Partnerships Officer SC9

The World Food Programme is the food assistance branch of the United Nations and the world's largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger and promoting food security. WFP is part of the United Nations system and is voluntarily funded. Born in 1961, WFP pursues a vision of the world in which every man, woman and child has access at all times to the food needed for an active and healthy life. We work towards that vision with our sister UN agencies in Rome -- the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) -- as well as other government, UN and NGO partners. On average, WFP reaches more than 80 million people with food assistance in 82 countries each year. 11,367 people work for the organization, most of them in remote areas, directly serving the hungry poor. To learn more, watch the video outlining our mission, read our Mission Statement and our 2013 Annual Performance Report or download the Infographic.

Job Title:                                                    Partnerships Officer 

Grade:                                                         SC9

Duty Station:                                           WFP Country Office, Abuja

Organizational Context

This position is based in WFP Nigeria Country Office, Abuja Duty Station and reports directly to the Deputy Country Director Operations

The Job holder is expected to carry out and coordinate broad range of partnerships activities, analytical work and advocacy. This includes engagement with internal stakeholders and a host of public, private sector and external entities comprising governments, UN agencies, intergovernmental institutions, individuals, corporations, foundations and NGOs.

Job Purpose

The position is dedicated to the following:

• Government engagement,
• Developing a strategy for government engagement across all levels,
• Initiating stakeholder mapping and developing a layered strategy to gain meaningful and well-paced momentum
•  Identifying and pursing key opportunities based on national priorities; and roll-out of WFP Nigeria Country Strategic Plan (CSP).
• Providing substantial value to WFP’s effective positioning with public, private and external partners to attract policy support, resources, technical assistance
•  Paying particular attention to innovative solutions to advance the work of WFP in Nigeria while supporting the Programme in the achievement of the SDGs and Zero Hunger and emphasizing WFP’s contributions in this regard.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive, within delegated authority):

1.  Implement the work plan for an assigned area to enable WFP Nigeria to identify, develop and strengthen quality government partnerships in support of its strategic objectives.

2. Proactively contribute to a partnerships strategy with the Nigeria government, including partner profiling, data/trends analysis and outreach activities, with the aim to maximize resources and leverage policy and technical support for WFP’s operations on Nigeria.
3. Ensure partner visibility and that partner conditions are met.

4. Use data to propose options to the managers to expand support from existing partners and to scope new partners, guided by programmatic assessment and context-specific analysis, with the aim to enhance the impact of WFP’s work and diversify the resource base. 

5.  Gather and share partner intelligence (including forecasting), using key information systems (e.g. WINGS, WFPGo etc).

6. Solicit inputs from other functional entities within the CO on programmatic areas that require partnering approach with the government and conduct quality mapping and analysis

7. Draft quality briefs in support of outreach opportunities with partners

8. Gather socio-political insights to support WFP’s effective positioning vis-à-vis national governments, with the aim to influence the policy agenda.

9. In the context of the UN system and multilateral fora, support the development of partnerships and joint events with key partners, civil society and intergovernmental organizations to advocate for the SDGs and Zero Hunger within WFP Nigeria CSP context.

10. Provide inputs to partnerships strategies, including the development of Partnership Action Plans as required.

11. Facilitate WFP Nigeria corporate dialogue with partners through networking and information sharing;

12. Proactively highlight strategic issues to senior managers and propose options for the best course of action to nurture trust and partnership growth.

13.  Draw up quality partner proposals and reports by engaging with other WFP entities and external stakeholders. 

14. Contribute to the preparation of strategic agreements, joint strategies and MOUs in order to promote the SDGs and Zero Hunger on the national, regional and global agenda and to reach advantageous outcomes for WFP.

15. Other as required

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE:

• Has a basic understanding of government and corporate strategies and priorities and experience in developing multi-stakeholder partnerships.

• Specifically have a clear understanding of the Nigeria National context and a good knowledge of government operations

• Has explored new partnership opportunities, provided inputs into developing solutions with prospective partners and explored new areas to scale-up existing activities.

• Has designed and managed resource mobilization processes and resource strategies, negotiated contract terms and provided resourcing advice to seniors.

• Has gained experience in using technology and digital tools for data collection, analysis and shared data-based insights to add value to all partnerships.

• Has supported creation of external communications and briefing materials.

• Has provided advanced technical support and identified opportunities for service delivery excellence to strengthen partnerships.

• Has motivated team spirit and contributed to a gender-balanced, inclusive and sound working environment.

• Minimum three or more years of relevant professional work experience in partnership roles.

Language:

National Professional: Fluency (level C) in English language and the duty station’s language, if different.