Director, Private Sector Partnerships (Chief Fundraising Officer)

The Director, Private Sector Partnerships leads WFP's global private-sector engagement function, driving partnership growth, resource mobilization, innovation, and influence. The role provides strategic leadership to expand WFP's private-sector ecosystem and position the organization as the partner of choice for private-sector stakeholders worldwide.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and implementation of WFP's global private-sector partnerships strategy, ensuring alignment with corporate priorities and organizational objectives.
• Provide strategic leadership and oversight of WFP's global private-sector engagement portfolio, delivering sustainable income growth, increased partner value and long-term diversification across corporate partnerships, foundations, philanthropy, individual giving, digital fundraising and emerging funding streams.
• Monitor global philanthropic, fundraising and private-sector trends, assess market opportunities and risks, and provide strategic insight and recommendations to senior management to strengthen WFP's competitiveness, positioning and long-term growth.
• Drive the expansion of existing markets and the development of new partnership opportunities, funding models and engagement approaches to diversify and strengthen WFP's resource base.
• Shape and champion the business case for strategic investment in private-sector engagement, ensuring WFP allocates the people, capabilities, systems, technology and operating resources required to achieve income growth targets, strengthen organizational effectiveness and support long-term sustainability.
• Position WFP as a partner of choice for the private sector by building and maintaining relationships with senior executives, philanthropic leaders, investors and other influential stakeholders.
• Identify, develop and advance high-value partnerships that generate financial resources, expertise, innovation, influence and other strategic value for WFP.
• Champion integrated partnership strategies that bring together corporations, foundations, philanthropists, financial institutions and other ecosystem actors to unlock innovative solutions, mobilize additional resources and maximize collective impact.
• Lead the exploration and adoption of innovative partnership approaches, blended finance solutions and emerging engagement models to expand WFP's reach, income and impact.
• Provide executive oversight of WFP's most strategic private-sector partnerships, ensuring effective stewardship, governance, risk management and delivery of partnership commitments.
• Provide strategic leadership for global fundraising, advocacy and engagement initiatives, in collaboration with relevant internal and external stakeholders, to strengthen WFP's visibility, supporter engagement and resource mobilization results.
• Represent WFP in high-level external meetings, conferences, forums and strategic engagements to promote organizational priorities, strengthen partnerships and expand opportunities for collaboration.
• Advise and support WFP's senior leadership team on private-sector engagement priorities, strategic partnerships and external positioning opportunities, and coordinate and leverage their engagement to advance priority partnerships and resource mobilization objectives.
• Strengthen collaboration across Headquarters, Regional Offices, Country Offices and Friends Organizations to ensure a coordinated and effective approach to private-sector engagement worldwide, including the development of public-private partnerships where relevant.
• Support the Assistant Executive Director in positioning the Department and, as a member of the senior management team, contribute to the achievement of its overall objectives.
• Oversee divisional performance management — including income growth, financial performance, forecasting, pipeline management, KPI monitoring and business reporting — ensuring accountability, data-driven decision-making and timely corrective action.
• Ensure effective governance, risk management, compliance and stewardship across the Division, safeguarding WFP's reputation and partnership assets, and lead the timely implementation of evaluation, audit and compliance recommendations.
• Assume overall responsibility for divisional performance, organizational culture, staff engagement, talent development, succession planning, workforce planning and resource management, ensuring PSP has the capabilities, leadership and talent required to achieve its strategic objectives.
• Foster a culture of innovation, performance and continuous improvement, ensuring PSP remains responsive to evolving market trends, donor expectations and partnership opportunities.
• Promote an inclusive, diverse and respectful workplace consistent with WFP's values and leadership principles.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Requirements

• Advanced University degree in Economics, International development, Social or Political sciences, Marketing Communications, or other relevant area, or first university degree with additional relevant experience and/or advanced training/courses.
• Fifteen years or more (of which six international) of senior level experience in a relevant field of work.
• Proven success in managing complex global private-sector partnerships encompassing fundraising, brand building, capacity building and network management.
• Background and/or interest in international humanitarian development.
• Extensive experience leading large multicultural teams and improving performance.
• Excellent commercial acumen and financial management skills, with the ability to leverage external partnerships to optimize resources for WFP.
• A track record of dealing with and influencing at the highest levels within and beyond the organization.
• Ability to assimilate and analyse complex issues to develop strategies and policies.
• Detailed understanding of business principals and processes, and the ability to quickly assimilate UN/WFP specific processes and systems.
• Fluency (level C) in the English language.
• Intermediate knowledge (level B) of a second official UN language: Arabic, Chinese, French, Spanish, Russian, and/or Portuguese (a WFP working language)

Skills

• Public Sector Partnerships
• Fundraising
• Brand Building
• Capacity Building
• Network Management
• International Humanitarian Development
• Team Leadership
• Performance Improvement
• Commercial Acumen
• Finance Management
• Resource Mobilization
• Strategic Leadership
• Policy Development
• Business Principles
• UN Processes
• Complex Issue Analysis

Languages

English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese