Partnerships & Ecosystem Specialist

In 2021, UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Africa launched Timbuktoo, a multi-pronged initiative designed to galvanize African youth as entrepreneurs, innovators, and problem solvers. Timbuktoo is focused on supporting and nurturing innovative, scalable, and impactful entrepreneurship led by Africa’s young people. The initiative relies on a strong network of partners who contribute meaningfully to building an African youth innovation and startup ecosystem.

At the heart of Timbuktoo’s approach is the commitment to seek, nurture, and build African solutions driven by Africa’s youth, directly addressing one or more of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Timbuktoo is not only a key component of UNDP Africa’s ambition to transform the African continent but also aims to harness the talents and creativity of Africa’s youth as the cornerstone of its development and pathway out of poverty.

To achieve this bold ambition, Timbuktoo utilizes a hub-and-spoke model composed of 10 thematic hubs and 54+ University Innovation Pods (UniPods). These hubs serve as Centers of Excellence in thematic areas critical to Africa's development, each located in key ecosystems capable of generating projects that thrive. The hubs’ success depends on strong partnerships with academic institutions, governments, investors, entrepreneurial support organizations, and corporations. These partnerships ensure that Timbuktoo remains the world’s largest and most impactful initiative to support the African innovation ecosystem.

The third critical pillar of Timbuktoo’s ecosystem-building strategy is the strengthening of partnerships in financing and derisking ventures emerging from the hubs and UniPods. As the largest initiative in the world supporting Africa’s innovation ecosystem, Timbuktoo’s success is contingent upon attracting high-quality capital and innovative financial structures. This requires robust partnerships with investors, entrepreneurial support organizations, and corporations that can support African startups with the resources and infrastructure they need to thrive.

By focusing on ecosystem strengthening, strategic partnerships, and the mobilization of capital, Timbuktoo aims to remain a global leader in building Africa’s innovation ecosystem, fostering sustainable development and economic transformation across the continent.

Position Purpose

The Partnerships & Ecosystem Specialist will play a critical role in supporting the execution phase of the Timbuktoo initiative within UNDP's Regional Bureau for Africa (RBA). Based in the New York office and reporting to the Regional Strategy Advisor and Timbuktoo programme lead, the Specialist will be responsible for strengthening the African innovation ecosystem by establishing and managing high-impact partnerships with key stakeholders in both the private and public sectors.

The role will focus on building strategic partnerships that directly support the development of thematic hubs and UniPods and the Timbuktoo Africa Innovation Foundation, ensuring they serve as robust platforms for fostering scalable, innovative ventures. The Specialist will engage and collaborate with academia, governments, investors, corporate partners, and entrepreneurial support organizations to ensure alignment with UNDP’s Strategic Plan 2025-2028 and the organization’s corporate goals.

This position will be pivotal in mobilizing resources and derisking ventures by developing innovative financing structures, facilitating public-private partnerships, and systematically mapping opportunities within the Pan-African innovation ecosystem. The Specialist will be the focal point for the partnerships related to innovation and private partnerships and will be responsible to manage and keep these relations in the most substantial manner.

In close collaboration with UNDP HQ, Timbuktoo HQ, Country Offices, Regional Centers and the rest of the UN system, the Specialist will oversee the implementation of the Timbuktoo innovation ecosystem strategy, ensuring that partnerships are leveraged to scale entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem across Africa. This will include designing and managing shared value partnerships, measuring impact, and ensuring the consistency of partnerships with the broader UNDP innovation agenda and moonshot goals.

UNDP adopts a portfolio approach to accommodate changing business needs and leverage linkages across interventions to achieve its strategic goals. Therefore, UNDP personnel are expected to work across units, functions, teams, and projects in multidisciplinary teams to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Establish and maintain Strategic Partnership Development

• Lead Partnership Strategy: Develop and execute a comprehensive partnership strategy that aligns with UNDP’s Strategic Plan 2025-2028 and the objectives of the Timbuktoo initiative. This strategy will focus on expanding collaboration with private sector firms, public institutions, universities, investor networks, and entrepreneurial support organizations(accelerators/incubators).
• Engagement with Key Stakeholders: Foster relationships with academia, governments, investors, philanthropies, and corporations to create synergies that contribute to a thriving African innovation ecosystem. Actively engage in high-level meetings, negotiations, and collaborations to secure impactful and long-term partnerships.
• Public-Private Partnerships (PPP): Design and implement models for shared value partnerships that mobilize capital and resources. These partnerships will support the development of innovation hubs and UniPods, providing financing, mentorship, and market entry opportunities for African startups.

Lead Ecosystem Building and Strengthening

• Innovation Ecosystem Engagement and Mapping: Lead the systematic engagement activities and mapping of the Pan-African innovation ecosystem, identifying key players, resources, and gaps. Ensure comprehensive coverage across regions and thematic areas (e.g., FinTech, HealthTech, ClimateTech) while building strategic partnerships.
• Derisking and Financing Structures: Develop innovative financing models to derisk investments in African startups, facilitating blended finance structures and partnerships with development finance institutions (DFIs), venture capitalists (VCs), and philanthropic foundations.
• Support Hubs and UniPods: Oversee the integration of thematic hubs and UniPods into the broader ecosystem, ensuring they have access to capital, technology, and talent. Drive initiatives that support startups across all stages, from ideation to scaling.

