Foundations Specialist

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or disability.

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:  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).

JOB TITLE: Foundations Specialist 
UNIT/DIVISION: Private Partnerships division (PSP) Org. Unit
DUTY STATION: Rome, HQ 
CONTRACT TYPE: Short-Term, Regular Consultant CST-I 
DURATION: 11 months
LINE MANAGER/SUPERVISOR: Brett Hanley

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the world's largest humanitarian agency working to create a world 
with zero hunger. WFP and its partners believe that no child should go to bed hungry and that individual and collective 
wellbeing can only be achieved if all children, women and men get the nutritious food they need to lead healthy, dignified 
lives. WFP works with partners to strengthen the resilience of communities most vulnerable to hunger and malnutrition 
through long-term development programmes aimed at boosting food security, local economies, education, employment 
and gender equality. While hunger and malnutrition are the world's largest solvable issues, the needs are still immense and 
growing.
Global presence and support: 
- WFP works in over 120 countries and territories
- In 2022, WFP supported 160 million people – the largest number of people assisted in our history.
- WFP has up to 6,500 trucks, 20 ships, and 140 planes on the move every day, delivering food and other assistance in
some of the most remote and challenging parts of the world.
- WFP delivered 4.8 million metric tons of food in 2022 (the equivalent weight of 53,000 whales).
- WFP provides support to school feeding programmes in over 80 countries. In more than 50 of them, WFP provides
meals and snacks directly, reaching 20 million children. WFP also works with governments and other partners to bolster
national school feeding programmes, benefitting over 100 million additional schoolchildren.
To get to a world with Zero Hunger faster, WFP is investing in and growing private sector fundraising and partnerships to 
reach more people. This is an exciting opportunity for experienced professionals to co-develop and implement the new 
global foundation engagement strategy of WFP as part of our new private partnerships and fundraising strategy. 
The Private Sector Partnerships Division (PSP) is responsible for engaging the private sector (corporations, individuals, 
foundations) through high-impact partnerships in support of WFP's strategic priorities, and through individual giving to build 
and retain support from the general public worldwide. 
The private sector is uniquely qualified to play a leadership role in ending hunger. Some of the largest and most respected 
brands and companies in the world – such as MasterCard, Royal DSM, Facebook, Google and many others – are helping 
achieve zero hunger by enabling WFP to strengthen operations, reach more people, fund lifesaving programs and build public 
support. They choose to partner with WFP because of WFP's reach, scale and track record to create innovative partnerships 
that leverage their unique strengths and create lasting impact. WFP is investing in significantly growing its work with the 
private sector (including with corporates, foundations and individual giving). 
Currently, PSP is implementing a new Partnerships and Fundraising Strategy that emphasizes on fundraising from the public 
for fully flexible giving, and from "technical" corporate partners, primarily for their dedicated expertise, capability, and 
advocacy support. This strategy is associated to a PSP investment case and a retention mechanism with the purpose of 
reinvesting funding to further grow revenue. 
This very diversified portfolio of workstreams requires that the PSP division has strong systems and processes in place to 
be accountable for contributions and budgetary management and implementation in compliance with WFP and 
international regulations and further to enable and improve data driven decision making.

PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT
We are looking for a passionate individual to join our team and support the management of a portfolio of foundation 
partnerships, to help deliver excellence in relationship management demonstrated through partner satisfaction, high 
retention and revenue growth. You will use and develop your relationship and project management skills to cultivate 
partnerships, while supporting a partnership management team, as well as a global network of partnership colleagues.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead or support foundation partnership lifecycle for key accounts—from business development to account
management, growth and renewal—as determined by Foundation Team's needs.

• Support and liaise with COs, RBs and TUs on engagement with private foundations: lead on various core foundation
account initiatives/projects from conception to completion; support and liaise with WFP Country Offices (COs), Regional
Bureaux (RBs) and Technical Units (TUs) to write and review concept notes, develop proposals, review donor
agreements, brief leadership for signature; support activities on overall growth of global partnerships, including strategic
documents, guidance and briefing documents for leadership engagement with the foundation.

