Partnerships Specialist
Position:
Organization: UNICEF
Not Specified
About the job
UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.
At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.
UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.
For every child, the right to Opportunity
Ethiopia is situated in the Horn of Africa and is the second most populous country on the continent with an estimated population of 115 million. It borders six African countries: Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan, and covers 1,104,300 square kilometers. Approximately 85 percent of the population lives in rural areas. Ethiopia represents a melting pot of ancient cultures with Middle Eastern and African cultures evident in the religious, ethnic, and language composition of its people.
Over the past two years, children and their families across Ethiopia faced multiple and complex emergencies, such as the conflict in the northern Ethiopia and the drought, which resulted in millions of people in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. UNICEF has programmes in Child Protection, WASH, Health, Nutrition, Social Policy, and Education and serves over 15 million children in Ethiopia. Join UNICEF Ethiopia to contribute to improving the lives of children and women.
How can you make a difference?
Key Functions, Accountabilities And Related Duties/tasks
- Implement the work plan for assigned area, in order to ensure timely and cost-effective delivery of results, in accordance with UNICEF’s partnership strategy.
- Seeks and promotes new partnerships and resource mobilization, working with UNICEF colleagues to identify partnership and resource mobilization needs and broker resource mobilization agreements to meet those needs.
- Receives and screens inquiries from potential collaborators and facilitates communication with appropriate UNICEF staff. Scans and scouts external environment within designated partnership area for opportunities and risks and shares information in a timely fashion with relevant UNICEF staff.
- Provides strategic, logistical and programmatic support to senior management and other UNICEF staff in corporate engagement and interaction with assigned partners.
- Develops and maintains deep knowledge and familiarity with current and prospective partners and relevant stakeholders, contributing to a database of key contacts and to UNICEF’s base of knowledge on partnership and resource mobilization.
- Expands UNICEF’s network of key interlocutors to build stronger relationships between UNICEF and governments, other key-decision makers, regional development institutions, foundations, civil society organizations, international financial institutions and/or other relevant constituencies.
- Develops and implements annual partnership engagement and resource mobilization plans.
- Acts as a focal point for identification and pursuit of opportunities for outreach, engagement, policy influence and collaboration, including on how to anticipate and respond to partners’ concerns and priorities, ensure that UNICEF’s interests, perspectives, and knowledge are taken into account in relevant policy and institutional processes, and ensure that they are fully aware of UNICEF’s perspectives, policies, priorities and capabilities. Contribute to the development and management of initiatives for high-level outreach, including for UNICEF’s Senior Management.
- Contributes to the development of new partnership and resource mobilization practices and approaches by formulating recommendations for action based on on-going monitoring, analyzing current trends within designated partners and formulating recommendations for strategy approaches and message development.
- Contributes to strategies for engagement and the development of communications products to enhance UNICEF’s visibility and influence with existing and prospective partners and key stakeholders by providing analysis of the current environment and trends and formulating recommendations for strategy approaches and message development. Works closely with UNICEF’s colleagues to ensure that policy advocacy and outreach is strongly grounded in the experience and insights of the programmes that UNICEF’s supports. Contributes written inputs for communications instruments that best inform and influence decision makers.
- Performs 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.
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Minimum Requirements
- Education: Master or equivalent (Advanced University Degree) in one of the following fields: international relations, political science, communications, international development, or another relevant technical field.
- Work Experience: 5 years of relevant professional experience in one or more of the following areas is required: public affairs, programme management, resource mobilization, external relations, or other relevant area.
- Skills: In-depth knowledge of partnership development and resource mobilization. Diplomatic communication and negotiation skills. Ability to conduct sound policy analysis.
- Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required.
Desirables
- Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language.
- Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.
UNICEF Competencies Required For This Post Are…
- Builds and maintains partnerships
- Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
- Drive to achieve results for impact
- Innovates and embraces change
- Manages ambiguity and complexity
- Thinks and acts strategically
- Works collaboratively with others
How To Apply
All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.
Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here
Deadline: Apr 11, 2026, 12:00 AM
Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Amount: 1
