Resource Mobilisation and Partnership Officer

UN-Water is the United Nations (UN) inter-agency coordination mechanism for all freshwater related issues. The High-Level Committee on Programmes (HLCP) established UN-Water in its meeting held on 18 and 19 September 2003 in response to the need for strengthened coordination of the United Nations’ work on water and sanitation related issues. The Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB) endorsed this decision at its fall 2003 session in New York. UN-Water currently counts 35 Members (UN entities) and 48 Partners (non-UN system actors).

UN-Water promotes coherence in, and coordination of, water-related UN system actions aimed at the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and other relevant policy frameworks, such as the Paris Agreement on climate change, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on financing for development and the New Urban Agenda. In so doing, UN-Water complements and adds value to existing UN initiatives by facilitating synergies and joint efforts among the implementing entities and by fostering greater co-operation and information-sharing within its constituency. UN-Water supports Member States through its three main lines of work: 1. Informing policy processes and addressing emerging issues; 2. Supporting monitoring and reporting on water and sanitation; and 3. Building knowledge and inspiring people to take action.

At its 38th Meeting in August 2023, UN-Water recognised the need to improve its interagency coordination capacity and decided to create a Resource Mobilisation and Partnership Officer position in the Technical Advisory Unit located in Geneva, Switzerland, to perform this task.

Role of the Resource Mobilisation and Partnership Officer

The role of the Resource Mobilisation and Partnership Officer is to lead and implement resource mobilisation for sustainable long-term funding for UN-Water and to establish and maintain strategic partnerships with relevant stakeholders in support of UN-Water’s work. The role includes ensuring the sustainability of key UN-Water activities through the development of tailored fundraising strategies, targeted proposal writing and the cultivation of donor relationships with the overall objective of significantly reducing financial gaps that limit UN-Water’s capacity to deliver.

The Resource Mobilisation and Partnership Officer will report to the UN-Water Chief Technical Adviser and will work in close collaboration with the UN-Water Management Team.

Functional Responsibilities

Partnerships

• Develop and strengthen strategic internal and external partnerships and collaboration in support of UN-Water’s work, and prepare and review partnership plans.
• Act as Technical Advisory Unit focal point for UN-Water Partners and support Partner efforts to bring their expertise, knowledge and networks to UN-Water activities.
• Identify and prioritise potential partners such as government authorities, international organisations, Civil Society Organisations, grassroot organizations, private sector entities, and academic institutions that align with UN-Water’s objectives.
• Establish and cultivate strong relations with existing and potential partners such as donors, policymakers, and advocacy groups including through regular communication, meetings, and collaborative activities.
• Develop a comprehensive mapping of existing partnerships, highlighting areas of collaboration, funding sources, and strategic alignment, in view of identifying gaps and opportunities for further engagement.
• Support the UN-Water Management Team in relevant discussions with diverse stakeholders as necessary.

Resource Mobilisation

• Develop a resource mobilisation strategy and plan, ensuring alignment with the UN-Water Strategy and biennial Work Programmes.
• Implement the resource mobilisation strategy and plan, including proposal writing and liaising with the UN-Water trust fund Administrative Agent as necessary.
• Monitor and evaluate the resource mobilisation plan to track progress and adjust as needed.
• Prepare donor specific reports as required.
• Liaise regularly with UN-Water Expert Groups, Task Forces and Initiatives to collect information necessary to identify funding needs and collaborate within the UN-Water Management Team to understand strategic priorities and define substantively sound funding strategies that will effectively engage potential donors and partners.
• Continuously map and conduct trend analyses of existing and potential funding sources.
• Coordinate with relevant partners, donors, and stakeholders to gather insights, share best practices, and explore potential collaboration opportunities.
• Provide substantive backstopping to relevant events, including proposing agenda topics, identifying participants, preparation of documents and presentations on resource mobilisation.

Knowledge management and innovation

• Develop and maintain an information repository on resource mobilisation and partnership development including tools, templates and guidelines necessary for the execution of the resource mobilisation plan.
• Prepare and disseminate promotional materials including success stories, lessons, fact sheets with the objective of optimizing the visibility of UN-Water resource mobilization activities.
• Provide the content to update the resource mobilization pages on the UN- Water website.
• Incorporate, innovate and develop sustainable approaches to diversify funding sources.
• Identify, synthesise and disseminate best practices and lessons learned in resource mobilisation and partnership-building.
• Plan and support the development of resource mobilisation and strategic partnership development capacity, processes, and knowledge within the UN-Water Management Team and the wider UN-Water family.

Perform other related duties as required.