ABOUT WFP

The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity, for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

At WFP, people are at the heart of everything we do and the vision of the future WFP workforce is one of diverse, committed, skilled, and high performing teams, selected on merit, operating in a healthy and inclusive work environment, living WFP's values (Integrity, Collaboration, Commitment, Humanity, and Inclusion) and working with partners to save and change the lives of those WFP serves.

To learn more about WFP, visit our website: https://www.wfp.org and follow us on social media to keep up with our latest news: YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok.

WHY JOIN WFP?

WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.

WFP offers a highly inclusive, diverse, and multicultural working environment.

WFP invests in the personal & professional development of its employees through a range of training, accreditation, coaching, mentorship, and other programs as well as through internal mobility opportunities.

A career path in WFP provides an exciting opportunity to work across the various country, regional and global offices around the world, and with passionate colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches millions of people across the globe.

We offer an attractive compensation package (please refer to the Terms and Conditions section of this vacancy announcement).

BACKGROUND:

In July 2023, the World Food Programme (WFP) Zambia Country Office commenced a new five-year Country Strategic Plan (CSP), informed by, and aligned with national and United Nations priorities and global commitments under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It embraces the Government’s long-term Vision 2030; aligns with 16 key strategic areas of the 8th National Development Plan (NDP8); and contributes to the joint Zambia-United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF).

WFP Zambia’s integrated and pragmatic CSP shifts away from unsustainable localized and micro-level interventions, to embrace more effective advocacy and engagement with national policies, systems, and programmes to achieve national impact on SDG2. Given the Government’s commitment to budget support for nutrition, social protection, and agriculture, despite the constraints in the country’s fiscal position, WFP’s overarching strategy seeks to enable the government to meet its national priorities with better systems, expertise, and resources for implementation. This means a decisive shift of WFP’s country positioning towards the provision of innovative, sustainable, upstream technical assistance for nationally owned solutions.

Advancing the global WFP Strategic Plan (2022-2025), the CSP addresses both SDG2 and SDG17, and WFP’s Strategic Results 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. WFP will implement seven activities to achieve five Strategic Outcomes (SO). These SOs include: responding to crises and shocks, including support to refugees (SO1); addressing the root causes of malnutrition (SO2); building the resilience, enabling environment and market access for smallholder farmers, especially women and youth (SO3); supporting government institutions to provide social protection systems (including home grown school meals) and disaster preparedness and response and anticipatory actions (SO4); and improving access to supply chain services for humanitarian and development actors (SO5).

REPORTING

This position reports to the Head of Partnerships, Communication and Reports. The incumbent will work under the supervision and guidance of the Head of Unit, receiving overall strategic direction while expected to operate with a high level of independence on day-to-day partnership activities. Roles will perform specialized partnership duties and contribute to the development of strategic partnerships to enhance proactive resource mobilization.

• Liaise and coordinate with public and private partners and other key stakeholders, conducting regular partner profiling and portfolio reviews to maintain an up-to-date overview of WFP’s partnership landscape and support the timely preparation and execution of partnership initiatives, ensuring alignment with WFP’s strategic goals.
• Collaborate closely with Programme units and other enabling teams (e.g. Communications, Finance, M&E) to implement the partnerships and resource mobilization work plan in line with Country Office strategic objectives.
• Monitor existing and emerging partners, gathering and analysing relevant intelligence with the aim of maximizing partnership engagement and resource mobilization opportunities. Identify and recommend potential new partners (governments, UN/multilateral agencies, private sector, foundations, etc.), and in collaboration with programme teams
• Proactively identify and explore non-traditional funding opportunities – such as impact investments, blended finance arrangements, debt swaps and philanthropic initiatives – integrating these innovative mechanisms into WFP’s partnership strategy to diversify and increase funding streams.
• Utilize data and evidence-based analysis to identify trends and opportunities for expanding support from both existing and new partners.
• Lead the drafting of high-quality funding proposals, grant applications, and concept notes in coordination with technical units. Ensure that all proposals align with WFP’s program needs and meet donor requirements, in order to secure new funding opportunities.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of the Partnerships Unit’s strategies and action plans, ensuring that resource mobilization efforts (including proposal pipelines and reporting schedules) are well-planned and support the broader Country Office strategy.
• Ensure effective stewardship of existing donors and partners by sustaining regular communication, organizing briefings and field visits, acknowledging contributions, and addressing partner requests or concerns promptly. Perform any other duties as required.

• Excellent planning, coordination, and project management skills, with the ability to effectively engage and align a wide range of stakeholders across different functional areas.
• Ability to analyse and interpret financial data, monitor budgets, and use quantitative insights to inform partnership strategies. Proficiency in data analysis and visualization tools to identify trends, support decision-making, and create compelling narratives for resource mobilization.
• Demonstrated excellent writing and communication skills, with the ability to craft persuasive funding proposals and clear, impactful donor reports.
• Experience in supervising or mentoring team members, coordinating tasks, and organizing own work under tight deadlines.
• Ability to assert opinions and influence others by developing logical, well-reasoned arguments – crucial for negotiations and advocacy with partners.
• Innovative mindset and openness to exploring new partnership and financing approaches.
• Familiarity with emerging funding models (such as impact investment and public-private blended finance) is an asset.
• High sense of integrity and ability to maintain confidentiality when handling sensitive information.
• Ability to assert opinions and persuade others by developing logical and well-reasoned arguments.
• A high sense of confidentiality.

• Masters University degree in Political Science, International Development, Business Development, Development Economics, International Relations, or other relevant field. A first university degree with additional years of related work experience and/or training/courses may be accepted in lieu of a Masters degree.
• Minimum of five (5) years of relevant professional work experience in a partnership, resource mobilization, or related role.
• Experience in managing donor relations and fundraising processes including grant proposal writing and donor reporting is highly desirable.
• Has a basic understanding of innovative financing strategies and developing effective relationships with partners.
• Has advanced analytical skills and experience in agenda setting and enabling action-oriented discussions with partners.
• Has strong skills in managing or working in teams. Competences in working in multi-cultural teams is desirable.
• Fluency (level C) in English.