Senior Partnerships Advisor at United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)

Background Information – Africa Region (AFR) of UNOPS

Based in Nairobi, Kenya, the Regional Office of the Africa Region supports UNOPS multi-country offices in the region, providing strategic direction, guidance and oversight as well as operational support to portfolio management, partnership building and risk management.

The Africa (AFR) region currently consists of five Multi-Country Offices based in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Ethiopia, Ghana and Kenya, which each oversees partnership building and project implementation in a cluster of countries.

AFR regional office helps ensure that projects are executed to the highest standards, providing a shared knowledge base and ensuring that best practices and lessons learned are disseminated between projects across the entire region.

Summary of Key Functions

• Partnership, Business acquisition and growth.
• Knowledge management, innovation and technical support.
• Efficient partner relationships and organizational work ethics and culture.

 Functional Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Regional Director, the Senior Partnership Advisor will perform the following functions:

The selected candidate would be required to travel extensively in and out of the region. Partnerships development, business acquisition and growth include the following responsibilities:

• Coordinate implementation of AFR business plan 2022-2025 and eventually lead the development of the 2026-2029 Business Plan. Undertake periodic updates of the AFR Business Plan as well as multi-country office  and country offices business plans.
• Coordinate donor and partner mapping exercise covering both the development and humanitarian landscape.
• Advise the AFR RD and Senior Management Team on the possibilities for UNOPS strategic positioning, vis-à-vis the potential partners.
• Coordinate preparation of substantive briefs on specific partners or development thematics, UNOPS strategic positioning, and partnership opportunities.
• Establish working relationships with key potential partners and attend relevant meetings in an effort to position UNOPS as a partner of choice.
• Lead, manage and coordinate agreement negotiations, drafting of project proposals, budget and other partnership and programme development communication.
• Identify regional and global events of relevance to the partnerships development in AFR and define and organize the regional presence and positioning at the events.  
• Coordinate and maintain regular communication with the (Corporate) Partnership and Liaison Group (PLG) in UNOPS HQ in Copenhagen.
• Coordinate and collaborate with relevant partnerships and programme personnel at the country, regional and UNOPS HQ level, to ensure aligned and coherent interactions with partners.

Knowledge management, innovation and technical support, including the following responsibilities:

• Advise on the policy-level issues related to partnerships and programme development for UNOPS AFR.
• Assess and keep abreast of the emerging trends in the development and humanitarian spheres in Africa, as related to UNOPS services.
• Identify and synthesize best practices and lessons learnt as related to partnership and programme development.
• Implement standards, tools and templates provided by PLG to effectively manage partnership and programme development within AFR.
• Contribute to UNOPS capacity development as related to partnerships, including promoting learning, coaching and mentoring the team members, field staff on UNOPS policy and practices for effective management of partnerships.
• Participate in and conduct the relevant training for the operations/ projects personnel, and participate in field missions, as required.
• Contribute to knowledge networks and communities of practice.
• Supervise the activities of junior staff within the AFR partnerships team.

Efficient partner relationships and organizational work ethics and culture, including the following responsibilities:

• Actively engage with partners to solicit feedback and gauge their satisfaction with UNOPS services;
• Coordinate implementation of partner surveys within AFR as appropriate.
• Undertake advocacy, public information and communication activities in collaboration with PLG and CG, when required.
• On behalf of the AFR Regional Director, participate in and report on the relevant inter-agency, donor and government coordination meetings, international conferences, summits, etc.
• Actively engage with internal stakeholders.
• Demonstrate professional and personal ethics, transparency and openness.
• Perform other related duties as required.

 Education/Experience/Language requirements

Education

•  An Advanced University Degree (Master's or equivalent) in Business Administration, Political Science, International Relations, International Development, Social Sciences or a related discipline is required.
• A First-Level University Degree (Bachelor's) in combination with 2 years of relevant professional experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work Experience

Required:

• Minimum of 7 years of experience working in an international development context combining strategy development, execution and acquisition of new business and establishment of partnerships with UN organizations development finance institutions/ governments foundations/international NGOs or private sector organizations.
• Minimum of 2 years of in-depth knowledge of development issues and current donor and sectoral trends, with emphasis on deep understanding of Africa partner / donor landscape as well as Africa’s humanitarian and development challenges.
• Minimum of 2 years of knowledge / experience of Development Finance Institutions particularly of the Africa Development Bank.
• Minimum of 2 years of experience in dealing and negotiating with external stakeholders.

Assets:

• Demonstrated experience working in Project and Programme management, International Development, Post-Disaster and/or Emergency contexts.
• Experience in the private sector and/or social impact investing.
• Experience in International Organizations is an asset, particularly current and targeted partners for AFR (e.g., donor governments, African regional entities, UN).
• PRINCE2® Foundation Certification and PRINCE2 Practitioner Certification.

Language requirements

Fluency in English is required. French is a plus.