Partnerships Officer (Head of Office)
Organizational Context
The World Food Programme (WFP) is the world's largest humanitarian organization, saving lives and building peace through food assistance. This role is for a national position in the WFP Kuwait Office, established to strategically engage with the Government of Kuwait, financial institutions, private sector, and donors. The Head of Office reports to Global Headquarters.
Job Purpose
The Partnerships Officer (Head of Office) in Kuwait is responsible for strategically positioning WFP to attract policy support, resources, technical assistance, and innovative solutions. This role leads the WFP Kuwait Office, developing and implementing strategic priorities and work plans to foster quality partnerships. The incumbent will engage with government, private sector, and international financial institutions, developing partnership strategies and proposals. Key accountabilities include representing WFP, managing the partnerships portfolio, gathering partner intelligence, and ensuring alignment with WFP's strategic objectives and the SDGs. The role requires strong representational leadership, diplomatic skills, and the ability to mobilize contributions and manage complex stakeholder relationships.
Responsibilities
The Partnerships Officer (Head of Office) in Kuwait is responsible for strategically positioning the World Food Programme (WFP) with the Government of Kuwait, regional and international financial institutions, private sector entities, and philanthropic organizations. This role involves leading the WFP Kuwait Office, developing and implementing strategic priorities, and managing a work plan to foster quality partnerships that support WFP's objectives. The incumbent will engage with various WFP units and external stakeholders, tailoring communications to government, private sector, and IFI audiences. Key duties include analyzing partnership data and trends, developing outreach plans, facilitating corporate dialogues, and preparing briefing materials. The position requires proactive identification of strategic opportunities and issues, proposing solutions to senior management, and supporting joint events. Responsibilities also encompass gathering and assessing partner intelligence, leading the development of partnership strategies and action plans, managing partnership contributions, and ensuring compliance with corporate norms and agreements. Furthermore, the role involves exploring opportunities to expand existing partnerships and identify new ones across various channels, developing partnership proposals and agreements, and leveraging socio-political insights to influence policy agendas. The Head of Office will also advocate for SDGs and Zero Hunger in multilateral forums, manage staff development, and ensure gender perspectives are integrated into all work. This national position requires strong representational leadership, diplomatic skills, and a proven ability to mobilize resources and manage complex partnerships, with a focus on building and maintaining strategic relationships with key entities in Kuwait.
Work Experience
Requires a minimum of five years of relevant professional experience in the humanitarian sector, specifically in partnership and representational roles.
Skills
Partnership development, Resource mobilization, Data analysis, Strategic planning, Stakeholder engagement, Negotiation, Team leadership, Cross-cultural communication, Policy advocacy, Project management, Financial management, Report writing, Proposal development, Risk assessment, Diplomatic skills