The Position:

The Resource Mobilization and Strategic Partnerships Technical Adviser post is located at the UNFPA West Africa Regional Office (WCARO) and works under the overall direction and direct supervision of the Regional Director. The Adviser will focus on the development and implementation of a regional resource mobilization and partnership strategy and on building the capacities of WCARO while coordinating and supporting the regional and country offices in broad based resource mobilization, partnership building and outreach to diverse institutions, organizations and individuals with the potential to further UNFPA’s mandate.

How you can make a difference: 

UNFPA is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled. UNFPA’s Strategic Plan (2022- 2025), reaffirms the relevance of the current strategic direction of UNFPA and focuses on three transformative results: to end preventable maternal deaths; end unmet need for family planning; and end gender-based violence and harmful practices. These results capture our strategic commitments on accelerating progress towards realizing the ICPD and SDGs in the Decade of Action leading up to 2030. Our strategic plan calls upon UN Member States, organizations and individuals to “build forward better”, while addressing the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on women’s and girls’ access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, recover lost gains and realize our goals. In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff, who embody these international norms and standards, and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction. UNFPA is seeking candidates that transform, inspire and deliver high impact and sustained results; we need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them and who commit to deliver excellence in programme results.

Job Purpose:
The Resource Mobilization and Strategic Partnerships Technical Adviser provides strategic and technical leadership for the region, in resource mobilization and strategic partnerships, to ensure the Regional and Country Offices remain abreast of the organization’s policies and partnership strategies, current thinking, and innovation in the substantive area.

The adviser would contribute to facilitating sufficient resources from a broad base for the UNFPA regional office and country offices in the West and Central Africa Region as well as wide ranging partnerships at regional and country level to further UNFPA’s mandate and scale up results.

You would be responsible for:

1. Strategic Technical Leadership, Monitoring and Oversight
2. Quality Technical Support and Capacity Development
3. Evidence and Knowledge Management
4. Technical Representation, Strategic Partnerships and Strategic Positioning

Strategic Technical Leadership, Monitoring and Oversight

• Prepare and update an inventory and accompanying analysis of the various funding and financing modalities and potential donors available for the region for both a developmental and humanitarian context;
• Develop a Regional Resource Mobilization and Partnerships Strategy with innovative approaches and strategies for fund raising activities from various donor segments to increase regular and co-financing contributions of the organization;
• Explore opportunities for financing with IFIs and other domestic partners for leveraging of resources towards UNFPA’s mandated areas;
• Review of the various country programmes, including on the respective resource mobilization plans, in consultation with the Resource Mobilization Branch;
• Oversee full utilization of donor contributions and agreements, review donor-funded programme implementation bottlenecks, challenges and opportunities and suggest solutions to improve results-based implementation and reporting;
• Contribute to UNFPA resource mobilization and partnerships policies, frameworks, guidance and instruments and tools to ensure UNFPA positioning for addressing of the three transformative results;
• Follow-up with country offices on contributions to UNFPA regular resource;
• Oversee timely and high-quality compliance with donor reporting requirements by country offices, including through the Donor Agreement and Report Tracking System (DARTS) and the new ERP;

Quality Technical Support and Capacity Development

• Build capacity of UNFPA subregional and country offices in the region on resource mobilization and strategic partnerships, and when relevant, conduct donor
  negotiations for contributions to regular and co-financing contributions demonstrating UNFPA’s comparative advantage and reflecting priorities of donor countries;
• Assist country offices in the development of country-specific resource mobilization and partnership strategies and as required, undertake specific missions to support related fund-raising and partnership building efforts at country and/or regional level and provide capacity building;
• Assist country offices in exploring and developing collaboration with diverse political and social actors – institutions and organizations as well as individuals – that can be mobilized to support UNFPA’s mandate in other ways;
• Work with selected countries in the region identified as “emerging donors” to develop specific strategies aimed at exploring potential increases in contributions to regular resources, co-financing opportunities towards their own country programmes and South-South collaboration;
• Provide support to the regional office and specific country offices in the development of donor proposals and in the preparation of progress reports;

