Partnerships Specialist

The Partnerships Specialist is responsible for deepening collaboration with key stakeholders, facilitating resource mobilization, and enhancing UNICEF's visibility and influence in Ethiopia. The role involves strategic partnership development, policy influence, and supporting senior management in corporate engagement.

Responsibilities

• Implement the work plan for assigned area, in order to ensure timely and cost-effective delivery of results, in accordance with UNICEF’s partnership strategy.
• Seek and promote new partnerships and resource mobilization, working with UNICEF colleagues to identify partnership and resource mobilization needs and broker resource mobilization agreements to meet those needs.
• Receive and screen inquiries from potential collaborators and facilitate communication with appropriate UNICEF staff.
• Scan and scout external environment within designated partnership area for opportunities and risks and share information in a timely fashion with relevant UNICEF staff.
• Provide strategic, logistical and programmatic support to senior management and other UNICEF staff in corporate engagement and interaction with assigned partners.
• Develop and maintain deep knowledge and familiarity with current and prospective partners and relevant stakeholders, contributing to a database of key contacts and to UNICEF’s base of knowledge on partnership and resource mobilization.
• Expand UNICEF’s network of key interlocutors to build stronger relationships between UNICEF and governments, other key-decision makers, regional development institutions, foundations, civil society organizations, international financial institutions and/or other relevant constituencies.
• Develop and implement annual partnership engagement and resource mobilization plans.
• Act as a focal point for identification and pursuit of opportunities for outreach, engagement, policy influence and collaboration, including on how to anticipate and respond to partners’ concerns and priorities, ensure that UNICEF’s interests, perspectives, and knowledge are taken into account in relevant policy and institutional processes, and ensure that they are fully aware of UNICEF’s perspectives, policies, priorities and capabilities.
• Contribute to the development and management of initiatives for high-level outreach, including for UNICEF’s Senior Management.
• Contribute to the development of new partnership and resource mobilization practices and approaches by formulating recommendations for action based on on-going monitoring, analyzing current trends within designated partners and formulating recommendations for strategy approaches and message development.
• Contribute to strategies for engagement and the development of communications products to enhance UNICEF’s visibility and influence with existing and prospective partners and key stakeholders by providing analysis of the current environment and trends and formulating recommendations for strategy approaches and message development.
• Work closely with UNICEF’s colleagues to ensure that policy advocacy and outreach is strongly grounded in the experience and insights of the programmes that UNICEF supports.
• Contribute written inputs for communications instruments that best inform and influence decision makers.

Requirements

• Master or equivalent (Advanced University Degree) in Communications, International Development, Political Science, Communication Science, International Relations and any other related fields.
• At least 5 years of relevant work experience in partnerships, communication, partnership development, resource mobilization, external relations, stakeholder engagement, donor relations, government relations, policy advocacy, strategic communications, corporate engagement, international development and any other related fields.
• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of Asian languages such as Japanese Korean is highly preferred, and another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is asset.
• Experience in emergency settings is highly desirable.
• Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.

Skills

• Partnership Development
• Resource Mobilization
• External Relations
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Donor Relations
• Government Relations
• Policy Advocacy
• Strategic Communications
• Corporate Engagement
• International Development
• Emergency Response
• Experience in Fragile Settings
• Humanitarian Contexts

Languages

English