Country: Switzerland
Organization: International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies
Closing date: 5 Mar 2021
Job Purpose
Provide leadership, entrepreneurship and innovation to execute IFRC’s engagement with multilateral organisations and International Financial Institutions (IFI), to establish new strategic partnerships and increase income to reach the targets set in the IFRC 2021-2025 Plan and Budget. Representing IFRC in external engagement with partners and supporting senior leadership in key external dialogues.
Job Duties and Responsibilities
Lead Partnership Development:
- Explore/develop/manage new relationships with multilateral and IFI partners, in particular with:
- development banks (World Bank and regional ones),
- specialised funds (e.g.: Global Fund, GAVI, GCF), and
- UN agencies;
- Lead IFRC in dialogue, strategic meetings, events, and consultations with multilateral and IFI partners;
- Stay abreast of relevant multilateral and IFI policies and decisions; ensure systematic analysis of funding trends, develop funding targets, and forecast income projections;
- Provide key strategic advice and support to IFRC senior management including accompanying senior leadership and/or attending on their behalf high level meetings, and other strategic fora; prepare briefing notes, talking points and reports for such meetings;
- Prepare tailored investment and partnership cases to target relevant prospects. Initiate, negotiate and renew MOUs, multi-year grants and partnership agreements.
Provide Investment Opportunities and Projects:
- Develop and manage a system to regularly track new funding opportunities from multilateral and IFI partners, and widely share them within the relevant services of IFRC’s Secretariat and with regional offices;
- Prepare tailored partnership prospects to target multilateral and IFI partners. Lead the negotiation of global MOUs, accreditations, multi-year grants, partnership agreements, and renewals, working across internal departments;
- Anticipate the evolving funding landscape. Prepare and/or coordinate reports, analysis and updates on the results of partners’ engagement strategies;
- Involve the Programme and Operations Division, and Regional Offices in the development of strategies;
- Support the creation of global standard operating procedures with new partners, by negotiating a common ground between IFRC’s internal financial, legal and audit rules/regulations, and the ones of new partners;
- Assist IFRC’s regional/country offices in the establishment of contacts with partners’ country/regional representation offices, including by travelling to relevant capitals and facilitate exploratory meetings by accompanying regional PRD colleagues.
Guide and support National Societies Capacity Building:
- Support and accompany the exposure of National Societies to key local multilateral and IFI partners at the field level;
- Ensure that key local multilateral and IFI partners at field level, receive regular visits and updates from PRD colleagues based in regional offices and from National Societies;
- Support the negotiation of local partnership agreements, by facilitating the adaptation of global MOUs/agreements at the local level;
- Support National Societies to better leverage their auxiliary status vis-à-vis their own Governments with the aim of increasing access to multilateral and IFI funding instruments.
Manage PRD Tools and Systems according to IFRC quality standards:
- Supervise the effective stewardship of funds received from multilateral and IFI partners, by closely monitoring the progress and the performance towards deliverables in line with partner’s requirements; identify risks, and inform/alert senior management of the actions to be taken to mitigate risks;
- In particular:
- in collaboration with regional offices, closely monitor the process of timely/quality submission of concept notes, applications, and reports to multilateral and IFI partners;
- closely follow-up the burn rate of projects funded by multilateral and IFI partners;
- in collaboration with the Communications Department, ensure that appropriate levels of partners’ visibility is reflected in IFRC publications, website, media, and online;
- Participate and/or lead partners’ evaluations, assessments, reviews and/or audits to ensure IFRC is adequately represented, and partners’ requirements are successfully met;
- Monitor progress of the portfolio commitments to meet 2021-2025 Plan and Budget targets;
- Register into, and manage the variety of web-based systems used by multilateral and IFI for communicating with the wider community of partners.
Contribute to an effective, high quality IFRC team:
- Support the USG for Partnerships, the Director of PRD and team manager with regular progress reports on results against objectives and risk analysis;
- Work in close consultation, and develop synergies with members of other units of the PRD team in Geneva and in the regions;
- Pro-actively liaise with other relevant departments at IFRC’s Secretariat (e.g.: audit, finance, procurement) to improve and innovate the tools required to engage in new partnership.
Duties applicable to all staff:
- Actively work towards the achievement of the Federation Secretariat’s goals;
- Abide by and work in accordance with the Red Cross and Red Crescent principles;
- Perform any other work related duties and responsibilities that may be assigned by the line manager.
Education
Required:
- Degree in International Development, International Relations, Law or other relevant fields.
Experience
Required:
- Minimum of 10 years of experience in leading multilateral partnerships and resource development functions at a global level for a national/international organisation;
- Experience in partnering with development banks (World Bank and regional ones), specialised funds (e.g.: Global Fund, GAVI, GCF), UN agencies, and EC;
- Proven track record in multilateral partnerships, and in achieving results by raising public sector funds at levels over CHF 10 million/year;
- Experience managing partner and resource development relations in a context of humanitarian and/or development programmes.
Knowledge, skills and languages
Required:
- Advanced knowledge of multilateral and IFI landscapes, priorities, policies, and financing instruments supporting humanitarian action and the attainment of the SDGs;
- Demonstrated ability to negotiate funding agreements, to structure financial instruments, and to navigate complex funding mechanisms;
- Experience in communicating with high level partners and successfully navigating multilateral and IFI partner decision-making processes, funding instruments and requirements;
- Outstanding networking, representational, communication and negotiation skills contributing to a client-focused culture. Ability to be proactive and persuasive;
- Experience in identifying and articulating strategic issues, risks and priorities that need to be brought to the attention of senior management;
- Proven ability to translate strategy into action;
- Results-oriented and demand-driven individual; strategic thinker; entrepreneurial and hands on;
- Track record in producing high quality work within short deadlines and ability to make effective, timely decisions;
- High degree of discretion, tact and sensitivity in dealing with internal and external clients and stakeholders at all levels;
- Ability to work within a multi-cultural, multilingual, multidisciplinary environment;
- Fluency in Microsoft office tools;
- Fluently spoken and written English;
- Good command of another IFRC official language (French, Spanish or Arabic).
Competencies and values
Core competencies:
- Communication;
- Collaboration and teamwork;
- Judgement and decision making;
- National society and customer relations;
- Creativity and innovation;
- Building trust.
***Values*:**
- Respect for diversity;
- Integrity;
- Professionalism;
- Accountability.
How to apply:
Please apply through the IFRC website