Senior Partnerships Officer P5 – DRC, Kinshasa At World Food Programme

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

The deadline to apply for this position is Sunday, 05 February 2023 (11:59 PM)

ABOUT WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes. Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need.

DRC is home to the highest estimated number of food-insecure people worldwide, with 26.4 million people, or one in four members of DRC’s population, according to the 2022 Integrated Food Security Phase Classification. For the past 25 years, hunger and conflict have fuelled one another and multiple additional emergencies, including devastating Ebola outbreaks, political instability, and climate-related shocks, have compounded to drive large-scale humanitarian needs. Food and fuel costs rose out of reach in 2022 due to disruptions to the global supply chains arising from the Ukraine crisis and the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

WFP grew its operations in DRC through its Country Strategic Plan (2021-2024). It tackles increasing needs and ensures progress towards Sustainable Development Goals 2 (Zero Hunger) and 17 (Enhanced Partnerships). WFP creates programmatic links between crisis response and resilience activities and increases coordination for emergency preparedness. While acknowledging that the protracted humanitarian crisis in the country is the priority for assistance, WFP’s strategy offers people the opportunity to become more resilient and self-reliant which creates more sustainable food systems.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

The World Food Programme supports fostering partnerships to strategically position WFP within the humanitarian and development spheres and mobilize new resources to achieve zero hunger and advance other related priorities.

This position is the one of a Senior Partnerships Officer and that person will lead and be the Head of Partnerships and Reporting Unit, based in Kinshasa, DRC. The person will report directly to the Country Director of the DRC and will be part of the Senior Management Team.

JOB PURPOSE

As Senior Partnerships Officer, you will provide a unique bridge between programme and partnership development. Leading the Partnerships and Reporting Unit, you will provide support in navigating complex engagements with a vast array of counterparts. You will adapt and leverage lessons learned in a variety of contexts as support will be provided to DRC CO and you will provide guidance to all your team members. You will report to and work under the direct supervision of the Country Director. Your strategic actions may include field missions, country level project preparation, and other types of country level support/advisory as requested by the Country Director. You will be the main focal point to clear all high-level documents produced by the Reporting team for Senior Management and all publications, in close coordination with the CAM Unit. Networking within the country with all stakeholders will be also essential to elevate the work of the Partnerships and Reporting Unit at an improved strategic level.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

1. Lead the scoping and mapping of partnership opportunities, based on complex analysis of current political and social events, data and trends, market environments, return on investment assessments and due diligence.
2. Oversee the development, planning and implementation of innovative partnership strategies that align the interests of targeted partners with those of WFP and position WFP in key international fora.
3. Build collaborative internal networks to define WFP’s value proposition in specific thematic areas and country/regional contexts; Create tailored content and language that speak to partner audiences and align with on-going policy dialogue in national and global fora; Drive a coherent partner engagement across the organization.
4. Lead and motivate a diverse team of Partnerships Officers, providing coaching, training and guidance, to ensure development and enable high performance.
5. Guide the team to proactively manage and expand a complex partnerships portfolio, so as to maximize resources and leverage strategic policy and technical support for WFP’s work, in particular on the triple nexus and in crisis emergencies.
6. Oversee the use of the key information systems (e.g. Salesforce, WINGS, WFPGo) that facilitate sharing of quality partner intelligence (including forecasting) and assess results.
7. Lead on the design and negotiation of large and/or complex partnership proposals, joint strategies and/or MOUs in line with corporate norms, processes and external regulations; Ensure quality control of report writing by engaging with relevant functional units, RBs and COs.
8. Conduct complex negotiations on strategic partnership agreements in line with WFP’s corporate norms, processes and external regulations, in order to reach advantageous outcomes for WFP, such as more flexibility and predictability in funding WFP programmes.
9. Advise functional units, RBs and COs on partnership strategies (including Partnership Action Plans) and advise how to strengthen partnership/contribution management and partnership capabilities at various levels in the organization for traditional donors, international financial institutions, and private sector partners.
10. Facilitate dialogue with public and private partners, proactively highlight strategic opportunities and issues to senior management and advise on the best course of action; Define and disseminate best practices in partnership development and provide strategic advice to internal and external stakeholders in this regard.
11. In countries, where WFP has a presence, support WFP’s effective positioning vis-à-vis national governments and international institutions, based on solid socio-political understanding, to influence the policy agenda in support of the SDGs, Zero Hunger and WFP’s role therein.
12. In the context of the UN system and multilateral fora, support the development of partnerships with member state, civil society, and intergovernmental organizations to advocate for the SDGs and Zero Hunger on the global agenda, based on a solid understanding of member states’ dynamics and interests; Team up with UN agencies and other stakeholders on joint events (e.g. pledging conferences) that can advance WFP interests and objectives.
13. Oversee the coordination of inputs from other WFP entities that contribute to intergovernmental/inter-agency work to ensure that WFP positions are properly explained and taken into account in decision-making.
14. Take responsibility for an equitable and inclusive workplace that incorporates all dimensions of the WFP diversity and inclusion framework.
15. Contribute to preparedness actions, providing technical recommendations and guidance, and support risk management.
16. Other as required.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

• Advanced University degree in Political Science, International Development, Development Economics, International Relations, Law, Marketing, Communications, or other relevant fields, or a First University degree with additional years (2 years) of related work experience and/or trainings/courses.

Experience:

• At least 11 years of postgraduate progressively responsible professional experience, including specialized knowledge and experience required to design and drive strategic partnerships with national governments.
• Experience working with USAID’S Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) is desired.
• Solid experience in team management.
• Experience working in a humanitarian crisis context (preferably in Africa)

Language:

• Fluency (level C) in the English language and intermediate knowledge (Level B) in French is required.

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE

• Has experience engaging with the USAID / Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA)
• Has contributed to a collaborative, strategic, and innovative approach to attracting and developing new and multi-stakeholder partnerships.
• Has a sound understanding of government strategies and priorities and respectively of corporate strategies and interests in a given (socio-) political context.
• Has led, contributed, or influenced public policy formulation.
• Has at least eight years of experience in leading multicultural teams to develop and design solutions.
• Has demonstrated good leadership capacities to encourage team spirit and contributed to a gender-balanced, inclusive, and sound working environment.
• Has facilitated innovative thinking to grow large partnerships and has significant experience in handling conflicts to ensure a strong relationship.
• Has promoted strategic direction to support flexible and predictable resource mobilization efforts by senior management and by field offices.
• Has led and promoted data-based decision-making to enable internal stakeholders to make well-informed decisions.
• Has created external messaging to function, geography, and thematic interests of stakeholders.
• Has led the innovation of system improvements and partner intelligence platforms.
• Has utilized digital solutions to improve client services.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Mobility is and continues to be, a core contractual requirement in WFP. The selected candidate will be employed on a fixed term as well as a rotational contract with a probationary period of one year.

WFP offers an attractive compensation and benefits package in line with ICSC standards (http://icsc.un.org) including basic salary, post adjustment, relocation entitlement, visa, travel and shipment allowances, 30 days’ annual leave, home leave, an education grant for dependent children, a pension plan, and medical insurance.

The selected candidate will be required to relocate to Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to take up this assignment.