External Relations and Partnerships Officer

Volunteering Communications & PR

Contract

This is a UNV International Specialist contract. This kind of contract is known as International UN Volunteer. It is normally internationally recruited only. More about UNV International Specialist contracts.

The WHO Afghanistan External Relations and Partnership (EXT) unit aims to raise predictable and flexible funding by establishing, strengthening, and nurturing partner relations through sustained Partner Engagement. The vision of the EXT unit in the Afghanistan Country Office is to be more effective in delivering on stakeholders’ expectations, leading to an improved perception of WHO, diversified funding, and better support to Afghanistan towards providing basic health and essential health, and meeting SDG targets.

Under the direct supervision of the Country Office Head of External Relations and Partnerships, the EXT Officer will serve as the advisor to the country office in resource mobilization, advocacy, and partnership activities. As a key member of the Country Office EXT unit, the EXT officer will contribute to the management of the coordination, expansion, development, and oversight of the country offices’ funding and associated partnerships.

Against the above, the EXT officer will contribute to the following:

1. Alignment of funding to WHO's Programme Budget and Country Office Investment case
2. Predictability and flexibility of funding
3. Reducing the financial vulnerability of WHO through expansion of and innovation within the funding base and
4. Continued enhancement of the transparency and reporting of WHO's funding and associated outcomes.

At the country level, the incumbent will develop and implement a resource mobilization action plan for the country, based on the needs expressed in the country support plans: To research existing and potential donors; develop proposals, donor briefings, reports, and updates; ensure compliance with WHO and donor requirements. To coordinate the overall and day-to-day activities to secure rapid and sustainable funding for the effective implementation of the country support plans and ensure accurate, timely reporting

Under the supervision of the External Relations and Partnerships Team Lead – The incumbent is assigned all or part of the following responsibilities, which are performed according to the needs and agenda:

1. Develop and implement an innovative resource mobilization action plan for the Country Office to ensure sustainable financing for core and emergency activities;
2. Research the interests and application requirements of the main donors and other sources of funding to the country. Draft proposals, donor briefings, reports and updates to ensure accurate and timely reporting;
3. Maintain partner relations through innovative approaches (e.g, quarterly partner briefing); while concisely, clearly and convincingly communicating WHO yearly/biennial strategic direction; proactively contributes in negotiations for rapid donor agreements;
4. Oversee the overall activities related to mobilization of resources, grants management, funding needs and gaps, and the awards process. Maintain project calendars and milestones; analyses information on project activities, and monitors progress towards targets, using various project management databases;
5. Liaise with Regional Offices to secure the required clearance, including legal and financial clearances for proposals and donor agreements before signature;
6. Manage multiple projects throughout the project life cycle; monitor implementation rates and reporting deadlines and ensure activities and expenditures are aligned with the terms and conditions set out in individual donor agreements; work closely with procurement, logistics, HR and technical staff to monitor the overall implementation of projects in the country office;
7. Liaise with coordination agencies in the country to ensure that the Country Office participates in system-wide resource mobilization activities and that it effectively engages with staff of Country-Based Pooled Funds to secure funding from those sources;
8. In coordination with the Communication Officer, effectively utilize the communication products to inform donors about both Health Sector and WHO’s strategies and work to encourage them to fund the overall health sector response to affected populations and to WHO’s strategic plans and proposals;
9. Performs any other relevant duties, as required by the supervisor and in alignment with global WHO branding and policies in the relevant area of expertise.

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are encouraged to integrate the UN Volunteers programme mandate within their Assignment and promote voluntary action through engagement with communities in the course of their work. As such, UN Volunteers should dedicate a part of their working time to some of the following suggested activities:

• Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day); • Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country; • Provide annual and end of assignment self-reports on UN Volunteer actions, results and opportunities.
• Contribute with articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.; • Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers; • Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering, or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.

• Professionalism: demonstrated understanding of operations relevant to World Health Organization; technical capabilities or knowledge relevant or transferrable to World Health Organization procedures and rules; discretion, political sensitivity, diplomacy and tact to deal with clients; ability to apply good judgement; ability to liaise and coordinate with a range of different actors, especially in senior positions; where appropriate, high degree of autonomy, personal initiative and ability to take ownership; resourcefulness and willingness to accept wide responsibilities and ability to work independently under established procedures; ability to manage information objectively, accurately and confidentially; responsive and client-oriented;

• Integrity: demonstrate the values and ethical standards of the UN and World Health Organization in daily activities and behaviours while acting without consideration of personal gains; resist undue political pressure in decision-making; stand by decisions that are in the organization’s interest even if they are unpopular; take prompt action in cases of unprofessional or unethical behaviour; does not abuse power or authority;

• Teamwork and respect for diversity: ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries; excellent interpersonal skills; ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and harmonious working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, mixed-gender environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity; sensitivity and adaptability to culture, gender, religion, nationality and age; commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of UN operations; ability to achieve common goals and provide guidance or training to colleagues;

• Commitment to continuous learning: initiative and willingness to learn new skills and stay abreast of new developments in area of expertise; ability to adapt to changes in work environment.

• Planning and organizing: effective organizational and problem-solving skills and ability to manage a large volume of work in an efficient and timely manner; ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor (own) work; ability to work under pressure, with conflicting deadlines, and to handle multiple concurrent projects/activities;

• Communication: proven interpersonal skills; good spoken and written communication skills, including ability to prepare clear and concise reports; ability to conduct presentations, articulate options and positions concisely; ability to make and defend recommendations; ability to communicate and empathize with staff (including national staff), military personnel, volunteers, counterparts and local interlocutors coming from very diverse backgrounds; capacity to transfer information and knowledge to a wide range of different target groups;

• Flexibility: adaptability and ability to live and work in potentially hazardous and remote conditions, involving physical hardship and little comfort; to operate independently in austere environments for protracted periods; willingness to travel within the area of operations and to transfer to other duty stations within the area of operations as necessary;

reporting, resource mobilization, partnerships, and finance at the national and international levels; Essential • Proven experience in the production of communication material; Essential

Desirable • Prior working experience with WHO/UN or with an international non-governmental organization. • Demonstrated capacity in M&E and budgeting for large-scale programs or emergency programming is an asset. • Experience in internal coordination. • Experience in donor relations.

Skills • Excellent Word, Excel, and PowerPoint skills. • Ability to support the translation of analytical findings and evidence into a cohesive narrative. • Excellent social media handling and content production skills. • Excellent oral and written communication and report writing skills in English.
• Familiarity with the use of graphic design, visual design, • Excellent oral and written skills; excellent drafting, formulation, and reporting skills. • Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment. • Ability to work effectively in a multicultural team of international and national personnel. • Ability to work with tight deadlines.

Living Conditions Afghanistan is a unique country and WHO is a unique (humanitarian) operation. It provides for an interesting and enriching environment, but also requires a mature level of cultural awareness, as well as more stamina and commitment than elsewhere to make life comfortable and affordable. Therefore, flexibility and the ability and willingness to live and work in harsh and potentially hazardous conditions, involving physical hardship and little comfort, are essential.

The position is based in Kabul. WHO will facilitate accommodation for IUNV within UNOCA.

Conditions of Service

The initial contract is issued upon arrival for the period indicated above. The contract can be extended depending on continuation of mandate, availability of funding, operational necessity and satisfactory performance. However, there is no expectancy of renewal of the assignment.

A UN Volunteer receives a Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA), which is composed of a Monthly Living Allowance (MLA) and a Family Allowance (FA) for those with dependents (maximum three).

The Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA) is paid at the end of each month to cover housing, utilities, transportation, communications and other basic needs. The VLA can be calculated using by applying the Post-Adjustment Multiplier (PAM) to the VLA base rate of US$ 1,602. The VLA base rate is a global rate across the world, while the PAM is duty station/country-specific and fluctuates on a monthly basis according to cost of living. This method ensures that international UN Volunteers have comparable purchasing power at all duty stations irrespective of varying costs of living. The PAM is established by the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC and is published at the beginning of every month on the ICSC website - http://icsc.un.org.

In non-family duty stations that belong to hardship categories D or E, as classified by the ICSC, international UN Volunteers receive a Well-Being Differential (WBD) on a monthly basis.

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are provided a settling-in-grant (SIG) at the start of the assignment (if the volunteer did not reside in the duty station for at least 6 months prior to taking up the assignment) and in the event of a permanent reassignment to another duty station.

UNV provides life, health, permanent disability insurances as well as assignment travel, annual leave, full integration in the UN security framework (including residential security reimbursements). UN Volunteers are paid Daily Subsistence Allowance at the UN rate for official travels, flight tickets for periodic home visit and for the final repatriation travel (if applicable). Resettlement allowance is paid for satisfactory service at the end of the assignment. UNV will provide, together with the offer of assignment, a copy of the Conditions of Service, including Code of conduct, to the successful candidate.

Apply now

Added 13 days ago - Updated 3 hours ago - Source: unv.org