Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

UN Women China provides technical and financial assistance to innovative programmes and strategies for gender equality and women's empowerment.  We work in partnership with governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), UN agencies, donors, communities, and networks to advance gender equality.  Placing the advancement of women's human rights at the center of our work, UN Women China focuses on violence against women, leadership and political participation, economic empowerment and national planning and budgeting.

Under the supervision of the Country Representative, UN Women China, the Public and Private Sector Partnership Specialist is to support the development, implementation, oversight and management of UN Women’s partnership portfolio in China in line with UN Women’s global mandate, plans and priorities ; oversee partnership development and relationship management with a wide range of stakeholders, especially financing institutions, private sector and foundations, to address emerging issues and opportunities in area of advancing gender equality through strategic partnership and resource mobilization for UN Women programming.  The Public and Private Sector Partnership Specialist will also spearhead the UN Women China Office resource mobilization strategy and efforts working alongside programme and partnership teams. In addition, the specialist will forge new partnership with a wide range of financing institutions to advance agenda for innovative financing mechanisms for gender equality and women’s empowerment.

The Public and Private Sector Partnership Specialist will work in close collaboration with UN Women colleagues across various programme teams of UN Women China, UN Women regional and HQ (as required), UN RC and RCO, and other UN agencies in China.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Oversee the development and management of UN Women’s strategic partnerships in China

  • Oversee the relationships with key partners; provide substantial technical inputs to senior management’s efforts at the country level to develop new and innovative partnerships.
  • Lead the implementation of the UN Women engagement strategy with companies/corporates, philanthropic foundations, and financing institutions.
  • Review and refine the strategy at regular intervals to harness new emerging opportunities, to anticipate changes to the internal direction and external environment, and to make mid-term adjustments.
  • Provide guidance and support to UN Women China office programme teams develop and implement locally tailored corporate partnerships and resource mobilization strategies and initiatives.
  • Ensure UN Women China team is fully compliant to partnership standards including DD for new partners, donor reporting, partnership agreement.
  • Lead UN Women China office partnership portfolio work plan development, implementation and reporting as per corporate requirements, working alongside programme and operations teams.
  • Design and execute innovative proposals to strengthen UN Women’s reputation and to generate greater financial resources.
  • Set and monitor annual priorities, goals, and key performance indicators (KPIs) for China partnerships.
  • Provide substantive technical support the drafting and review of partner-specific Framework Arrangements and Cost Sharing Agreements, and the preparation of brief funding proposals and concept notes.

2. Oversee resource mobilization strategies and initiatives in China

  • Oversee the development and implementation of differentiated, donor fund-raising strategies, aligned and coordinated with country-level activities initiatives and outreach activities.
  • Oversee the development of targeted products and initiatives to mobilize programmatic resources and attract additional donors’ funding;
  • Provide technical support to the development of project proposals in line with the UN Women’s strategy and the interest of donors;
  • Identify opportunities to secure additional non-core resources including through innovative financing and resource mobilization mechanisms;
  • Oversee ad-hoc donor studies, research, and other activities to identify funding opportunities; update the resources mobilization strategy as needs emerge.
  • Provide technical support for resource mobilization through south-south cooperation and other innovative mechanisms for other developing countries where UN Women offices are present.

3. Build trust and maintain effective relationships with donors, partners and networks

  • Provide substantive technical support to Country Representative in the preparation of missions, meetings, and other consultations with donors, including the preparation of notes, briefs and other materials.
  • Serve as focal point with donors and potential donors in harnessing and strengthening strategic partnerships for UN Women. Act as a key resource of real-time partner intelligence for UN Women’s management;
  • Determine the partnerships landscape to ensure optimal win-win partnerships for UN Women;
  • Identify and mobilize key strategic partnerships to enhance impact and influence for UN Women’s strategic priorities.
  • Maintain effective relationships with counterparts in other UN agencies, funds and programmes to promote and strengthen coordinated funding support for gender equality and women’s empowerment;
  • Provide guidance on donor intelligence.
  • Provide substantive technical support to programme managers for the preparation of high quality and timely donor reports;
  • Coordinate with Regional office and other relevant UN Women offices for the collection of information and preparation of results-based reports for external constituencies.

4. Provide technical support for gender financing agenda, including to establish strategic partnership with a wide range of financing institutions

  • Co-ordinate with other UN agencies, country offices, donors, and partners to ensure the UN Women’s Sustainable Finance work is aligned and sits within the broader Financing for Development agenda in context of UNSDCF in China;
  • Provide guidance to gender financing national analyst to ensure gender equality is considered as an integral part of all financing instruments and strategies as part of the work being done through UN interagency efforts in China;
  • Support the development of relevant concept notes for key engagements, initiatives and donor proposals for this area of work.

5.  Manage partnership team of UN Women China office, and provide guidance to programme team as relevant

  • Responsible for day to day and annual performance management of the partnership team including timely recruitment, and performance management of all direct supervisee.
  • Provide guidance and support to programme team for strengthening strategic partnership and resource mobilization.
  • Ensure partnership unit is robust, effective, and efficient through productive efforts, timely actions, and meeting deadlines/targets.

Competencies

Core Values:

  • Respect for Diversity
  • Integrity
  • Professionalism

Core Competencies:

  • Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
  • Accountability
  • Creative Problem Solving
  • Effective Communication
  • Leading by Example
  • Inclusive collaboration
  • Strategic Partnership and Resource mobilization

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies:  https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES:

  • Strong knowledge of gender equality and women's rights issues;
  • Demonstrated ability to interact effectively with a wide range of partners, particularly IFIs, private sector, foundations, and others.
  • Demonstrated track record in fund raising for an organization, entity or programme through innovative approaches
  • Proven networking skills, and ability to influence and mobilize support for the organization;
  • Excellent negotiating skills, analytical and interpersonal skills.
  • Strong political acumen and judgment
  • Prior experience leading and managing a team in a diverse multicultural working environment
  • Excellent IT skills, including databases, extranet and office software packages

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

  • Master’s degree or equivalent in economics, business management, development financing, social sciences, public administration, international relations, communications, women's studies, or a related field is required.
  • A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

  • At least 7 years of progressively responsible international experience in resource mobilization, /or business development and strategic partnership building preferably for development agenda is required.
  • Substantive knowledge of gender equality and women's empowerment is required.
  • Proven track record in successful fund raising through innovative resource mobilization efforts is required.
  • Experience in strategic partnership building with private sector, and financing institutions highly desirable.
  • Experience leading and managing a team in a diverse multicultural environment is required.
  • Prior experience working in China with a wide range of Chinese stakeholders is highly desirable.
  • Experience working in the UN system is desirable.

Language Requirements:

  • Fluency in English is required.
  • Knowledge of Chinese language is strongly preferred.

Application:

Note:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality, and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW, and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Inclusion Statement:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits employ, trains, compensates and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity, and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)