Partnerships Officer, (NO-A), Temporary Appointment, ECARO O/P, Athens, Greece 364 days

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, for every child, the right to A Future

UNICEF introduced a multi-country approach to resource mobilization called PSFR Clusters. In Europe and Central Asia, the Cluster includes Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malta, and Uzbekistan.

Greece has a healthy ecosystem of private sector partners large and small, a well-developed landscape of foundations and high net worth families who have long played an important role in financially supporting social causes, and an established culture of giving to humanitarian appeals at the household and individual level. Moreover, there exists a diaspora of some seven million Greek nationals globally, primarily in the UK, Australia and North America, who maintain strong connection with their home country.

Among these potential partners lies opportunities for collaboration and investment in many areas, financial and otherwise, for the benefit of Greece’s 1.7 million children, and beyond.

 

How can you make a difference? 

The Partnerships Officer NOA will be responsible for leading new business development opportunities; creating, identifying, and accessing new funding opportunities for both the Country Programme needs as well as for UNICEF regional and global propositions. S/he will maintain a consistent standard of corporate and foundation donor relationship and high-quality proposal development; actively seek to grow income through multi-country funding opportunities from corporate and philanthropy partnerships, as well as Greek diaspora, in line with UNICEF’s global private sector strategy. This position will support the Regional Office in achieving the high-value targets in the Private Sector Plans. The role requires the incumbent to develop new income opportunities, focusing primarily on companies and corporate foundations by implementing effective corporate partnership models, and provide effective account management of existing and new partnerships.

• In close consultation with relevant stakeholders (Greece Country Office, ECARO, PFP) and informed by clear analysis of the external environment, develop, and implement a comprehensive pipeline targeting corporations and key influencers (major donors and foundations). S/he will ensure effective alignment with national, regional and global plans and priorities and:
  • Achieve targets from the PSP plan: meet or exceed Greece’s PSFR annual targets for high-value channels set forth in the Greece PSFR business plan: both gross revenue and non-CPD contributions.
  • Actively identify, qualify and cultivate high-value partnership opportunities in pursuit of supporting UNICEF programmes at national, regional and global level.
  • Undertake the necessary actions to effectively develop proposals, negotiate and close deals with high-value prospective partners.
• Provide specialist advice, knowledge and skills related to partnership-building with corporate donors and foundations, including proposal development.
• With the Head of Office, represent UNICEF in meetings with key partners to advocate and promote UNICEF programme goals and objectives; portray a strong UNICEF brand through effectively communicating UNICEF stories and messages.
• Build support for business development goals from other teams within the Country Office through building effective collaborative relationships accordingly, notably with Communications (to drive a strong brand and assure powerful content for fundraising), Operations (operational support for fundraising) and Programmes (strong articulation of programmes for donors and partners, and compelling reporting).
• Facilitate the office in leveraging private sector engagement for programmatic impact.
• Assess and mitigate risk related to private sector engagement, making informed decisions on fundraising operations and the overall engagement with the private sector.
• Provide regular progress reports to Head of Office and ECARO Partnerships Manager, including compliance with corporate reporting cycles (QFS, RER, etc.).

Impact of Results

By developing effective corporate partnerships, the incumbent will create significant new income for UNICEF to fund our work in Greece, Europe and Centra Asia region, and around the world. In addition, the postholder will help to achieve Greece Country Office’s aims of working with the private sector to achieve programmatic results.

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

Minimum requirements:

• Education: University degree or equivalent in Business Administration, Law, Economics, or International Development or other relevant experience.
• MBA is considered as an asset.

• Work Experience: At least [1] One year of relevant work experience in demonstrable experience and success in engaging with bilateral and multilateral donors for UN Agencies, international organizations or large foundations, with proven ability to identify new business opportunities and partnerships.
• Demonstrated experience in working with strong key influencers’ portfolio in Greece, including multinational corporations and foundations;
• Demonstrated ability to successfully establish and implement fundraising strategies in the market, with a proven track record of achieving 6-figure partnerships through high-value channels
• Experience of working with technical teams to develop program proposals that are funded by private donors;
• Experience working in multi-cultural environments and teams with diverse backgrounds
• Demonstrated ability to adjust to unexpected challenges and proposing countermeasures accordingly;
• Diplomatic negotiation, influencing and networking skills to establish and maintain trusted partnerships and to develop close and effective working relationships with diverse stakeholders;
• Good familiarity with government decision-making processes, both political and technical, including budget processes, appropriation, protocols, and communications;
• Strong proven ability to identify and articulate strategic and policy issues through effective oral and written briefs;
• Enthusiasm for and commitment to UNICEF values and mission, and commitment to promoting gender equity and the interests of marginalized people in all advocacy work;
• A strong understanding of UNICEF systems, processes, and operations of UNICEF regional and country offices is highly desirable
• Language Requirements:  Fluency in English and Greek is required.

 

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

The 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 

 

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.

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.

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.

[CO/ HQ specific: visa residence requirements: i.e.: UNICEF shall not facilitate the issuance of a visa and working authorization for candidates under consideration for positions at the national officer and general service category.

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.