Partnerships Officer (Private Sector & Foundations), SC9
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS21 March 2025-23:59-GMT+03:00 East Africa Time (Nairobi)
WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or disability.
ABOUT WFP
The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity, for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.
At WFP, people are at the heart of everything we do and the vision of the future WFP workforce is one of diverse, committed, skilled, and high performing teams, selected on merit, operating in a healthy and inclusive work environment, living WFP’s values (Integrity, Collaboration, Commitment, Humanity, and Inclusion) and working with partners to save and change the lives of those WFP serves.
To learn more about WFP, visit our website: https://www.wfp.org and follow us on social media to keep up with our latest news: YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok.
WHY JOIN WFP?
- WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.
- WFP offers a highly inclusive, diverse, and multicultural working environment.
- WFP invests in the personal & professional development of its employees through a range of training, accreditation, coaching, mentorship, and other programs as well as through internal mobility opportunities.
- A career path in WFP provides an exciting opportunity to work across the various country, regional and global offices around the world, and with passionate colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches millions of people across the globe.
- We offer an attractive compensation package (please refer to the Terms and Conditions section of this vacancy announcement).
Background and Purpose of Assignment
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) 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.
The WFP Regional Bureau for Eastern and Central Africa (RBN) is based in Nairobi, Kenya and provides strategic direction, technical guidance, resource mobilization and project management support to WFP operations and activities in nine countries: Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.
For this role, the Private Sector & Foundations Partnerships Officer will have the unique opportunity to influence WFP’s work in the region and to ensure that by working with Private Sector partners and Global Foundations in innovative ways, WFP delivers real results for the millions of people in the region who face food insecurity.
Portfolio Description, Accountabilities and Responsibilities:
Foundations: In partnership with the Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF), WFP has been implementing a project scaling up investments in two of WFP’s flagship interventions: homegrown school feeding and smallholder farmer support to improve the health, nutrition, food security and incomes for some of the most marginalized, vulnerable and food insecure communities in Uganda and Rwanda. WFP is already operating both programmes in Rwanda and Uganda and the investment by NNF can leverage these ongoing programmes’ resources, expertise and networks – including connections with a range of public-private entities – to create a much larger impact. The project is being delivered through WFP’s regional and country-level teams that have the combined global, regional, and local expertise and experience needed to deliver quality homegrown school feeding and smallholder farmer interventions. This Partnerships Officer position for the Scaling up Homegrown School Feeding and Smallholder Farmer support in Uganda and Rwanda in response to the Global Food Crisis Project is based in the WFP Regional Bureau East Africa in Nairobi, Kenya
Private Sector: As funding decreases with WFP’s traditional donor base, enhancing engagement with the private sector, through businesses, individuals and foundations has increasingly provided critical resources and visibility to WFP’s work. RBN assists the region in raising funds where most needed and optimizing the management of these resources. The unit undertakes and provides partnership support to Country Offices on partnership knowledge management, private sector partnerships and innovations technical assistance as well as helping support the creation of value propositions and pipeline development to attract and bring on-board new investments and partners. RBN continues to carry-out an aggressive private sector outreach strategy brokering partnerships with entities at global, regional and local levels in order to raise funds and resources. The candidate will provide support to the private sector and innovation teams with a focus on mapping, research and developing partnership opportunities for our operations in the Eastern Africa Region.
In this role, the Private Sector & Foundations Partnerships Officer will be responsible for supporting the Foundations Portfolio, providing Business Support and coordination to the implementation of the Improving Local Food Systems in East Africa using Schools as Catalytic Platforms project with NNF, Grundfos Foundation and Denmark in Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya, as well as supporting other Private Sector and Foundations activities with the following key responsibilities.
Foundations Partnerships Support & Coordination
- Ensure the effective and efficient implementation of the Novo Nordisk Project activities – under the Private Partnerships Unit and ensure timely submission of NNF phase one deliverables and reporting.
- Support Country Offices to effectively communicate project progress, results and strategic communications to the donor and other stakeholders through reports and other materials to improve transparency and accountability.
- Support the Foundations Manager in strengthening WFP’s partnerships portfolio with the NNF. Also support the Foundations Manager in the development of the proposal for the second phase of NNF collaboration, thematically informed by the joint programme-partnership working group.
- In close collaboration with the programme-partnership working group, support the development of a joint communications and advocacy plan for the duration of the partnership.
- In close collaboration with the programme-partnership working group, provide technical oversight, guidance and inputs to Country Office project focal points into programmatic strategy, identifying opportunities for improvement and innovation and ensuring a coordinated approach with wider programmes that complies with WFP standards and procedure.
- Work closely with RBN Budget and Programming Unit and Finance to provide guidance for financial reporting in line with NNF’s required templates.
Private Sector Partnerships
- Work closely with CAM unit to do scripting for video and article stories around HGSF in Rwanda and Uganda to be widely circulated on social media, external, internal, and donor platforms.
- Lead the identification, development, and management of high-value regional and multi-country partnerships, including Public-Private Partnerships, with major donors, foundations, and businesses.
- Lead development of quarterly Private Sector updates support to broader partnership and resourcing efforts.
- Support new strategic and operational partnerships with private sector entities for further partnering (prospecting, pitching, etc.).
- Act as partnership’s focal point and collaborate closely with programme teams in the RB on strategic partnership engagement and development.
- Work together with the broader Partnerships, Innovation and Comms team on innovative approaches to private sector engagement for fundraising opportunities and advocacy.
- Contribute to broader local, regional and global partnership objectives by supporting related tasks like strategic positioning of WFP and ensuring an integrated approach across the partnership team.
- Support as needed other private sector initiatives and engagement with existing and new partners.
QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:
Education: University degree in International Affairs, Economics, Public Health Nutrition, Nutrition, Food Technology, Agriculture, Environmental Science, Social Sciences, and/or another relevant field.
Experience:
- At least 3 years of relevant professional experience in the humanitarian and development field, partnerships, private sector, project management and relationship management with partners;
- Technical skills & knowledge of project management;
- Experience in proposal development and programme design;
- Monitoring and reporting knowledge;
- Experience with private sector / Innovations partnerships;
- Humanitarian & Development experience in Eastern Africa;
Knowledge & Skills:
- Strong oral communication and excellent writing skills
- Strong skills or experience in evaluation & reporting processes.
- Experience working in developing country context, preferably in food security or resilience projects/programmes
- Experience in engaging in policy and strategy discussions and providing input into these.
- Ability to analyse and identify opportunities for and propose solutions to programme quality improvement.
- Analytical skills with ability to compile, analyse and interpret data, prepare reports and draw conclusions and recommendations.
- Strong interpersonal skills and ability to deal patiently and tactfully with people of different national and cultural backgrounds and to manage external partnerships.
Language: Fluency in oral and written English.
WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK
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Click here to access WFP Leadership Framework
REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION
WFP is committed to supporting individuals with disabilities by providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process. If you require a reasonable accommodation, please contact: [email protected]
NO FEE DISCLAIMER
The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.
REMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION
- We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete, and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, language skills and UN Grade (if applicable).
- Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application.
- Please make sure you upload your professional CV in the English language
- Kindly note the only documents you will need to submit at this time are your CV and Cover Letter
- Additional documents such as passport, recommendation letters, academic certificates, etc. may potentially be requested at a future time
- Please contact us at [email protected] in case you face any challenges with submitting your application
- Only shortlisted candidates will be notified
All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.
No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.