Evidence and Knowledge Management

• Undertake and update mapping of current and potential donors and strategic partners for enhancing resource mobilization and leveraging in countries in the region;
• Develop guidelines for above partnerships, including the development and maintenance of a database on regional partners;
• Facilitate, maintain and make accessible a data base on best practices for resource mobilization and strategic partnerships;
• Disseminate and promote the use of state-of-the-art technical knowledge, evidence, lessons learned and success stories to improve the effectiveness of UNFPA resource mobilization and financing of its programmes;

Technical Representation, Strategic Partnerships and Strategic Positioning

• Explore and develop partnerships with potential donors (both traditional and newly established) seeking to encourage their commitment to UNFPA;
• Explore new funding mechanisms through traditional donors, the UN, World Bank, donor special programmes, and private sector and foundations;
• Analyze specific funding trends and patterns which can assist in predicting donor interest in UNFPA programmes;
• Explore strategic partnerships that do not involve funding but rather collaboration in other forms (joint advocacy, social mobilization, etc.) around goals and objectives central to UNFPA’s mandate;
• Collaborate with the Regional Office team (including the Communication Adviser) on positioning and advocating for goals and objectives central to UNFPA’s mandate, raising the visibility and promoting results from country programmes and other relevant programming modalities relevant in the region;
• Manage networks of partners in the region, and create mechanisms for interaction among partners (parliamentarians, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs), etc) to further UNFPA’s mandate;

Carry out any other duties as may be requested by the Regional Director and the Deputy Regional Director;

Qualifications and Experience:
Education:

• Advanced university degree in international relations, international development, public administration, communication, management or other related field

Knowledge and Experience:

• Ten years of relevant professional experience in resource mobilization or partnerships building, including at least 5 at the international level focused on
  furthering causes related to development, human rights or humanitarian assistance;
• Established track record in fund raising and broad-based partnerships with diverse actors, including public-private partnerships;
• Relevant work experience with UN, bi-lateral, international donors/agencies and/or non-governmental organizations;
• Familiarity with UNFPA programmes and policies, knowledge of international development policies and institutions, international politics an advantage;
• Experience of working in the West and Central Africa region is an asset;
• Familiarity with UN systems and procedures, management and monitoring tools is an asset;
• Field experience is strongly desirable;

Languages: Fluency in English is required and French is desirable to enable effective communication with English speaking and French speaking country coordination groups and local organizations (West and Central Africa region).

Required Competencies:

Values:

• Exemplifying integrity
• Demonstrating commitment to UNFPA and the UN system
• Embracing cultural diversity
• Embracing change

Core Competencies:

• Achieving results
• Being accountable
• Developing and applying professional expertise/business acumen
• Thinking analytically and strategically
• Working in teams/managing ourselves and our relationships
• Communicating for impact

Functional Competencies:

• Mobilizing resources
• Leveraging the resources of national governments and partners/building strategic alliances and partnerships
• Providing conceptual innovation to support programme effectiveness
• Advocacy/Advancing a policy-oriented agenda
• Internal and external relations and advocacy for resources mobilization
• Creating visibility for the organization

Managerial Competencies:

• Engaging internal/external partners and
• Stakeholders
• Leading, developing and empowering people/creating a culture of performance
• Making decisions and exercising judgment

Compensation and Benefits:
This position offers an attractive remuneration package including a competitive net salary plus cost of living adjustment, rental subsidy, education grant, home leave, health insurance and other benefits as applicable.
Disclaimer:
UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Fraudulent notices, letters or offers may be submitted to the UNFPA fraud hotline http://www.unfpa.org/help/hotline.cfm

In accordance with the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations, persons applying to posts in the international Professional category, who hold permanent resident status in a country other than their country of nationality, may be required to renounce such status upon their appointment.

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements