Head of Visibility and Impact for Partners

Background

The Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy (BERA) is responsible for positioning UNDP as the world’s leading global development agency, promoting its global authority and thought leadership on sustainable development and the interconnected issues of poverty, inequality, and climate change. The Bureau creates strong political and financial backing for UNDP by providing partners and supporters with a clear understanding of UNDP's mission, capabilities, and flagship services. The Bureau leads UNDP’s work on innovative and diversified partnerships and ways of financing the Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. It is also responsible for global campaigns on critical development issues, which aim to change government policies and build partnerships around high-impact solutions. The Bureau coordinates and sets corporate standards across the functions of partnerships, marketing, and communications within UNDP and leads on executive internal communications.

The Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy (BERA) is positioned around three service lines: Public Partnerships; Advocacy, Marketing and Communications, and Private and Finance Partners, all working in close collaboration and coordination under the guidance of the Directorate and with the support of the Management Support Unit and Strategic Analysis and Corporate Engagement team. 

BERA has a robust network of Representation Offices (Brussels, Copenhagen, Geneva, Tokyo, Germany and Washington D.C.) and Regional Teams in five hubs (Africa, Arab States, Asia Pacific, Europe and CIS, and Latin American and the Caribbean) co-led with Regional Bureaux, all of which play a critical role in management and strengthening of relationships with partners, including OECD DAC donors, New Strategic Partners including Foundations/Philanthropic organizations and the private sector.
This post is based in BERA’s Advocacy, Marketing and Communications team, in the Visibility and Impact for Partnerships (VIP) unit, in New York.
 

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of the Director, Advocacy, Marketing and Communications, and in close collaboration with The Public Partnerships Team (PPG) and Representation Offices, the Head of Visibility and Impact for Partners team will lead the partner communications strategy, aligned with the corporate resource mobilization strategy. S/he will oversee visibility strategies that support the strengthening of partnerships through communications and advocacy that could lead to new engagement opportunities with funding partners, collaborating with teams within BERA and across UNDP.

UNDP adopts a portfolio approach to accommodate changing business needs and leverage linkages across interventions to achieve its strategic goals. This is a recognition of the interconnected nature of development risks & crises that the world is facing and that call for assembling of multidisciplinary teams for an integrated & systemic response. Therefore, UNDP personnel are expected to work across issues, units, functions, teams and projects in multidisciplinary teams in order to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration

1.    Leads the partner communications strategy aligned with the corporate resource mobilisation strategy:

• Lead the partner communications strategy to position UNDP with key partners in close collaboration with the Public Partnerships Group at Headquarters, providing strategic support for partner recognition and catalysing greater involvement with partners across the organisation to demonstrate the impact and strategic value of UNDP’s work.
• Oversees the creation, collation and systemization of content, including messages, results, and examples of impact, for use in partner political capital and Country Office (CO) partner recognition engagement.
• Coordinates and collaborates for corporate engagement and cross-bureau collaboration and support for partner communications, working across BERA teams and with regional bureaus and COs to help mainstream partner visibility in ongoing communications, conceptualization and output. 
• Oversees the production of key communications assets (such as media, brochures and videos) in relation to key strategic partnership moments, including annual strategic dialogues, annual consultations with top partners and high-level missions and global meetings.

2.    Leads scale-up of partner visibility at country levels:

• Oversees coordination of support to COs for effective partner partnership communication through targeted and innovative approaches.
• Oversees the expansion of the ‘Group of Champions’ initiative working closely with CO leadership, relevant Public Partnerships Group units and communications experts.
• Provides guidance on opportunities to align and leverage CO communication initiatives in line with partner visibility and corporate resource mobilization priorities.

