Donor Relations and Contracts Officer (European Union Institutions)

Organizational Setting The Resource Mobilization Division (PSR) leads and coordinates the mobilization of approximately USD 2 billion per year in voluntary contributions from a variety of resource partners including traditional and emerging donors, international organizations, development banks, vertical funds, foundations, and the private sector in support of FAO's strategic priorities. To achieve this, PSR manages the Organization's close and constant relationship with its resource partners, develops and disseminates qualitative and quantitative donor analytics, conducts extensive capacity development on resource mobilization (RM) for FAO field and headquarters staff. PSR is also the Business Process Owner (BPO) for the negotiation of all FAO funding agreements for voluntary contributions, approximately 800 per year, in line with the fiduciary standards of the Organization, acting as coordinator for various funding liaison units throughout the Organization, and facilitator of all required trust fund clearances with FAO Legal, Finance, Procurement and Audit functions. In leading FAO engagement with Resource Partners, PSR develops tools, events, and platforms to facilitate that engagement, and coordinates and oversees results reporting to ensure accountability to resource partners. PSR normally experiences an approximate 50/50% workload division between trust fund negotiation/ contract compliance and marketing/analytics and donor outreach.

The Division works through four major Units: the European Partners Unit, the Global Partners Unit, the Marketing Unit and the Flexible Funding Unit.

The post is located at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy, in the Resource Mobilization Division (PSR), specifically in the European Partners Unit. The Unit leads trust fund and grant negotiations and develops strategic tools to facilitate identification of potential resource partners and opportunities with the European Commission and European bilateral FAO Member Nations. It engages on a daily basis with a wide range of traditional and emerging resource partners through active resource partner liaison and support of relevant units, assisting FAO teams in formulating/managing Trust Fund projects along the project cycle. The Unit also leads FAO's growing engagement for resource mobilization from private charitable foundations.

Reporting Lines The Donor Relations and Contracts Officer (European Union Institutions) reports to the Senior Programme Officer/Head of Unit of the European Partners Unit and leads the European Union Relations Team.

Technical Focus European Union Institutions grant and contract negotiation, donor relations, resource mobilization liaison, capacity development and programming support.

Key Results Coordination and oversight of the mobilization of voluntary contributions; resource mobilization outreach; facilitation/negotiation/formalization of funding agreements; capacity development and programming support; oversight and quality control of outreach and reporting to partners; guidance and support to units responsible for operating projects.

Key Functions • Plans and develops annual work plans to achieve divisional targets in assigned areas. • Collaborates in strategic thinking and related plans to further develop and facilitate implementation of the Corporate Resource Mobilization and Management Strategy (RMMS). • Ensures support to headquarters teams and Decentralized Offices to mobilize resources in line with defined corporate priorities. • Initiates contact with potential partners to explore funding opportunities, leads negotiations of funding agreements and project proposals with governments, international organizations, private sector and civil society partners. • Maintains effective working relationships with key stakeholders throughout the project cycle, including to support implementation, facilitates monitoring and compliance issues and ensures submission of reports, as required. • Facilitates capacity development efforts in support of staff in all locations with regard to Resource Mobilization partnerships through policy development, production of training material and delivery of training. • Organizes and facilitates partner meetings, events and outreach campaigns. • Facilitates the corporate resource mobilization efforts and monitors and reports on key results.

Specific Functions • Leads the Team responsible for donor relations with European Union Institutions through supervision and mentoring of a small group of professional staff and consultants. • Leads day-to-day relationship with the European Union Institutions. • Responsible for funding agreement negotiations, contract clearance and grant management for the assigned portfolio of resource partners, in order to ensure that all funding agreements meet FAO compliance standards, liaising with the appropriate legal, financial, operational, budget and field units of FAO. • Liaises with the Project Support Services Division to ensure that programme delivery meets the agreed standards and conditions of the resource partner. • Organizes regular and ad hoc partner meetings in support of specific resource mobilization goals of the Organization. • Advises and supports Decentralized Offices of FAO in their resource mobilization efforts. • Provides leadership, guidance and mentoring to staff and consultants assigned to the Group.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements • Advanced university degree in international development, development economics, international law, business administration, or another field relevant to the work of the Organization. • Seven years of relevant experience with grant and contract negotiations and management related to resource mobilization, partnership and contractual management with major donors, international financial institutions or vertical funds. • Working knowledge (proficient – level C) of English and limited knowledge (intermediate – level B) of another FAO official language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish).

Competencies • Results Focus • Teamwork • Communication • Building Effective Relationships • Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills • Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions, is desirable. • Documented experience in resource mobilization and contract negotiations with European Union Institutions. • Extent and relevance of experience in contract/agreement negotiations and compliance procedures with bilateral and multilateral institutions. • Demonstrated skills and experience in managing relations and outreach with partners. • Demonstrated skills and experience in resource mobilization. • Previous experience with the European Union Institutions is considered a strong asset.