• Provide strategic support and customer service to WFP Friends organizations, in particular WFP USA, in pursuit and
engagement of key foundation prospects in ways that abide with WFP corporate processes. Support the Foundations
Team in defining roles, responsibilities, and processes for fundraising in the US market, both from existing and new
partners.

• Liaise with HQ Legal and Finance Divisions, as well as PSP Global Services, to support proposal and agreement
negotiation processes of prospects and new partners.

• Coordinate and manage periodic Salesforce exercises including the bi-annual factsheet and the account status report
and planning forecast exercises.

• Support the Foundations Team, its partners, and wider PSP Division across various roles and activities, including: log due
diligence requests and track deadlines, when needed; produce cheat sheets, briefs and fact sheets for WFP senior
management and learning documents for field colleagues, as appropriate for accounts supported.

• Update and maintain accounts on Salesforce and all knowledge/information management tools for accounts supported.

• Document management, and use of Salesforce for the improved tracking of opportunities.

• Help conduct research on private foundations as needed and identify partnership opportunities that advance strategic
priorities.

• Help identify suitable networking opportunities and events to connect WFP leadership with partner and prospect
foundations.

DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT

• Successful negotiation of new initiatives/grants

• Successful support in the maintenance and growth of current partnerships/relationships

• Updated Salesforce exercises including bi-annual factsheet, account status report and planning forecast

• Updated foundation account entries on Salesforce for accounts supported, and for new accounts as needed

• At least two thematic narratives for foundations

• Updated account strategies, guidance, briefs and cheat sheets as needed

• Support the Foundations Team and wider division on knowledge management processes, when needed, including

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED 
Work history

• At least 4 years' demonstrated experience in a partnership role/project management.

• Successful internships or work experience in fundraising, account management, project management, and/or marketing/sales is essential. Knowledge of humanitarian/development sector is desirable.
Education 

• University Degree in International Relations, Business Administration, Management, Marketing or other related fields.
Soft skills 

• Excellent written and oral communication skills and client-focused orientation.

• Detail-oriented; ability to effectively collect, analyze, organize, distill and present information in a compelling yet concise manner.

• Team-player who works well with different personalities and takes responsibility for individual work.

• Exercises discretion and judgment, identifying issues to raise to supervisors and leadership for input and/or information.

• Strong customer service mentality and interpersonal skills with ability to cultivate relationships; must enjoy working in a team environment.

• Familiarity with Salesforce or other customer relationship management systems.

• Experience simultaneously working on multiple projects with deadlines; must be comfortable managing up and asking for help when needed.

• Curious about the organization's mission and activities and how to identify areas of mutual interest with private sector partners.

• The ideal candidate will also be highly adaptable to change and comfortable working in a fast-paced environment, with ambiguity, and competing demands with grace and humor.

Languages

Fluency in oral and written English. Knowledge of a second UN language is desirable.

WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

WFP Leadership Framework guides to the common standards of behavior that guide HOW we work together to accomplish our mission.

Click here to access WFP Leadership Framework

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

WFP is committed to supporting individuals with disabilities by providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process. If you require a reasonable accommodation, please contact: 

NO FEE DISCLAIMER

The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.

REMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

• All applications must be submitted exclusively through our online recruitment system. We do not accept CVs or spontaneous applications by email.

• If you experience challenges while submitting your online application, please contact us at for technical support only.

• Please note that applications sent to this email address cannot be considered.

• We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete, and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, language skills and UN Grade (if applicable).

• Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application.

• Kindly note the only documents you will need to submit at this time are your CV and Cover Letter

• Additional documents such as passport, recommendation letters, academic certificates, etc. may potentially be requested at a future time

• Only shortlisted candidates will be notified

All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.