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Partnerships and Communications Specialist-[Open to Tier 0 & 1 & 2 applicants]
Better Than Cash
Marketing & Communications, Sales & Business Development
Nairobi, Kenya
Posted on Mar 14, 2026
Tiered Approach
In line with the commitment to safeguard capacity and support personnel already in the Organization, a majority of UNDP UNCDF/UNV vacancies are advertised using a tiered application process whereby:
- Tier 0: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV IP staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments, whose posts will be abolished, or contracts will be terminated or not renewed during 2026.
- Tier 1: Other UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments
- Tier 2: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding temporary appointments (TA), personnel on regular PSA contracts, and Expert and Specialist UN Volunteers
- Tier 3 or no tier indicated: All other contract types from UNDP/UNCDF/UNV and other agencies, and other external candidates
Please make note of the Tier(s) indicated in the vacancy title, if any, and ensure that you satisfy the eligibility to apply.
Background
Across Africa, fragile regions, drylands, and cross-border corridors are experiencing increasingly compounded risks driven by climate change, environmental degradation, conflict, displacement, food insecurity, and macroeconomic shocks. These pressures are most acute in last-mile geographies where climate exposure, weak market integration, and limited institutional presence converge. At the same time, evidence from UNDP-supported programmes demonstrates that these same spaces hold significant potential for resilience-building and inclusive growth when interventions are designed to integrate governance, livelihoods, climate adaptation, and financing in a coherent and systems-oriented manner.
Between 2024 and 2025, the UNDP Resilience Hub for Africa, working closely with UNDP Country Offices, Regional Bureaux, and global technical teams, advanced a portfolio of results that illustrate this integrated resilience approach in practice. In climate- and conflict-affected regions, UNDP-supported programmes enabled households and local economic actors to transition from high-risk, subsistence-based livelihoods toward climate-smart, market-linked activities across agriculture, livestock, fisheries, renewable energy, and micro-enterprise development. These livelihood interventions were deliberately coupled with institutional strengthening, social cohesion, and conflict prevention measures, demonstrating how economic resilience and peace outcomes can be mutually reinforcing in fragile settings.
A core strand of this work has focused on strengthening the resilience of local and regional markets through improved access to finance, risk mitigation, and private sector engagement. Through targeted market assessments and SDG-aligned investment diagnostics in fragile economies, UNDP has identified priority value chains and enterprise segments where climate risk, market failure, and energy constraints intersect. These assessments have informed the design of blended finance pipelines and catalytic facilities, including the Resilience Impact Facility for the Horn of Africa (RIFHA), positioning public capital to crowd in private investment while de-risking entry into high-impact, high-risk markets.
UNDP’s operational credibility in delivering resilience outcomes is further demonstrated through its ability to integrate infrastructure, institutions, and systems. In drought-prone and water-stressed regions, UNDP-supported initiatives have combined climate-resilient infrastructure investments with capacity development for sub-national authorities, safeguards, and service delivery reforms, addressing both immediate vulnerability and long-term adaptive capacity. Similarly, UNDP has advanced digital and data-driven solutions to strengthen resilience systems, including digital public infrastructure and brokerage platforms that connect government priorities with market-ready solutions and financing pathways.
At the regional level, the Resilience Hub for Africa is increasingly supporting corridor- and cluster-based approaches that link climate adaptation, livelihoods, governance, digitalization and financing across national boundaries. By working with UNDP Country Offices, regional institutions, and development partners, the Hub is helping reposition cross-border and frontier regions as platforms for economic cooperation, stabilization, and climate resilience, moving beyond fragmented, project-based interventions toward integrated resilience systems.
Taken together, these results reflect the evolution of the UNDP Resilience Hub for Africa as a platform that translates resilience from concept to delivery. The Hub combines analytics, partnerships, innovative financing, and last-mile implementation to support countries and communities in managing risk, adapting to climate and economic shocks, and building inclusive pathways to sustainable development.
The Partnerships and Communications Specialist will work with teams across the Resilience Hub for Africa to translate analytical insights and programme results into clear partnership propositions, resource mobilization narratives, and strategic communications. The role will support the positioning of the Hub as a delivery-oriented resilience platform by articulating how analytics, partnerships, innovative financing, and last-mile implementation combine to generate measurable resilience outcomes, while strengthening visibility, collaboration, and opportunities to scale impact in fragile and climate-affected contexts.
Duties and Responsibilities
Under the overall supervision of the Director of the UNDP Resilience Hub for Africa, and the direct supervision of the Resilience Portfolio Adviser, the Partnerships and Communications Specialist will undertake the following responsibilities:
Build Strategic Partnerships and Strategic Engagement
- Support the design and implementation of a partnership and advocacy strategy for the Resilience Hub, articulating UNDP’s value proposition to development partners, governments, regional institutions, and the private sector.
- Facilitate and strengthen strategic partnerships with UN entities, Regional Economic Communities, the African Union, international financial institutions, bilateral donors, foundations, think tanks, and civil society organizations.
- Participate in technical-level inter-agency coordination forums and partner engagements, as required, to advance UNDP’s resilience agenda.
- Promote internal coordination across UNDP units, including Country Offices, the Regional Bureau for Africa, the Global Policy Network, and the Bureau for External Relations and Advocacy, to ensure coherence in partnership engagement.
Provision of Resource Mobilization Support
- Support in the development and implementation of a resource mobilization strategy for the Resilience Hub, including annual action plans and other relevant documentation.
- Contribute to the identification of funding opportunities aligned with the Hub’s portfolio, including climate finance, blended finance, and impact investment instruments.
