Strategic Partnerships Officer P3 (Short-Term) – Washington DC
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
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT
WFP’s expansion of the strategic engagement with national governments and International Financial Institutions is part of a broader corporate initiative to diversify partnerships and sources of funding, particularly around the Changing Lives agenda. This corporate investment has resulted in an increase in the number of agreements signed to support national objectives.
The team is being reinforced in order to both support the prospecting new opportunities, as well as to articulate WFP tailored value propositions, and support country offices in the process of preparing proposals and contracts. The Strategic Partnerships Officer would report directly to the Director of the Strategic Partnerships Unit based in Washington and to the Senior Director, Strategic Partnerships Division in Rome, HQ. The Strategic Partnerships Officer would support engagement with International Financial Institutions and other relevant counterparts as appropriate, including national government counterparts.
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)
Based on the years of experience, the areas of responsibility could include some or all of the following
- Provides strategic advice and support to the Director on a range of issues related to the STR Office in Washington DC;
- Coordinates special projects, briefs, and position papers on institutional, development, strategic and operational issues produced by the STR Washington Team, ensuring completeness;
- Leads engagement on specific portfolio assignments based on priorities, experience and interests;
- Conducts research, review and analysis for the Director on topics as assigned and drafts communications and notes-to-the-file to facilitate decision-making and WFP’s strategic positioning;
- Keeps abreast of major events in Washington DC and globally which are of interest and relevance to the STR Washington Office; and
- Supports the planning of staff meetings as well as annual or ad hoc staff planning retreats;
- Any other task as required by the Director and Senior Director, Strategic Partnerships.
STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Education: Advanced university degree in Political Science, International Development, Development Economics, business administration, International Relations, public administration or other relevant field, or First University degree with additional years of related work experience and/or training/courses.
Language: Fluency (level C) in English language. Desirable: Intermediate knowledge (level B) of a second official UN language: Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish, and/or WFP’s working language, Portuguese.
REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS
- Manages projects effectively and consistently ensures timeliness and quality of project work carried out by the office.
- Strong communications skills, ability to interact with IFI officials and other stakeholders.
- In-depth practical knowledge of inter-disciplinary humanitarian and development issues
- Communicates effectively with staff at all levels of the organization and is comfortable in handling external engagements at all levels.
- Demonstrates sensitivity, tact and diplomacy in internal as well as external relations in his/her role as Special Assistant to the Director.
- Proven networking, team-building, organizational and communication skillsmwork spirit and ability to work in multicultural settings; superior cognitive capacity.
DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE
A minimum of 6 years of working experience in development, policy, humanitarian response would be preferable. Working directly in or with WFP operations in the field is an asset. He/She will have basic knowledge of International Financial Institutions and understand their structure and mechanisms.
TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT
TYPE OF CONTRACT: Short-Term P3
DIVISION: Strategic Partnerships Division
DUTY STATION: Washington DC
DURATION: 11 months (renewable)
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS
28 June 2023
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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.
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WFP has a zero-tolerance approach to conduct such as fraud, sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to WFP’s standards of conduct and will therefore undergo rigorous background verification internally or through third parties. Selected candidates will also be required to provide additional information as part of the verification exercise. Misrepresentation of information provided during the recruitment process may lead to disqualification or termination of employment
WFP will not request payment at any stage of the recruitment process including at the offer stage. Any requests for payment should be refused and reported to local law enforcement authorities for appropriate action.
