Partnership Development Specialist at UNDP

Facilitate and manage partner relations

• Work with UNDP’s Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy (BERA), partnership teams within the Regional Services Centre for Africa (RSCA), and Resilience Hub for Africa, to maintain effective and quality partner relations management through active engagement. 
• Lead the team in management of wider range of existing and new partnerships, including working with the African Union, Regional Economic Communities, donors, UN agencies, IFIs, NGOs, academia, private sector, youth and women networks across Africa.
• Coordinate and organize strategic dialogues with partners to expand and diversify collaborative engagements and increase resource mobilization. 
• Coordinate and consult with internal and external stakeholders to foster coordinated implementation of the CRRF and other DRT initiatives.
• Scan the potential for expanding collaboration with partners and any other relevant new potential partner under the respective portfolio (including Government, private sector, individual donations, foundations, academia and other civil society stakeholders) to foster further interest in the CRRF. 
• Ensure high quality and timely reporting to partners, both financial and substantive. 
• Negotiate agreements with funding partners as per applicable policies. 
• Work with the Project Manager to monitor the use of partner funds and alert any discrepancies for corrective actions for programme/projects implementers. 
• Submit timely financial and activity reports on partner-funded initiatives based on the terms of corporate agreements.

Resource Mobilization

• Provide support in the articulation of funding proposals for funding for the CRRF and other DRT initiatives, including but not limited to urban resilience, multi-hazard early warning systems, recovery, and other related resilience initiatives. 
• Identify opportunities for expanding the partner base for the CRRF, including Government, private sector, foundations, academia, and other civil society stakeholders. 
• Facilitate internal consultations and coordination that are needed at different stages of the partnerships management cycle to strengthen, diversify and expand partnerships, and provide input to internal stakeholders in the development of the CRRF-related concept notes and outreach material. 
• Working closely with UN partners and Resilience Hub Teams to maximize joint collaboration for resource mobilization. 
• Develop selected outreach material and briefs on CRRF interventions and related impact. 
• Support the formulation and implementation of marketing plans and associated partner outreach for fundraising. 
• In collaboration with the communications team, conceptualize and develop targeted partner communications materials and marketing tools to enable effective partnership-building and resource mobilization. 
• Lead negotiation processes and conclusion of financing agreements with partners, including Government, private sector, foundations, academia and other civil society stakeholders, inter alia. 

Promote outreach and Advocacy

• Organize and coordinate strategic dialogues, partner engagements, and outreach and advocacy events. 
• Identify and recommend opportunities to present CRRF in key forums of corporate significance (e.g. conferences, national/global/regional fora) and coordinate participation. 
• Support and contribute to the organization of corporate partnership engagement activities and events.
• Prepare potential missions to partner countries/institutions, including agenda, briefing notes, mission reports, coordination of follow up, etc. 

Facilitate knowledge management on partnership

• Oversee the knowledge extraction, analysis, documentation, codification of results/lessons learned in the specific thematic area, ensuring that knowledge sharing, and content management is in line with guidelines and performed using corporate tools.
• Ensure partnership tracking tools are updated with the relevant information (UNITY, SharePoint, etc.);
• Analyze global trends, produce central partner intelligence mapping and other intelligence resources, and provide advice to CRRF on partnership opportunities.
• Develop relevant guidance notes, standard operating procedures, tools, templates, best practices, lessons learned, brochures.   
• Regularly identify partnerships and resource mobilization opportunities from regular dialogues with partners to enable expansion of collaborative engagements. 

Results management, monitoring and evaluation

• Supports the DRT in results management, including supporting timely project reports, annual ROAR reporting and processes 
• Supports regular monitoring and tracking of results from various regional, sub-regional and national projects/programs.

Institutional Arrangement

The incumbent will report to the DRT Africa Coordinator, based in Nairobi, Kenya. The incumbent will function as a partnerships development specialist for the CRRF as well as for the wider DRT aligned initiatives.

Competencies

Core competency

• Achieve Results: LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have a lasting impact 
• Think Innovatively: LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems 
• Learn Continuously: LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences
• Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands 
• Act with Determination: LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results
• Engage and Partner: LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate the complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 3: Appreciate the benefits of a diverse workforce and champion inclusivity

Cross functional and technical competency

• Business Management: Partnerships Management – Build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts and others in line with UNDP strategy and policies.
• Business Direction & Strategy:   Strategic Thinking – Develop effective strategies and prioritised plans in line with UNDP’s mission and objectives, based on the systemic analysis of challenges, opportunities and potential risks; link the general vision to reality on the ground to create tangible targeted solutions; learn from a variety of sources to anticipate and effectively respond to both current and future trends; demonstrate foresight.
• 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.
• Partnership management: 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.
• Negotiation and Influence: Business Direction & Strategy – Ability to reach an understanding, persuade others, resolve points of difference, gain advantage in the outcome of dialogue, negotiates mutually acceptable solutions through compromise and creates ‘win-win’ situations.
• Entrepreneurial Thinking:  Business Direction & Strategy – Ability to create clarity around UNDP value proposition to beneficiaries and partners and to develop service offers responding to client needs based on UNDP’s organizational priorities and mandate.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s Degree or equivalent in International Relations, Business Administration, Public Administration, Political Sciences, Social Sciences, Development Studies, or related field. OR A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the areas mentioned above, in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• A minimum 5 years with (Master’s degree) or 7 years (with a bachelor’s degree) of relevant experience in development programmes. 
• Work experience in multi-stakeholder partnership building dealing with public and private sectors, with international or intergovernmental organizations;
• Ability to establish networks and partnerships with knowledge and experience of UNDP and UN system policies and programming;
• Strong experience in mobilization of resources in a challenging funding context, including proven experience in mobilizing resources from non-traditional donors;
• Experience in excellent writing and analytical skills including writing reports, position papers and policy briefs is required;
• Demonstrated strong understanding of global development issues is required.
• Previous working experience in developing and crisis countries is an advantage.
• Previous experience with UNDP or with other UN organizations is an advantage.