Reports and partnerships Expert

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programmes, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favouritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health including nutrition, early childhood development, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfil their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations

The Rwanda Country Office (RCO) raises approximately USD 12 million annually from public and private donors and increasingly contributes to leveraging funds for the government in social sectors. In an increasingly competitive environment, the RCO needs a full-time professional to maintain its fundraising capacity, diversify its donor base, and maintain good donor relations. The Country Office prepares around 60 donor reports annually and, with the shift of the new Country Programme (CPD 2025-2029) to more upstream work, is likely to have to diversify its donor base.

Under the supervision of the Chief of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (PME) and overall guidance of the Deputy Representative, the incumbent will be accountable for supporting the implementation of the Country Office’s resource mobilization strategy and monitoring of UNICEF’s partnerships and donor reporting. The duties and responsibilities detailed below will be accomplished in coordination with the programme sections, the Budget Officer (NO-B), and the Communications, Advocacy and Partnership (CAP) team. The post is crucial to accomplishing the RCO’s significantly increased volume of work in resource mobilization and donor reporting.
1. Quality assurance of proposals and follow up of partnership and resource mobilization efforts
• Contribute and support the development of the Country Office Resource Mobilization Strategy and Action Plan.
• Conduct preliminary research on potential donors and partnerships, including Natcom, foundations, corporations, and bilateral and multilateral donors, to inform a successful fundraising strategy, plan, and results.
• Monitor the implementation of the Resource Mobilization Strategy and Action Plan and prepare monitoring and analysis reports.
• Work with relevant programme sections and operations (as required) to prepare high-quality concept notes, funding proposals, and appeals by standardizing formats and contents. This includes setting up initial meetings with potential donors, and gathering information, writing, consolidating, editing concept notes or full-fledged proposals.
• Review donor agreements and ensure they are in line with global standards.
• Liaise as required internally with HQ divisions on contribution management related tasks in close collaboration with other colleagues, sections and senior management as required.
• Undertake analysis and preliminary research on the funding landscape and emerging opportunities under the guidance of the supervisor and senior management.
• Maintain a donor proposal database to track fundraising against programme needs.
• Update and maintain the Country Office information in the UNISON – the global resource mobilization database.
• Maintain relationships with the Headquarters Public Partnership Division (PPD) and Private Fundraising Partnership Division (PFP) and Regional Office Fundraising teams for technical guidance.
2. Quality assurance of donor reports
• Oversee the preparation and timely submission of high-quality donor reports in accordance with UNICEF policies, formats and branding standards.
• Update and maintain information on all the donor reporting requirements. Maintain a coherent system for tracking reports due to donors. Ensure Programme Section Chiefs are updated on these requirements and follow up as required.
• Coordinate inputs from relevant sections in the compilation of narrative and financial inputs for high-quality timely donor reporting.
• Edit and advise on layout/templates of donor reports, financial reports and communication and visibility materials.
• Upload submitted donor reports to the system as applicable and maintain the office’s electronic archive of them.
• Maintain the templates, checklists and tools of the office related to donor relations up to date.
• Monitor the multisectoral and multi-year Grant utilization rate through the Donor Statement by Activity.
• Ensure the allocation of funds follows proposal information and donor requirements.
• Consolidate rapid situation reports (SitRep) for humanitarian reports during emergencies.
• Maintain and update the database/files of donors, partnership agreements, and project documents.
• Coordinate with the programme and CAP sections to ensure proper donor visibility, donor visits, and feedback from donors.
• Proactively engage with other country offices to exchange best practices, which will inform the RCOs' approaches to donor relations and build an optimal system.
• Perform other related duties as assigned by the supervisor to ensure the success of the team, including guiding, training, and coaching short-term staff, including interns and consultants, as needed