Food Systems Summit (FSS) - Partnerships Officer, P3 based in Nairobi

In 2021, the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres will convene a Food Systems Summit as part of the Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.  The Summit will serve as a pivotal moment in a decade-long effort to unleash ambitious new actions, innovative solutions, and plans to transform our food systems and leverage these shifts to deliver progress across all of the SDGs. It’s vision, objectives, work streams, and outcomes continued to be refined and advanced in strategic collaboration with member states and other stakeholders.

The Secretary-General has appointed a Special Envoy for the Food Systems Summit, Dr. Agnes Kalibata, who will provide leadership, guidance and strategic direction towards the Summit. The Special Envoy will be responsible for cooperation with key leaders, including governments, the RBAs and entire UN system, and other strategic stakeholder groups, to galvanize action and leadership for the Summit. The Special Envoy will also assist with outreach and represent the Secretary-General in many global and regional consultative events related to food systems during 2020 and 2021.

A Summit Secretariat will be responsible for supporting the efforts of the Special Envoy and all governance mechanisms of the Summit. The Secretariat headquarters is in Nairobi where the Special Envoy is based, but it also includes satellite offices in Rome and New York to facilitate key connections with the UN, Rome-based agencies, permanent representatives, and other stakeholders.

WFP has been appointed as the administrative agency for the Summit on behalf of the UN system. It is hosting and managing a multi-donor trust fund on behalf of the Summit and in alignment with international best practices for full accountability and transparency to stakeholders. WFP is also supporting all operations of the Secretariat in terms of finance, budget, HR, recruiting, IT and beyond.

In partnership with the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Summit, Dr. Agnes Kalibata, a first wave of recruitment was completed between February and May of 2020. The first wave focused on filling the leadership positions of the Secretariat, including a Deputy, a Chief of Staff, and all initially-envisioned unit leads across the organizational structure. Targeted recruitment was completed between the Special Envoy and RBAs in order to quickly identify and onboard individuals with essential capabilities and networks. The Secretariat and WFP also worked closely across the RBAs to draw on the opportunity for seconded positions from FAO, IFAD, and WFP as agreed between the Special Envoy and RBA Principals in the initiation of the Summit. As of the end of the start of June, 2020, the Secretariat has in place 10 individuals, inclusive of the Special Envoy.

The Secretariat has now prioritized a next wave of roles as the Summit work will quickly begin scaling up following the first meetings of the Advisory Committee and other support structures this month. The Secretariat and RBAs are mobilizing funds to the Trust Fund in parallel to these efforts, and so this next wave of roles would be expected to be brought onboard around September following the summer holidays as more funds are received and available. This Partnerships Officer, P3 role based in Nairobi is part of this second wave of recruitments and is an essential position to insure the success of the Food Systems Summit.

As the Partnerships Officer based in Nairobi, 

• You will serve as a core member of the Private Sector Unit.
• You will work with the unit lead on all responsibilities of the unit to drive the Summit’s engagement with the private sector community to secure buy-in, a high level of ambition, resources, and commitments to action.
• You will support the implementation of the Summit’s strategy for private sector engagement across the full breadth of the diverse constituency (large companies, SMEs, entrepreneurs, farmers, etc…) and in all regions through the Summit’s preparatory processes and prioritized actions. 
• You will help identify and secure partnerships and resources to advance the Summit’s work through direct and in-kind contributions, and routinely support engagements with a formal private sector group and finance group of champions. 
• You will also contribute more broadly to the overall work of the Summit Secretariat to ensure effective coordination of the private sector unit in all functions and key efforts of the Knowledge & Policy Unit, Global Engagement Unit, Advocacy & Communications Unit, and Program Management Unit.

• You have a minimum five or more years of relevant professional work experience in partnership roles.
• You have a good understanding of government and corporate strategies and priorities and gained experience in developing multi-stakeholder partnerships.
• You have gained significance experience in exploring new opportunities and providing inputs to design and develop solutions with prospective partners.
• You have developed long-term partner relationships and expanded engagements across geographies and sector.
• You have designed and managed all resource mobilization processes and resource strategies, negotiated contract terms and provided resourcing advice to seniors.
• You have used understanding of partner’s focus areas and knowledge of internal capabilities to create a Unique Value Proposition for the partners.
• You have gained experience in using technology and digital tools for data collection, analysis and shared data-based insights to add value to all partnerships.
• You have provided input into training and support strategy for technical systems users and provided advanced technical support.
• You have experience in managing a team.
• You have motivated team spirit and contributed to a gender-balanced, inclusive and sound working environment.
   

The Secretariat seek a younger professional who has good experience and tremendous appetite for engaging private sector of all types and in all regions in support of the Summit.

A preference will be placed on an individual with diversity beyond Europe and the US, to bring other background and networks into the Secretariat team.

Education:

Advanced University degree in Political Science, International Development, Development Economics, International Relations, Law, Marketing, Communications or other relevant field, or First University degree with additional years of related work experience and/or trainings/courses.

Language:

International Professional: Fluency (level C) in English language. Intermediate knowledge (level B) of a second official UN language: Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish, and/or WFP’s working language, Portuguese.

Locked Contract:  Mobility is and continues to be a core contractual requirement in WFP, but please note this is a Locked Contract and is locked specifically to the position and the Food Security Summit project. You shall not be subject to the regular reassignment process. WFP’s policies regarding mobility, Inter Agency movements, promotion, and conversion will not apply to this appointment. Extension or renewal of this appointment will be conditioned upon the availability of continued funding for the post.  In addition to the reasons for termination specified in the FAO Staff Regulations and Rules, the appointment may be terminated if the post ceases to be funded.

WFP offers an attractive compensation and benefits package, including basic salary, post adjustment, relocation entitlement, travel and shipment allowances, 30 days’ annual leave, home leave, an education grant for dependent children, pension plan and medical insurance.

Please visit the following websites for detailed information on working with http://www.wfp.org  Click on: “Where we work” and “Our work” to learn more about WFP’s operations.

11 August, 2020

WFP seeks candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our humanitarian principles.

Selection of staff is made on a competitive basis, and we are committed to promoting diversity and gender balance.

WFP has zero tolerance for discrimination and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status.

No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.