Partnerships Officer, P-2, Temporary Position, 364 days, Innovative Finance HUB O/P Helsinki, #00138177

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right to a Hero

How can you make a difference?

UNICEF has set out ambitious goals for its 2026-2029 Strategic Plan to accelerate progress towards achieving the child-related Sustainable Development Goals. The Division of Private Fundraising and Partnerships (PFP), based in Geneva, aims to achieve results for children by maximizing UNICEF's private sector fundraising, partnerships and engagement activities, including work with National Committees, regional and country offices, Centres of Excellence and other HQ divisions.

The global Innovative Financing for Children (IF4C) initiative is key to UNICEF's Strategic Plan 2026-2029 and aims to help address complex global challenges.

As part of this strategy, UNICEF’s Innovative Finance Hub, founded in 2022, aims to catalyze global capital in support of children to fill the SDG gap and radically accelerate progress towards the SDGs. We sit at a unique vantage point where an organization working on global issues meets the startup thinking, new ideas, and partners to turn this energy into scalable solutions.

We aim to understand and solve a pressing challenge: why is finance not working for children? On one hand, the funding gap to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) continues to grow (currently at over 4 trillion USD!), where children are particularly vulnerable to the educational, health, protection and climate challenges the SDGs try to address. On the other hand, children are seldom considered in the investment practices of investors, even the most responsible and socially conscious – while virtually all companies have material impacts on children lives, as consumers, through their employed parents and caregivers, as community members and as future leaders.

Our core project in is Child-Lens Investing, an investing approach to position children in the investor agenda. You can learn more of Child-Lens Investing here: Child-Lens Investing Framework

The Innovative Finance Hub is seeking a Partnership Officer to strengthen its efforts to accelerate results for children through Child-Lens Investing. This includes mobilizing additional resources for children, improving the efficiency and results-orientation of existing resources, and supporting strategic communications around these efforts.

Under the direction of the Communication Lead, the Partnership Officer will carry out strategic, technical, and project management functions related to the development and stewardship of partnerships, particularly with the IF Hub’s donor, the Government of Finland, while also supporting the Hub’s monitoring, reporting and communication activities.

The Officer will further contribute to the development of new formalized partnerships aimed at aligning global capital with CLI - a core priority of the IF Hub for 2026–2028 under its overall agreement with Finland - and support the implementation of the associated monitoring and communication strategy.

Under the overall guidance of the Chief, Innovative Finance Hub and direct supervision of the Communication Specialist, the Partnership Officer will help support the work on sustaining, developing and implementing partnership, monitoring and communication-related activities around Child-Lens Investing.

The Partnership Officer will be accountable for:

Partnership Monitoring, Reporting and Performance Management:
Communication.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: Final ToR for TA_P2_Partnership_IF Hub (1).doc

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Minimum requirements:

1. Education: A first level University Degree in one of the following fields is required: Finance, Business Administration, International Relations, Communication, or a related field.
2. Work Experience: A minimum of two years of professional experience in one of the following fields is required: partnership and donor relations, monitoring and evaluation, partnerships management or internal communication. Demonstrated experience coordinating with multiple stakeholders and managing inputs from diverse teams to deliver high-quality outputs within tight deadlines, is required. Proven experience in preparing reports, briefing materials, presentations, concept notes, or knowledge products for internal and external audience is required.
3. Skills: stakeholder coordination, preparing briefing materials, knowledge management.
4. Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required.

Desirables:

1. Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is an asset. Fluency in Finnish language would be considered as a strong asset.
2. Demonstrated experience coordinating internal monitoring, reporting and performance management is an asset.
3. Experience in developing and implementing communication and visibility activities is an asset, including drafting communications products, supporting communication campaigns, events, webinars, and knowledge-sharing initiatives.
4. Previous work experience, including internships, in the finance and/or sustainable finance (ESG, impact investing, etc.) field is considered an asset.
5. Experience supporting the organization of events, workshops, webinars, or stakeholder engagement initiatives, is an asset.
6. An ability to synthesize complex information into concise, actionable, and audience-appropriate products, is an asset.
7. UN/UNICEF experience is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF's Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships
(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
(3) Drive to achieve results for impact
(4) Innovates and embraces change
(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity
(6) Thinks and acts strategically
(7) Works collaboratively with others

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments are conditional on the selected candidates’ willingness to comply with current or future vaccination requirements, should UNICEF mandate it for personnel. Failure to comply with such requirements, where applicable and without a duly approved medical exemption from the relevant UN authority, will result in the cancellation of the selection or may lead to other administrative measures, including separation from service.

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable candidates are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants' bank account information.

UNICEF staff members holding fixed-term, continuing, or permanent appointments who are considered to be on abolished post status may apply for this temporary position and, if selected with a start date before 31 December 2025, may take it up as a temporary assignment, in line with UNICEF guidance on separation due to the abolition of posts or staff reduction. They will retain their fixed-term entitlements but will not hold a lien to their abolished post. For other scenarios where a Temporary Assignment may be possible, please refer to Additional guidance on IP to IP temporary assignments after completion of the full TOD.pdf (accessible to UNICEF personnel only).

The conditions of a temporary assignment, including relocation entitlements, will depend on the status of the staff member's original appointment and may be limited in accordance with applicable UNICEF policies, procedures, and practices in force.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF's Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.