Consultant – External Relations/Resource Mobilization (EXR) Officer at World Health Organization

Purpose of consultancy

• In the context of the WHO Emergency Preparedness and Response Cluster the incumbent has front line responsibility for the development and implementation of a resource mobilization strategy in line with the corporate WHO mobilization strategy and EPR’s global external relations strategy. S/he will research existing and potential donors; draft proposals, donor briefings, reports and updates; ensure compliance with WHO and donor requirements; coordinate the overall and day-to-day activities to secure rapid and sustainable funding for the effective implementation of the emergency operations and ensure accurate, timely reporting.

Background  

• Objectives of the Programme and of the immediate Strategic Objective
• The mission of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme (The Programme) is to help countries, and to coordinate international action, to prevent, prepare for, detect, rapidly respond to, and recover from outbreaks and emergencies.

Organizational context

• Reporting to and under the overall guidance of the WHO EPR Hub Coordinator and working closely with counterparts at the respective Country Offices, Regional Office and HQ, the incumbent is responsible for implementing a resource mobilization plan required to finance the emergency prevention, preparedness, recovery and response activities in the ESA sub-region. This will entail building and promoting strong partnerships with all relevant actors, including Member States, various donors at country, regional and global levels, the health cluster, other UN agencies, etc. in order to identify and create resource mobilization opportunities. The incumbent will establish partnerships with the technical leads overseeing the programme and the administrative staff to ensure the adequate use and reporting of the funds following donor requirements. As part of the WHO emergency’s global External Relations network, s/he and will work in close cooperation with the resource mobilization, planning, communication and advocacy officers at the three levels of the Organization to achieve common goals and thus contribute to the delivery of WHO emergency global external relations strategy.

Deliverables

During deployment, the duty station may change, and duties may be modified, based upon the technical needs of the Programme.

• Develop and implement the ESA resource mobilization strategy to ensure sustainable financing for the work of EPR at regional and country levels. In coordination with relevant external relations and resource mobilization counterparts and technical officers, develop donor briefing materials, funding proposals and other WHO and UN appeal documents; to be used as advocacy and fundraising tools.
• Identify and partner with main humanitarian donors to the countries (in consultation with HQ and Regional Office resource mobilization teams). Coordinate WHO participation at donor coordination meetings; proactively contribute to negotiations for rapid donor agreements.
• Research the interests and application requirements of the main donors and other sources of funding, identifying trends as well as opportunities and risks and positioning EPR as appropriate, in consultation with HQ.
• Oversee the overall activities related to mobilization of resources, grants management, analysis of funding needs and gaps and the award management process at the country office level. Maintain project calendars and milestones; analyze information on project activities and monitor progress towards targets using various project management databases.
• Work closely with HQ and the relevant Country and Regional Office focal points to gather donor intelligence and support the timely development of strategic funding proposals, grants, donor agreements and other external relations activities. Provide technical expertise and resource mobilization guidance to the staff at the country office level.
• Support the management of multiple projects throughout the project life cycle: monitor implementation rates and reporting deadlines and ensure activities and expenditures are aligned with the terms and conditions set out in individual donor agreements; work closely with procurement, logistic, HR and technical staff to monitor the overall implementation of emergency projects.
• Provide support in the convening and coordination of the various partner platforms at the Hub and technical working groups in line with approved terms of reference for each. This includes recording meetings, following up on action points and ensuring timely response to requests from partners
• Coordinate participation of WHO in relevant inter agency platforms at regional level to ensure that WHO participates in system-wide resource mobilization activities such as CERF and Country-Based Pooled Funds staff
• In coordination with the Communication and Advocacy Officer, effectively utilize the communication products to inform donors about both Health Sector and WHO’s strategies and work to encourage them to fund the overall health sector response to affected populations and WHO’s strategic plans and proposals.
• Perform any other emergency-specific related duties, as required by the functional supervisor.

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications

Essential

• Advanced university degree (Masters level or above) in social sciences, international relations, political sciences, communications, marketing, management, economics accounting, financial management, business or public administration from an accredited/recognized institute.

Desirable: 

• Specific studies on resource mobilization, communication, studies on development and/or humanitarian work. Training in donor intelligence, proposal writing, and general project management.

Experience

Essential

• At least seven years’ related experience, at the national and international level, in resource mobilization, external relations and/or grants management. Documented achievements in fundraising activities, part of which supporting humanitarian emergency or health outbreak response and recovery activities.
• Proven experience in writing resource mobilization proposals, donor reports and related documents.

Desirable

• Prior working experience with WHO/UN, health cluster partners or with an international nongovernmental or recognized humanitarian organization.

Skills/Knowledge

• Strong interpersonal, representational, and organizational skills, with proven ability to facilitate and strengthen the involvement and collaboration of a broad range of internal and external partners.
• Demonstrated success in resource mobilization, including the ability to conceptualize resource mobilization strategies and approaches and achieve consensus with donors and partners.
• Integrity, tact and discretion.
• Ability to work and achieve goals under pressure.
• Sound understanding of the impact of emergencies and crises on social and economic development, and its burden on populations.
• Ability to "think out of the box" and to make innovative proposals as related to mobilization of resources.
• Good knowledge of WHO mandate and goals in the emergency incident management context is an asset.

Languages required

• Essential: Excellent knowledge of English.
• Desirable: Working knowledge of another WHO official language.