Head of Office, P-5, Fixed Term Position, Public Partnerships Division, PPD Asia – Pacific Pillar, Seoul, Republic of Korea #00018733

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right to a Future

How can you make a difference?

The Public Partnerships Division (PPD) works to strengthen UNICEF’s position as a partner of choice for children’s rights among governments, inter-governmental actors and the broader public sector around the world. The Division is doing this by positioning children’s rights in the governmental and multilateral for a and engaging with governments and public institutions as resource, policy and programme partners.

Under the overall guidance of the Director, Public Partnerships Division, and the supervision of the Director, Asia-Pacific Pillar, Public Partnerships Division, lead UNICEF’s overall partnership, resource mobilization, advocacy and positioning efforts with the Government of the Republic of Korea (ROK), with the objective of increasing high-quality political and financial support for UNICEF and advancing child rights through strategic public partnerships.

Income

1. Lead UNICEF’s overall positioning, strategic engagement and partner relationship management with the Government of the Republic of Korea, including for resource mobilization, advocacy, donor visibility and recognition, and the broadening of UNICEF’s partnership base in support of the UNICEF Strategic Plan.
2. Lead the design and implementation of engagement strategies and plans to increase flexible, thematic, multi-year and other high-quality resources for UNICEF, while identifying opportunities to improve the overall quality, predictability and strategic alignment of funding from the Republic of Korea.
3. Lead and oversee negotiation of contribution agreements and related partnership arrangements in line with UNICEF Regulations and Rules, in coordination with the UNICEF Legal Office, DFAM, headquarters divisions and field offices, and ensure effective stewardship of negotiated contributions, including compliance, reporting, extensions, amendments and risk management.

Influence

1. Facilitate and maintain high-level contacts with senior government officials, parliamentarians, development institutions, academia and other influential stakeholders to promote, advocate, mobilize and influence cooperation with UNICEF, with a view to strengthening UNICEF’s resource base, policy standing and strategic positioning in the Republic of Korea.
2. Advocate for strategic child rights issues and for increased and effective Official Development Assistance (ODA) and promote UNICEF’s positioning as a partner of choice with the Government of the Republic of Korea, in consultation and coordination with relevant UNICEF divisions, regional offices, country offices and Centres of Excellence.
3. Lead the office’s integrated advocacy and communication efforts, ensuring coherent strategies that support policy influence, resource mobilization, donor visibility and recognition, and stronger public sector support for children and UNICEF.

Insight

4. Provide strategic insight and intelligence on the Republic of Korea’s development cooperation landscape, including implications for UNICEF’s partnerships across the Asia-Pacific region and the wider organization, and contribute to regional and global partnership planning, coordination and decision-making.
5. Monitor and analyze political, policy and financing trends in the Republic of Korea’s development cooperation and humanitarian engagement, including donor priorities, budgets, systems and procedures, and advise UNICEF senior management on recommended actions to strengthen UNICEF’s partnership, influence donor policy and practice, and inform organizational positioning.
6. Prepare comprehensive and substantive analyses, briefs, reports, statistics, income projections and strategic background materials for senior management, including for meetings of the Executive Director and other senior leaders with ministerial-level counterparts, senior Member State officials, parliamentarians and heads of major institutions.
7. Develop policy papers, guidance notes and knowledge products to strengthen UNICEF’s partnership with the Republic of Korea and support internal coherence in engagement with Korean public partners.

Stewardship

8. Promote a partner-centered and collaborative approach to partnership development, including early engagement with counterparts, co-creation of solutions where appropriate, and brokering of opportunities that can strengthen results for children, partnership depth and longer-term strategic value.
9. Guide and support UNICEF regional and country offices in identifying, developing and positioning partnership and funding opportunities with the Government of the Republic of Korea, including through advisory support on partner priorities, proposal development, donor intelligence, visibility requirements and contribution management.
10. Guide the office’s engagement with the Korean Committee for UNICEF, parliamentarians and the wider Korean ecosystem including academia and other strategic stakeholders to strengthen advocacy, policy dialogue, public positioning and partnership opportunities in support of UNICEF’s mandate.

14. Lead and supervise the work of the Seoul office team, ensuring clarity of roles, strong performance, effective coordination across functions, and alignment with divisional, regional and organizational priorities.
15. Carry out other duties and responsibilities as assigned by the supervisor.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here:  Job Description.pdf

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… 

Minimum requirements:

• Education: Master or equivalent (Advanced University Degree) in Social Science, Political Science, Development Studies, International Relations and any other related fields.
• Work Experience: At least 10 years of relevant work experience in International Development, Public Partnerships, Resource Mobilization. and any other related fields.
• Skills:
  • Experience engaging with senior government stakeholders is required.
  • Experience with engaging with development partners is required.
  • Demonstrated experience in partnership development, policy engagement and resource
    mobilization is required.
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required.

Desirables:

• Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.
• Experience leading teams is highly desirable.
• Experience in coordinating complex partnership initiatives is an asset.
• Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts. 

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships
(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
(3) Drive to achieve results for impact
(4) Innovates and embraces change
(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity
(6) Thinks and acts strategically
(7) Works collaboratively with others
(8) Nurtures, leads and manages people

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility jobs-near-me.org UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable candidates are encouraged to apply. 

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

In this role, you will collaborate with colleagues across multiple locations. For effective collaboration, we encourage flexible working hours that accommodate different time zones while prioritizing staff wellbeing.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF’s Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.