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, peace
UNICEF Syria was established in 1970 and has been working with partners to help empower children to fully claim and enjoy their rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
UNICEF works with partners across Syria to deliver supplies, services, and expertise in areas of Child Protection, Education, Health, Nutrition, Water, Hygiene and Sanitation for every child. UNICEF also provides humanitarian assistance when needed.
Syria continues to face one of the most complex emergencies in the world. Unprecedented humanitarian needs are compounded by displacement inside the country and across its borders, extensive destruction of civilian and social services infrastructure, devastating impacts on the economy, and most importantly, the breakdown of the social fabric that stitched the country together for decades.
Today, 90% of people in Syria live in poverty, most are unable to make ends meet or bring food to the table. Families have had their resources depleted, with limited employment opportunities, skyrocketing prices, and shortage of basic supplies. For most people, the current socio-economic challenges represent some of the harshest and most challenging circumstances they have faced since the beginning of the crisis 11 years ago.
In 2024, 16.7 million people need humanitarian assistance. This is the highest number of people in need ever recorded in Syria since 2011. The education sector identifies 7.2 million children and education personnel in need of assistance. This is largely due the ongoing conflict, continued displacements, the unprecedented economic crisis, and deepening poverty. The impact of the earthquakes in 2023 and the hike in price of commodities triggered by the overall global economic situation and the impact of sanctions are further compounding the dire situation.
For information of the work of our organization, please visit our website: UNICEF Syria
Purpose of the Job
Under the guidance and supervision of the Partnerships Manager, the Partnerships Specialist will work in a team of six who are responsible for supporting the Country Programme team in the development and delivery of a resource mobilization strategy for UNICEF in Syria. This includes donor analysis and engagement, support to donor submissions (such as proposals, amendments, and reports) as well as donor recognition, and ensuring effective and efficient contribution management systems, processes and approaches
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES and DUTIES & TASKS
Within the delegated authority and under the given organizational set-up, the incumbent may be assigned the primary, shared, or contributory accountabilities for all or part of the following areas of major duties and key end-results.
1. Implement the work plan for assigned areas, in order to ensure timely and cost-effective delivery of results, in accordance with UNICEF’s partnership strategy.
2. Seeks and promotes new partnerships and resource mobilization, working with UNICEF colleagues to identify partnership and resource mobilization needs and broker resource mobilization agreements to meet those needs.
3. Receives and screens inquiries from potential collaborators and facilitates communication with appropriate UNICEF staff. Scans and scouts external environment within designated partnership area for opportunities and risks and shares information in a timely fashion with relevant UNICEF staff.
4. Provides strategic, logistical, and programmatic support to senior management and other UNICEF staff in corporate engagement and interaction with assigned partners.
5. Develops and maintains deep knowledge and familiarity with current and prospective partners and relevant stakeholders, contributing to a database of key contacts and to UNICEF’s base of knowledge on partnership and resource mobilization.
6. Expands UNICEF’s network of key interlocutors to build stronger relationships between UNICEF and governments, other key-decision makers, regional development institutions, foundations, civil society organizations, international financial institutions and/or other relevant constituencies.
7. Develops and implements annual partnership engagement and resource mobilization plans.
8. Acts as a focal point for identification and pursuit of opportunities for outreach, engagement, policy influence and collaboration, including on how to anticipate and respond to partners’ concerns and priorities, ensure that UNICEF’s interests, perspectives, and knowledge are taken into account in relevant policy and institutional processes, and ensure that they are fully aware of UNICEF’s perspectives, policies, priorities and capabilities. Contributes to the development and management of initiatives for high-level outreach, including for UNICEF’s Senior Management.
9. Contributes to the development of new partnership and resource mobilization practices and approaches by formulating recommendations for action based on on-going monitoring, analyzing current trends within designated partners, and formulating recommendations for strategy approaches and message development.
10. Contributes to strategies for engagement and the development of communications products to enhance UNICEF’s visibility and influence with existing and prospective partners and key stakeholders by providing analysis of the current environment and trends and formulating recommendations for strategy approaches and message development. Works closely with UNICEF’s colleagues to ensure that policy advocacy and outreach is strongly grounded in the experience and insights of the programmes that UNICEF’s supports. Contributes written inputs for communications instruments that best inform and influence decision makers.
11. Performs other related duties as assigned by the supervisor to ensure the success of the team, including guiding, training, and coaching short-term staff, including interns and consultants, as needed.
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Minimum Requirements
Education: A Master’s degree is required in one of the areas that are relevant to the work of the organization, preferred areas including but not limited to international relations, political science, communications, international development, or any other area that is considered relevant to the responsibilities described in the vacancy announcement.
Experience:
A minimum of five years of professional experience in one or more of the following areas is required: public affairs, programme management, resource mobilization, external relations, or other relevant area
Experience in fundraising with a similar donor portfolio to those operating in the current Syrian context, and background/familiarity with emergency situations is highly desirable.
Languages: Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of Arabic will be advantage.
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
The 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 may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.
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 eligible and suitable female candidates from industrial countries 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.
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.
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.
Eligible staff members on fixed-term, continuing or permanent contracts applying to IP TA positions in a duty station designated as L2/L3, may be able to retain a lien and their fixed-term entitlements, subject to approval by their Head of Office. The conditions of the temporary assignment will vary depending on the status of their post and relocation entitlements may be limited as per the relevant policies.
Syria in a non-family duty station with an E hardship classification.
Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.
