Partnerships Consultant
Organizational Context
The World Food Programme (WFP) is the world's largest humanitarian organization, dedicated to saving lives and building peace through food assistance. WFP operates in diverse and challenging environments, striving to reach millions affected by conflict, disasters, and climate shocks. The organization values diversity, inclusion, and a skilled, high-performing workforce committed to its mission.
Job Purpose
The Partnerships Consultant will support WFP's Country Offices in protecting, growing, and diversifying partnerships and resourcing, with a specific focus on private sector engagement. This role is crucial for strengthening resource mobilization and partnership management by providing operational, strategic, and business development support. The consultant will guide Country Offices in identifying, developing, managing, and nurturing collaborations with local private sector entities, including businesses, foundations, and social enterprises. This involves ensuring compliance with WFP policies, risk management, and ethical standards, while also building capacity within Country Offices through training and knowledge sharing. The objective is to leverage private sector expertise, innovation, and resources to advance WFP's strategic objectives and country-level priorities, ultimately enhancing the impact of humanitarian assistance.
Responsibilities
The Partnerships Consultant will focus on strengthening the World Food Programme's (WFP) engagement with the private sector at the country level. This role involves providing operational and strategic support to WFP Country Offices in identifying, developing, managing, and diversifying partnerships with local businesses, foundations, and social enterprises. The consultant will guide Country Offices on partnership strategies, value propositions, and engagement approaches, ensuring alignment with WFP's corporate priorities and country-specific plans. A key responsibility is to ensure all private sector engagements comply with WFP's policies, due diligence requirements, risk management procedures, and ethical standards. The consultant will also build capacity within Country Offices by providing technical advice, training, and best practices for engaging with local private sector entities. This includes developing guidance materials, templates, and knowledge resources to facilitate effective, compliant, and impact-driven collaborations. The role requires advising on risk mitigation, monitoring partnership performance, and analyzing trends in private sector engagement to enhance WFP's overall approach. The consultant will coordinate with internal teams and facilitate engagement with experts to address partnership opportunities and challenges, ultimately contributing to advancing WFP's mission and strategic objectives through innovative collaborations.
Work Experience
Requires 5-8 years of experience in private sector partnership management, preferably at the field level. Experience working directly with or within the UN/WFP is advantageous. Prior experience in diverse country contexts and with partnerships management is strongly preferred. The ideal candidate should possess a multidisciplinary and versatile professional background, with strong writing, analytical, research, and interpersonal skills, and the ability to work effectively under pressure in multicultural settings.
Skills
Partnership Management, Resource Mobilization, Business Development, Risk Management, Training and Capacity Building, Data Analysis, Cross-cultural Collaboration, Strategic Planning, Communication, Problem-Solving