFI partners, and widely share them within the relevant services of IFRC’s Secretariat and with regional offices.

• Prepare tailored investment and partnership cases to target relevant prospects. Initiate and negotiate MOUs, accreditation processes, global framework partnership agreements, multi-year grant agreements (and related renewals). Represent the IFRC in such exchanges.
• Propose and structure financial instruments and navigate complex funding mechanisms.
• Anticipate the evolving funding landscape and develop and influence appropriate action plans. Prepare and/or coordinate reports, analysis, and updates on the results of partners’ engagement strategies.
• Involve the Programme and Operations Division, and Regional Offices in the development of partnership strategies as well as other key stakeholders.
• Coordinate with Communications Department to increase visibility of IFRC collaborations and projects.
• Design processes, support the creation of global standard operating procedures with new partners, by negotiating a common ground between IFRC’s internal financial, legal and audit rules/regulations, and the ones of new partners.
• Assist regional offices in building sustainable, long-term contacts with partners’ country/regional representation offices, including by travelling to relevant capitals, facilitating exploratory meetings by accompanying regional SPRM colleagues and discussing joint investment opportunities and new opportunities.

Guide and support National Societies Capacity Building

• Support and accompany the exposure of National Societies to key local multilateral and IFI partners at the field level.
• Ensure that key local multilateral and IFI partners at field level, receive regular visits and updates from SPRM colleagues based in regional offices and from National Societies.
• Initiate and negotiate local partnership agreements, by facilitating the adaptation of global MOUs/agreements at the local level.
• Support National Societies to better leverage their auxiliary status vis-à-vis their own Governments with the aim of increasing access to multilateral and IFI funding instruments.

Manage SPRM Tools and Systems in line with IFRC quality standards

• Supervise the effective stewardship of funds received from multilateral and IFI partners, by closely monitoring the progress and the performance towards deliverables in line with partner’s requirements; identify risks, and inform/alert senior management of the actions to be taken to mitigate risks. 

• In particular:
  • In collaboration with regional offices, closely monitor the process of timely/quality submission of concept notes, applications, and reports to multilateral and IFI partners.
  • Closely follow-up the burn rate of projects funded by multilateral and IFI partners.
  • In collaboration with the Communications Department, ensure that appropriate levels of partners’ visibility is reflected in IFRC publications, website, media, and online.
• Participate and/or lead partners’ evaluations, assessments, reviews and/or audits to ensure IFRC is adequately represented, and partners’ requirements are successfully met.
• Monitor progress of the portfolio commitments to meet 2021-2025 Plan and Budget targets.
• Register into, and manage the variety of web-based systems used by multilateral and IFI for communicating with the wider community of partners.

Lead IFRC external and Internal engagement on special projects carried out in partnership with other aid agencies:

• Contribute to thought leadership on how to operationalize and translate strategic priorities into concrete actions.
• implementation and deadlines and ensure activities and expenditures are aligned with the terms and conditions set out in the agreements.
• Navigate through complex and multiple funding mechanisms, propose and structure financial instruments.
• Process and analyse knowledge and data from projects to support planning, policy and advocacy at regional and global levels.
• Facilitate coordination, collaboration and the sharing of knowledge, best practices and lessons learned, internally and externally – within the movement and with partners.

Contribute to an effective, high quality IFRC team:

• Support the USG-GRHDD, the Director of SPRM and unit manager with regular progress reports on results against objectives and risk analysis.
• Work in close consultation, and develop synergies with members of other units of the SPRM team in Geneva and in the regions.  Pro-actively liaise with other relevant departments at IFRC’s Secretariat (e.g.: audit, finance, legal, procurement) to improve and innovate the tools required to engage in new partnership.

Required

• Degree in International Development, International Relations, Law or other relevant fields.

Required

• Minimum of 10 years of experience in leading multilateral partnerships and resource development functions at a global level for a national/international organisation.  
• Experience in partnering with development banks (World Bank and regional ones), specialised funds (e.g.: Global Fund, GAVI, GCF), UN agencies, and EC.
• Proven track record in multilateral partnerships, and in achieving results by raising public sector funds at levels over CHF 10 million/year.
• Experience managing partner and resource development relations in a context of humanitarian and/or development programmes.
• Experience managing partnership relations at the field level.
  

Knowledge and Skills

Required

• Advanced knowledge of multilateral and IFI landscapes, priorities, policies, and financing instruments supporting humanitarian action and the attainment of the SDGs.  
• Demonstrated ability to negotiate funding agreements, to structure financial instruments, and to navigate complex funding mechanisms.
• Experience in communicating with high level partners and successfully navigating multilateral and IFI partner decision-making processes, funding instruments and requirements.
• Outstanding networking, representational, communication and negotiation skills contributing to a client-focused culture.  Ability to be proactive and persuasive.
• Experience in identifying and articulating strategic issues, risks and priorities that need to be brought to the attention of senior management.
• Proven ability to translate strategy into action and to undertake analysis on investment opportunities and returns on investment.
• Excellent writing skills, ability to draft proposal
• Results-oriented and demand-driven individual; strategic thinker; entrepreneurial and hands on.
• Track record in producing high quality work within short deadlines and ability to make effective, timely decisions.
• High degree of discretion, tact, and sensitivity in dealing with internal and external clients and stakeholders at all levels.
• Ability to work within a multi-cultural, multilingual, multidisciplinary environment.
• Fluency in Microsoft office tools. 

Languages 

Required 

• Fluently spoken and written English

Preferred 

• Good command of another IFRC official language (French, Spanish or Arabic)

Values: Respect for diversity; Integrity; Professionalism; Accountability
Core competencies: Communication; Collaboration and teamwork; Judgement and decision making; National society and customer relations; Creativity and innovation; Building trust