- Assist in tracking commitments, pledges, and grants supporting resilience programming and in maintaining engagement with funding partners.
Communications, Visibility, and Knowledge Management
- Support the development and implementation of a communications and visibility strategy for the Resilience Hub, including digital platforms, publications, and social media.
- Contribute to storytelling, advocacy materials, and knowledge products that showcase results, innovations, and lessons from resilience programming across Africa.
- Coordinate with programme teams to ensure consistent branding and effective dissemination of portfolio achievements to internal and external audiences.
- Support cross-regional and Africa-wide knowledge exchange by liaising with UNDP teams in headquarters and regional hubs.
Provision of Substantive and Technical Support
- Provide substantive input to partnership and communications activities related to sustaining peace, stabilization, climate-security, and inclusive livelihoods.
- Ensure that partnership and communications outputs are gender-responsive and reflect the needs and perspectives of vulnerable and marginalized groups.
- Perform other related duties within the functional profile as required for the effective functioning of the Resilience Hub.
Strategic Positioning, Advocacy, and Executive Support
- Support the strategic positioning of the Resilience Hub as a regional and global platform for resilience programming, resilience finance, and integrated corridor-based development.
- Contribute to the preparation of high-level advocacy and positioning materials, including briefing notes, talking points, presentations, and background materials for senior UNDP leadership engagement with partners and stakeholders.
- Support the organization and coordination of strategic events, partner consultations, and high-level engagements that advance the visibility and positioning of the Resilience Hub.
- Contribute to strengthening UNDP’s institutional narrative on resilience, climate adaptation, and integrated development approaches, ensuring alignment with corporate priorities and regional programme frameworks.
- Support strategic communications related to major institutional milestones, programme launches, partnership announcements, and programme results.
Partnership Intelligence, Monitoring, and Institutional Learning
- Support the development and maintenance of partnership intelligence and tracking systems, including databases of partners, engagement pipelines, and partnership outcomes.
- Contribute to the monitoring and reporting on partnership engagement outcomes, including resource mobilization progress, partnership milestones, and strategic engagement effectiveness.
- Support the preparation of internal reports and updates related to partnerships, communications, and advocacy activities.
- Contribute to strengthening institutional learning by documenting lessons learned, good practices, and partnership models that support scaling of resilience programming.
- Support alignment between partnership strategies, communications efforts, and programme priorities to ensure coherent and effective institutional positioning.
The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.
Institutional Arrangement and Reporting Lines
The Partnerships and Communications Specialist will work under the overall guidance of the Director of the UNDP Resilience Hub for Africa, with direct supervision of UNDP Resilience Portfolio Adviser and in close collaboration with the programme teams within the Hub, UNDP Country Offices, and relevant regional and global UNDP units.
The incumbent shall also discharge duties and responsibilities in close collaboration with the UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa, UNDP Regional Service Centre for Africa, the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS), the Bureau for External Relations (BERA) and the Crisis Bureau (CB) as well as clients of the UNDP Resilience Hub. The required qualifications and experiences are described in the sections below
Competencies
Core Competencies
- Achieve Results: LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact
- Think Innovatively: LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems
- Learn Continuously: LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences
- Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands
- Act with Determination: LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results
- Engage and Partner: LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration
- Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity
Cross-Functional & Technical competencies
Partnership management Multi-stakeholder engagement and funding
- Knowledge and ability to forge multi-stakeholder partnerships, and remove any obstacles to resource mobilization and multi-stakeholder funding platforms
Business Direction and strategy Strategic Thinking
- Develop effective strategies and prioritised plans in line with UNDP’s mission and objectives, based on the systemic analysis of challenges, opportunities and potential risks; link the general vision to reality on the ground to create tangible targeted solutions; learn from a variety of sources to anticipate and effectively respond to both current and future trends; demonstrate foresight.
- Systems Thinking Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system
Business Management
- Results-based Management Ability to manage the implementation of partnerships and communications strategies, with a focus at improved performance and demonstrable results. Knowledge and understanding of relevant theories, concepts, methodologies, instruments, and tools.
- Communication Communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience. Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media and other appropriate channel.
- Portfolio Management Ability to select, prioritise and control the organization's programmes and projects in line with its strategic objectives and capacity Ability to balance the implementation of change initiatives with regular activities for optimal return on investment. Knowledge and understanding of key principles of project, programme, and portfolio management
Partnership Management Emerging Partnerships
- Ability to engage with emerging partners, develop and manage a strategy and develop approaches
to developing and managing these new strategic partnerships
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- An advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in International Relations, International Development, Communications, Political Science, Social Sciences, or a related field is required.
- A first-level university degree in a relevant field, in the areas stated above, combined with two additional years of qualifying experience, will be considered in lieu of an advanced degree.
Experience:
A minimum of 5 years (with master’s degree) or 7 years (with bachelor’s degree) of progressive professional experience in partnerships development, communications, resource mobilization, or related functions at national, regional, or international level.
Required skills
- Experience working on projects related to human-centered communications in developing countries is required.
Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section
- Demonstrated experience working with development partners, UN entities, governments, or regional institutions.
- Experience supporting multi-stakeholder initiatives in fragile, conflict-affected, or development contexts.
- Experience working in UN agencies or international NGOs is an asset.
- Experience in resource mobilization
Required Language(s)
- Fluency in English is required, including the ability to set out a coherent argument in presentations and group interactions.
- Working knowledge of other UN languages will be desirable.
Equal opportunity
As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination.
UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.
Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority
UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles.
Right to select multiple candidates
UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.
Scam alert
UNDP does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process. For further information, please see www.undp.org/scam-alert.
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Duties and Responsibilities