JOB DETAILS

Job Title: Partnerships Officer
Grade: CST II
Type of contract: Consultancy
Duration: 09 Months
Duty Station: Kabul
Vacancy Number: 830786
Date of Publication: 18 Dec 2023
Deadline of Application: 01 Jan 2024

WFP seeks candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our humanitarian principles. Selection of staff is made on a competitive basis. We are committed to promoting diversity and the principle of equal employment opportunity for all our employees and encourage qualified candidates to apply irrespective of religion or belief, ethnic or social background, gender, gender identity, and disability.

ABOUT WFP

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the leading humanitarian organization saving lives and changing lives, delivering food assistance in emergencies, and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

The hunger crisis in Afghanistan is unfolding at a rapid pace, with 15 million of the population now facing acute food insecurity. Work opportunities are shrinking, with most households now reporting just one day of work per week. This comes on top of the worst drought in years, which is especially concerning for the 85 percent of the population who rely on agriculture for livelihood. Preventing and mitigating a drastic increase in hunger and malnutrition is the aim of WFP in Afghanistan which can only be achieved through the scaled-up and sustained complementary food security and nutrition interventions, combined with a scale-up of resilience interventions to safeguard gains. WFP has embarked on a significant month-on-month scale-up of its crisis response and resilience programs across the country, ensuring that the program is delivered at the right scale and time, and targeted to the right areas. WFP is also actively following up on evolving trends to pre-empt hotspots while guaranteeing quality and maximum impact of the program through the monitoring of these hotspots to be able to support continued donor advocacy.

JOB PURPOSE

WFP is seeking a qualified individual to fill the role of Partnerships Officer to support the Afghanistan Country Office. While managing the day-to-day Partnerships at the Country office, the Partnerships officer will need to drive WFP’s effective positioning with public, private, and external partners to attract policy support, resources, technical assistance, and innovative solutions to advance the work of WFP, while supporting member states in the achievement of the SDGs and Zero Hunger and emphasizing WFP’s contributions in this regard.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

The Partnerships Officer will be under the direct supervision of the Head of Partnerships and receive overall guidance from the Country Director and Deputy Country Director. The Partnerships Officer will be responsible for the following duties specifically formulated for this role:

• Manage a portfolio of partnerships and proactively support a wide range of aspects of a partnerships portfolio, including partner profiling, gathering and sharing partner intelligence (including forecasting), using key information systems (e.g. WINGS, Salesforce, WFPGo), and asses results; data/trends analysis and outreach plan, to maximize resources and leverage policy and technical support for WFP’s work; Ensure partner visibility and that partner conditions are met.
• Support implementation of a work plan for an assigned area to enable WFP to identify, develop, and strengthen quality partnerships in support of WFP strategic objectives.
• Engage with other functional units, RBs, and COs on WFP’s thematic, regional, and country-specific offerings, developing content and language that speak to individual audiences and align with ongoing policy dialog.
• Facilitate corporate dialogue with partners through the preparation of quality briefing materials in support of outreach opportunities; Together with other partnership colleagues support the Monthly Partners briefing; Proactively highlight strategic opportunities and issues to senior management and propose options for the best course of action to nurture trust and interest in the work of WFP; Support the preparation of joint events (e.g. UN pledging conferences) that can advance WFP interests and objectives.
• Support functional units, RBs, and COs on partnership strategies (including the development of Partnership Action Plans); Extend support on partnership/contribution management, in line with corporate norms, processes, and legal agreements, on quality proposal and report writing by engaging with other WFP entities and external stakeholders.
• Facilitate partnership growth, by exploring opportunities to expand existing partnerships and the scope of new partners, guided by assessments, analysis, and due diligence; Present recommendations to senior management and ensure follow-up.

• Contribute to the preparation of partnership proposals, strategic agreements, joint strategies, and/or MOUs, taking into account corporate norms, processes, and external regulations; Ensure quality control of content by engaging with relevant functional units, RBs, and COs.
• Conduct negotiations for contributions and partnership agreements, in line with WFP rules and regulations, to reach advantageous outcomes for WFP, such as more flexibility and predictability.
• Provide inputs to partnership strategies, including the development of Partnership Action Plans; Draw up quality partner proposals and reports by engaging with other WFP entities and external stakeholders.
• In the context of the UN system and multilateral fora, support the development of partnerships with member states, civil society, and intergovernmental organizations to advocate for the SDGs and Zero Hunger on the global agenda, and advance WFP priorities and policies, based on a good understanding of member states’ dynamics and interests.
• Solicit inputs from other WFP entities that contribute to inter-governmental/inter-agency work to ensure that WFP positions are properly explained and taken into account in decision-making.
• Coordinate work with other Government Partnership Officers to ensure the flow of information and other WFP units to align activities and ensure donor visibility and that donor conditions are met in the country.
• Contribute to preparedness actions, providing technical recommendations and guidance; Monitor defined risks and make recommendations on how to manage these effectively.
• Coordinate internally and manage the development of internal and external written material for management and donors on the strategic and thematic areas i.e. decrees e.g. continuing ban by the DfA on women working for I/NGOs and the UN; Gender-related issues; the international sanctions on the Taliban, Resilience and Climate adaptation etc
• Any other duties as assigned.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education: 

• Advanced University degree in Political Science, International Development, Development Economics, International Relations, Law, marketing, Communications, Social Sciences or other relevant field, or First University degree with additional years of related work experience and/or training/courses.

Experience:

• Minimum 6 or more years of relevant professional work experience in partnership roles.

Knowledge and Skills:

• Has a good understanding of government and corporate strategies and priorities and gained experience in developing multi-stakeholder partnerships.
• Has gained significant experience in exploring new opportunities and providing inputs to design and develop solutions with prospective partners.
• Has developed long-term partner relationships and expanded engagements across geographies and sectors.
• Has designed and managed all resource mobilization processes and resource strategies, negotiated contract terms, and provided resourcing advice to seniors.
• Has used understanding of partner’s focus areas and knowledge of internal capabilities to create a Unique Value Proposition for the partners.
• Has gained experience in using technology and digital tools for data collection, analysis and shared data-based insights to add value to all partnerships.
• Has provided input into training and support strategy for technical systems users and provided advanced technical support.
• Has experience in managing a team.
• Has motivated team spirit and contributed to a gender-balanced, inclusive and sound working environment.

Language:

• Fluency (Level C) in English.

HOW TO APPLY

To be considered, interested candidates are invited to apply via (https://www.wfp.org/careers/job-openings). Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. We want to ensure the recruitment process is fully accessible. Please contact us at afg.hrrecruitment@wfp.org to advise us of any accessibility needs you may have.

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 payment requests should be refused and reported to local law enforcement authorities for appropriate action.