Support Resource Mobilization and Fundraising efforts

• Private Sector Resource Mobilization: Support efforts to secure financial commitments from the private sector. This includes developing customized engagement strategies, preparing pitches, and crafting compelling investment cases for corporations, family offices, and venture capitalists.
• Innovative Financing Mechanisms: Collaborate with UNDP financial experts and the Timbuktoo Foundation to establish new financing mechanisms (e.g., impact investment funds, outcome-based financing) that support the innovation ecosystem.
• Monitoring and Reporting: Regularly report on fundraising targets and resource mobilization progress, providing data-driven insights into the success of partnership efforts.

Support Programmatic Leadership and Coordination

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Collaborate closely with UNDP departments, including HQ, regional hubs, and country offices, to ensure a coordinated rollout of ecosystem-building activities. Provide leadership in integrating the Timbuktoo initiative with existing UNDP programs.
• Knowledge Sharing and Best Practices: Establish communities of practice across ecosystem players, facilitating the sharing of knowledge, case studies, and best practices in innovation and entrepreneurship. Promote South-South cooperation and capacity-building efforts for African entrepreneurs.
• Impact Measurement and Accountability: Develop frameworks for monitoring and evaluating the impact of partnerships and ecosystem interventions. Ensure measurable progress toward key development and innovation goals, regularly assessing the economic and social impact of these efforts.

Ensure provision of Quality Advocacy and Strategic Communications

• Advocate for Ecosystem Growth: Serve as the primary advocate for the African innovation ecosystem within UNDP and external forums. Promote Africa as a global destination for innovation, positioning UNDP as a thought leader in sustainable, inclusive ecosystem building.
• Represent UNDP in Key Forums: Represent UNDP and the Timbuktoo initiative at global innovation and entrepreneurship events, showcasing the initiative’s impact and success. Participate in advisory boards, strategic panels, and other high-level forums relevant to African startups.
• Communications and Outreach: Oversee the development of communications materials that highlight the impact of partnerships, ecosystem-building activities, and the progress of the Timbuktoo initiative. Create presentations, reports, and case studies for internal and external stakeholders.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Competencies

Core competencies: 

Achieve Results

• Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact. 

Think Innovatively

• Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems. 

Learn Continuously

• Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences.

Adapt with Agility 

• Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands.

Act with Determination                

• Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results.

Engage and Partner

• Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration.

Enable Diversity and Inclusion

• Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity.

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies:

Business Direction & Strategy: System Thinking 

• Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system.

Business Direction & Strategy: Strategic Thinking             

• Develop effective strategies and prioritized plans in line with UNDP’s mission and objectives, based on the systemic analysis of challenges, opportunities, and potential risks; link the general vision to reality on the ground to create tangible targeted solutions; learn from a variety of sources to anticipate and effectively respond to both current and future trends; demonstrate foresight.

Business Management: Resource-based Management  

• Ability to manage the implementation of strategies, programmes, and projects with a focus at improved performance and demonstrable results. 
• Knowledge and understanding of relevant theories, concepts, methodologies, instruments, and tools.

Business Management: Customer Satisfaction/Client Management

• Ability to respond timely and appropriately with a sense of urgency, provide consistent solutions, and deliver timely and quality results and/or solutions to fulfil and understand the real customers' needs. Provide inputs to the development of customer service strategy. Look for ways to add value beyond clients' immediate requests.
• Ability to anticipate client's upcoming needs and concerns.

Partnership Management: Resource mobilization            

• Ability to identify funding sources, match funding needs (programmes/projects/initiatives) with funding opportunities and establish a plan to meet funding requirements. 

Business Management: Portfolio Management 

• Ability to select, prioritise and control the organization’s programmes and projects, in line with its strategic objectives and capacity; ability to balance the implementation of change initiatives and the maintenance of business-as-usual, while optimising return on investment.

Partnership management: Emerging partnerships            

• Ability to engage with emerging partners, develop and manage a strategy and develop approaches to developing and managing these new strategic partnerships. 

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in Business Administration, Public Administration, Finance, Economics, or related field is required OR 
• A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the areas mentioned above in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree. 

 Experience:

• Minimum of 5 years (with master’s degree) or 7 years (with bachelor’s degree) of relevant experience at the national or international level in providing operational, project and programme management advisory services.
• Proven track record of experience in designing and executing strategic partnerships in innovative projects collaborating with different stakeholders and industries is required.
• Experience in implementing youth and start-up initiatives with national and regional stakeholders is required.
• Experience in working across countries/continents with multicultural teams to deliver strategic insights on emerging issues is required. 
• Prior experience in UN/UNDP and knowledge of its strategic teams including the Accelerator Labs, Chief Digital Office, Strategic Innovation Unit is a strong advantage.
• Experience working in the business development field is an asset.
• Experience in fundraising for venture capital in Africa is a strong asset.
• Entrepreneurial experience as a founder is a strong asset.
• Experience in strategic communication and advocacy is an asset. 
• Experience in monitoring of resource mobilization progress and donor reporting is desired. 

Language: 

• Fluency in English is required. 
• Knowledge of other UN language is desired.