3.  Coordinates representation offices communications and the public partnerships group to align with partner visibility priorities:

• Provides strategic guidance and input to Representation Offices and relevant Public Partnerships Group units to increase the visibility of UNDP’s impact with top partners and donors, including sovereign donors (OECD-DAC and New Strategic Partners), philanthropic organizations, the private sector and IFIs.
• Strategically leads on communications and visibility strategies in support of engagement strategies with top core donors, providing guidance and support on communications partnerships and engagement in partner political capitals. 
• Guides creative efforts to engage and ally with those who directly and indirectly influence funding decision-makers and their constituencies including parliamentarians, CSOs, journalists, think tanks, and other development influencers.

4.  Builds a resource base of communications tools for corporate global use – knowledge management:

• Manages the VIP team’s contributions to BERA’s centralized Knowledge Data bank, providing continuously updated partner communications key messages, assets and tools for use across UNDP.
• Establishes structures and processes for sharing these resources and ensuring a coordinated, aligned and collective UNDP push towards partner visibility.
• Manages the VIP team in providing support to colleagues across UNDP on partner communications, offering guidance and ongoing support for their planning and activities.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organisation.
Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: Supervision and management of seven team personnel.
 

Competencies

Core Competencies - UNDP Core Competencies can be found here.

• Achieve Results - LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact  
• Think Innovatively - LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems  
• Learn Continuously - LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences 
• Adapt with Agility- LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands  
• Act with Determination - LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results 
• Engage and Partner - LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration 
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion - LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity 
   

People Management 

UNDP People Management Competencies can be found in the dedicated site.

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies

External Relations & Advocacy / Communication - Brand and Quality Management:

• Ability to position a UNDP brand and uphold it to a high level of quality.

Business Direction and 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.
   

External Relations & Advocacy / Communication - Marketing:

•  Ability to communicate the value of a product or service

Business Management - Communication:

•  Ability to communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience. Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media and other appropriate channels. 

Business Management - Digital Awareness and Literacy:

•  Ability to monitor new and emerging technologies, as well as understand their usage, potential, limitations, impact, and added value. Ability to rapidly and readily adopt and use new technologies in professional activities, and to empower others to UNDP | People for 2030 – Competency Framework – Cross-functional Competencies (2024) use them as needed. Knowledge of the usage of digital technologies and emerging trends.

Business Development - UNDP Representation:

•  Effectively represent and advocate for UNDP, its values, mission, work, and positions with various constituencies/audiences, share UNDP knowledge and activities.

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 with regular activities for optimal return on investment. Knowledge and understanding of key principles of project, programme, and portfolio management
   

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in Communications, Journalism or similar disciplines or related field of expertise is required, OR
• A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the areas stated above, in combination with an additional 2 years of qualifying experience, will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• A minimum of 10 years (with a master’s degree) or 12 years (with a bachelor’s degree) of relevant work experience in communications, partnerships, core partner markets, journalism, advocacy, public relations, or campaigns is required.
• A demonstrated track record of successfully managing people, processes, and projects in a complex environment is required.
• A proven track record of successful partner communications engagement in the context of international development or international relations issues is desired.
• Proven ability to effectively manage high-profile global communications initiatives and campaigns, with experience with successful advocacy campaigns, communications for Country Offices, and outreach to diverse global and national audiences is desired.
• Proven excellence in people management and team management is desired.
• International and developing country experience and perspective, including field experience in international development contexts, is strongly preferred. 
• Demonstrated experience in leading resource mobilization strategy is an advantage.
• Prior experience at the UN/UNDP in a similar role would be advantageous.

Language:

• Fluency in English is required; 
• Robust knowledge of a second UN language is highly desirable.

Equal opportunity

As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination. 

UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.

Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority

UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles. 

Probation

For all new UNDP fixed term appointments (FTA), including for staff members being transferred or seconded to UNDP under the Inter-Organization Agreement concerning Transfer, Secondment or Loan of Staff, on an appointment of more than one year, continuation of the appointment beyond the initial 12 months is contingent upon the successful completion of a probationary period.

Right to select multiple candidates

UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement.  We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

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