PSP Officer (Islamic Philanthropy)

Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)

A (least hardship)FamilyUNOPS IICA22025-01-01December 24, 20241. General Background
  
The Private Sector Partnerships Service (PSP) sits within UNHCR's Division of External Relations (DER) and is responsible for mobilizing resources for refugees from the private sector. It was created in 2010 with the aim of mobilizing resources from the private sector to secure high levels of additional funding for UNHCR. The UNHCR Strategic Framework for Private Sector Engagement seeks to build on this progress with the ambition of mobilizing USD2 billion annually by 2033. This is an immense challenge and one that will require a whole of the organization approach to achieve and deliver.

As part of this strategy, and to achieve the ambitious objectives of mobilizing necessary resources for UNHCR, PSP team develops and strengthens long-term partnerships with companies, foundations and private philanthropists (“PPH donors”) as well as conducting online fundraising campaigns and engaging with individuals donors (“IG donors”). As part of a wider fundraising team, the primary role of PPH colleagues is to seek various forms of support from PPH donors: securing funding for UNHCR programmes and projects will be considered priority, but the work also includes leveraging the capacities of these partnerships beyond funding, in order to build long-lasting holistic partnerships bringing various forms of support to UNHCR and to persons of concern. As such, the strategy is constructed around three interconnected areas of added value: Solutions, Income, and Influence.

With the first Zakat pilot in 2017, and the launch of UNHCR’s Refugee Zakat Fund in 2019, positioning UNHCR and refugees as valid recipients of faith-based funding in the MENA region and raising more than $184M in Zakat and $72M in Sadaqah funding, PSP Islamic Philanthropy team, part of PSP MENA team based in Dubai, is seeking to recruit an Officer to support and speed-up the growth of UNHCR's Islamic Philanthropy (IP) globally. The incumbent will contribute to advancing institutional partnerships (IP) fundraising efforts across the MENA region and beyond, with the goal of achieving an annual IP income of $100 million by 2030. This objective will be pursued through a focused approach aligned with the four strategic IP pillars: fundraising, brand positioning, compliance, and innovation. Fundraising success will be driven by the transparent and compliant management of the widely endorsed Refugee Zakat Fund, coupled with a proven track record of delivering measurable impact for the most vulnerable refugee and internally displaced families.

The candidate preferably has proven experience and connections in the Islamic Philanthropy sector and Islamic Finance. He/She is expected to significantly contribute to further shaping UNHCR's approach to Islamic Philanthropy, including the management of a complex network of internal and external stakeholders who are crucial to the realization and implementation of UNHCR's IP strategy, and the expansion of UNHCR’s IP income globally.

2. Purpose and Scope of Assignment
     
Under the supervision of Senior PPH Officer on Islamic Philanthropy, the PSP Officer - Islamic Philanthropy will be responsible to:

• Strategy: contribute to refining UNHCR's strategic approach to Islamic Philanthropy; this includes but is not limited to strengthening the case for support through existing streams (Zakat, Sadaqah, Sadaqah Jariyah, Waqf) and potential new streams (Legacy, Sukuk).
• Implementation: drive the speedy and effective implementation of the strategy, cascading it down into clear actionable plans with the aim of increasing credibility of UNHCR’s Refugee Zakat Fund among Islamic Philanthropy actors and donors globally, in addition to supporting online fundraisers globally in their IP activities.
• Best practices: provide advice on best practices in Islamic Philanthropy, accompanied with recommendation on how UNHCR can best employ such practices to increase credibility and transparency among audiences.
• Stakeholder management: support the management and communication of a large network of internal and external stakeholders who are crucial for the successful implementation of UNHCR's Islamic Philanthropy strategy, including external endorsers (Fiqh institutions and scholars) of UNHCR’s Refugee Zakat Fund.
• Positioning & transparency: lead annual efforts to produce high-end annual and mid-year Islamic Philanthropy reports that clearly showcase the impact of the Refugee Zakat Fund on the lives of refugees and IDPs, and acknowledges the role of UNHCR’s Islamic Philanthropy partners in achieving this impact.
• Communications & Drafting: support the drafting of all internal and external up-to-date content related to Islamic philanthropy, according to IP comms guidelines, including but not limited to letter/ email communication, project proposals/ reports, IP messaging, talking points, concept notes, and pitch-decks.
• Donor Development: research, identity, profile, and reach out to Islamic Philanthropy actors including donor partners, foundations, HNWIs, financial institutions, Islamic scholars and institutions, with the aim of collaborating for the promotion and receipt of institutional and individual funds towards UNHCR's programmes for refugees and IDPs.
• Donation tracking: manage the monthly process of reconciling received Islamic funding in order to guarantee utmost accountability in recording such funds, accurately channeling them to the programmes/ beneficiaries they are supposed to be earmarked for, and full transparency in reporting back to donors.
• Zakat compliance: liaise with relevant external and internal stakeholders to guarantee on-going compliance of relevant programmes, including the issuance of an annual Zakat compliance review issued by a trusted third party.
• Perform other ad-hoc functions needed in the work.

3. Qualifications and Experience

a. Education
• University degree in Finance, Islamic Finance, Economics, Business Administration, or other related fields.

b. Work Experience
• Minimum 6 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree (Bachelor’s); or 5 years relevant experience with Graduate degree (Master’s); or 4 years relevant experience with Doctorate degree .
• Proven expertise in Islamic philanthropy and/ or Islamic finance, preferably in the MENA region.
• Good knowledge of humanitarian assistance and UN environment.
• Strong project management skill.

c. Key Competencies
  
• Excellent knowledge of Islamic philanthropy practices.
• High client orientation, networking, and relationship-building skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent negotiation skills.
• Good written and oral communication.
• Excellent interpersonal and teamwork abilities.
• Meticulous attention to detail.
• Wide network within Islamic institutions/companies and Muslim communities, ideally in MENA and Western markets.
• Fluency in both English and Arabic is a must.

 

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Fluency in both Arabic and English language is a mandatoryThis position doesn't require a functional clearance

Home-Based

No