Partnerships & Resource Mobilization Specialist, P3, TA

Background:

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

In Ukraine, UN Women is committed to delivering results across strategic priorities, exercising its triple mandate encompassing normative support, UN system coordination, and operational activities to mobilize urgent and sustained action to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. UN Women has long been actively supporting local priority areas in Ukraine from increased political participation to gender mainstreaming in public policy, and economic development.

The full-scale invasion of Ukraine has had a profoundly negative impact on the lives of women and men, girls and boys, causing widespread destruction, displacement and suffering. According to Ukraine Humanitarian Response Plan for 2023,  nearly 18 million people, out of whom 6.7 million are internally displaced, are in need of humanitarian assistance. With women constituting the majority of refugees from Ukraine and those displaced within the country, the multisectoral impact of the war affects women disproportionately through such factors as increased care responsibilities, reduced access to livelihoods and increased threat of gender-based violence. At the same time, the UN system in Ukraine has been pivoting to a “nexus approach” by which support for the intersection of humanitarian and development needs is paramount. With this shift, the Ukraine CO has newly established a programme team on Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE), to respond to the government’s and civil society’s request that UN Women address WEE more systematically, and continued its strong programmatic work on gender-responsive governance, adding women’s political participation to that portfolio, gender-responsive EU integration, conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) and Women Peace and Security (WPS). In other words, the expectations for UN Women to deliver results is high. 

Meanwhile, donor support for Ukraine is becoming less secure.  The withdrawal of US government funding for international development has not only created a funding crisis around the world, including in Ukraine, but also US government policy on Ukraine is causing the major European donors to invest more in their military spending and less in international donors, with funding implications for all UN agencies in Ukraine. Responding to this altered donor landscape requires the CO to step up its RM efforts to secure more flexible and innovative funding, especially in terms of Strategic Note (SN) funding and private sector funding. 

Under the direct supervision of the Country Representative and in coordination with the senior management and Programme teams in the Ukraine Country Office, the Planning and Partnership Specialist will provide technical and substantive support to the development and management of UN Women Ukraine Country Office’s strategic partnerships and relationships, and resource mobilization strategy with a strong focus on the mobilization of Strategic Note (SN) funding. He/she will develop and implement the partnership strategy and provide technical support to the UA CO management on partnership development, donor intelligence and donor relations, while ensuring timely and qualitative donor reporting. The Planning and Partnership Specialist will contribute to increased visibility and knowledge of UN Women’s products and strategies. He/she will support the diversifying and deepening of CO resource base. In close coordination with Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECA RO) and Head Quarters (HQ) colleagues, he/she will be responsible for the analysis and management of all fundraising channels and activities, ensuring support for long-term, flexible and larger resources for UN Women in Ukraine

Key Functions and Accountabilities 

1. Develop and coordinate UN Women’s strategic partnerships in Ukraine centered on Strategic Note (SN) support and private sector outreach

• Expand and coordinate relationships with key partners; provide technical inputs to senior management’s efforts at the country level to develop new and innovative partnerships, especially those centered on SN support;
• Set and monitor annual priorities, goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) for partnerships;
• Provide strategic advice to the Country Office on building and maintaining partnerships and positioning with potential public and private sector donors, especially to foster SN support;
• Advise Country Office on the design and implementation of effective advocacy strategies and methods for proactive and strategic targeting of partners and donors, both public and private.

1. Manage, and facilitate the implementation of, country resource mobilization strategies and initiatives focusing on donor support for the SN

• Manage the development and implementation of a country office resource mobilization strategy in line with the CO SN and AWP focusing on SN support and private sector outreach;
• Develop targeted products and initiatives to mobilize programmatic resources and attract additional donors’ funding, particularly for the CO’s SN;
• Gather information on project/programmes pipelines and corresponding resource needs through close collaboration with country-based counterparts;
• Provide technical support to the development of project proposals in line with the UN Women’s strategy and the interest of donors;
• Undertake ad-hoc donor studies, research, and other activities to identify funding opportunities from pubic and private donors; update the resources mobilization strategy as needs emerge.

1. Build trust and maintain effective relationships with donors, especially in terms of their support for the CO’s SN

• Provide technical support to the Representative and other senior managers in the preparation of missions, meetings and other consultations with donors, including the preparation of SN summaries, notes, briefs and other materials;
• Act as a direct entry point for donors, building institutional relationships with public and private sector entities;
• Provide regular updates on donor profiles, databases (e.g. contacts management) and donor intelligence;
• Identify opportunities to secure SN and other non-core resources;
• Provide technical support the drafting and review of partner-specific agreements; including memorandums of understanding, UN to UN agreements, and other partnership agreements;
• Spearhead advocacy with and capacity building for donors to understand SN funding and its requirements; 
• Spearhead efforts to mobilize resources from private sector entities in the country.

1. Coordinate the submission of high quality and timely reports to Donors

• Maintain systems to promote CO compliance with the terms of grants and donor agreements;
• Provide technical support to programme managers for the preparation of high quality and timely donor reports; 
• Coordinate with the Monitoring and Reporting Specialist and programme team for the collection of information and preparation of results-based reports for external constituencies. 
• Liaise with HQ and the RO to determine the template and requirements for consolidated SN donor reports;
• Provide guidance to senior management, programme team leads, and programme staff on the preparation of consolidated SN donor reports;

1. Participate in knowledge building and sharing and advocacy efforts

• Contribute to the development of knowledge products and mechanisms to effectively position UN Women in the country wherever possible;
• Coordinate with the Communications team to prepare advocacy materials to gain private sector interest in UN Women’s work in Ukraine;
• Share knowledge and enhance organizational learning through the development and use of on-line tools, templates, tips, mechanisms and guidelines;
• Monitor emerging issues that could affect partnerships and resource contributions at the national or regional levels (risk management).

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: N/A

Competencies :

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework: 

Functional Competencies:

• Strong knowledge of gender equality and women's rights issues;
• Demonstrated ability to interact effectively with government representatives of Member States (donor and programme);
• Proven networking skills, and ability to mobilize support on behalf of UN Women;
• Strong negotiating skills;
• Knowledge and understanding of UN system and familiarity with inter-governmental processes;
• Strong IT skills, including databases, extranet and office software packages;
• Strong analytical and interpersonal skills.

Recruitment Qualifications

Education and certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in economics, business management, social sciences, public administration, international relations, communications, women's studies, or a related field is required.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in resource mobilization, communications/ advocacy, and/or business development is required. 
• At least 3 years experience in gender equality and women's empowerment is required;
• Experience working with civil society organizations, international institutions and donors is required. 
• Experience working at the country level, especially in a conflict and/or post conflict context is desirable;
• Experience working in the UN system is desirable.
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems is required. 
• Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP System, preferably Oracle Cloud, is desirable. 

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required 
• Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).

Statements :

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.