The Partnerships Specialist / Industry Engagement reports to the Safe Online Director. The Specialist is accountable for leading engagement efforts and development of mutual value alignment with industry partners. The Partnership Specialist position’s purpose is to deepen collaboration and knowledge exchange between industry and the Safe Online community and align with advocacy and resource mobilisation efforts. S/He may also serve as focal point and resource for colleagues on specific thematic areas of strategic relevance for the development partnerships (including in the areas of technology, data science and child rights).

The position will work within the Safe Online team under supervision of the Safe Online Director and in close collaboration with industry partners. The expectation is to perform the following key tasks:

Partnerships & Industry Engagement
? Build trust and credibility with key stakeholders (external and internal)
? Strengthen connections and programmatic links of Safe Online with partners, specifically industry, academia and research networks, and child protection and data science/technology communities
? Navigate trust building between tech industry and other sectors and aligning with the strategic goals of the Safe Online work
? Provide support to and create opportunities to leverage industry partnerships and Safe Online networks to maximize the impact of funded research and promote the work in the wider community
? Identify opportunities and contribute to resource mobilisation efforts with existing and new partners, or through mutual value alignment for design of collaborative programmes/ concepts
? Support Safe Online grantee community and Safe Online team in engagement efforts with industry and data science/ technology communities of practice

Strategic Portfolio Management
? Lead strategic development and implementation of Technology Tools and Research & Data pillar of work
? Provide technical advice on Safe Online’s strategy and the investment approach, particularly to funding rounds and technical support to the grantees
? Identify opportunities for alignment across priority initiatives, across thematic areas and types of violence against children and coordination across stakeholders
? Create linkages between technology, digital development and data science communities and child protection, youth participation and violence prevention communities – including children and youth – for strategic positioning and generation of new opportunities in resource mobilisation and advocacy
? Translate research and collective insights to strategic development of the portfolio including, through opportunities to expand and connect current evidence generation work to innovation, transparency and knowledge generation efforts
? Identify new opportunities for initiatives through active engagement in communities of practice
? Contribute to visibility and advocacy opportunities at key events and meetings

Programmatic Implementation & Delivery
? Coordinate design, implementation and delivery of programmes in collaboration with industry partners and the wider ecosystem
? Manage programmes including relationships with grantees and supporting synergies and collaborations in Safe Online community and with key industry partners
? Conceptualise, prepare and facilitate meetings or events with partners, capturing key decisions and strategic discussion to inform key stages and elements of programmatic design and delivery, and managing regular communication
? Set up, manage and implement programmes including creating relevant materials, overseeing and ensuring coordination of all key stakeholders
? Perform other related duties as assigned by the supervisor to ensure the success of the team, including support to the Safe Online team with technical inputs or contributions to wider team initiatives, strategies and grantee work
? Contribute to a positive and constructive team culture

Requirements: 

Minimum requirements:

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in one of the following fields: international relations, political science, communications, economics, international development, or another relevant technical field.
• A minimum of five years of relevant professional experience in one or more of the following areas is required: public affairs, diplomacy, advocacy, partnership management, resource mobilization, external relations, or other relevant area.
• Familiarity with child protection and industry landscapes and processes.
• Diplomatic communication and negotiation skills to establish and maintain trusted partnerships for achievement of objectives and to develop close and effective working relationships with diverse stakeholders.
• Current knowledge of child protection issues, trends, as well as strong technical knowledge of CSEA, online and offline, as well as wider VAC.
• Deep understanding of digital and frontier technologies and how they impact children’s safety and well-being is required;
• In-depth knowledge of partnership development and resource mobilization.
• Demonstrated track record of public speaking.
• Experience working with and negotiating among technology industry stakeholders to advocate for children’s safety in their platforms, core technologies, and systems.
• Demonstrated ability to formulate new approaches in respect of financing for SDGs and outreach- related activities.
• Skill in the mapping and identification of new opportunities or requirements for partnerships
• Skill in the identification of new opportunities or requirements to meet challenges in the field and propose changes.
• Excellent communications skills, verbal and written.
• In-depth familiarity with political and governmental processes, as well as technology industry engagement
• Ability to conduct sound strategic analysis.
• Excellent verbal and written communications and analytical skills;
• Oral and written fluency in English is required; knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is desirable.