Resource Mobilization Specialist [Open to all applicants]

Better Than Cash
Better Than Cash

New York, USA

Posted on Aug 29, 2026
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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

The Joint SDG Fund supports countries as they accelerate their progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It operates through joint programmes (JPs) that provide the mechanism for transformative solutions implemented by governments and national stakeholders and supported by the UN Country Team led by Resident Coordinators (RCs). Strategic direction for the Fund is provided by the Strategic Advisory Group chaired by the Deputy Secretary-General as the chair of UN Sustainable Development Group, with Fund’s five largest donor countries and seven program countries. The Fund is managed by the Operational Steering Committee, comprised of representatives of UN entities, and with the support from the Secretariat of the Fund. The UN Development Coordination Office (DCO) hosts the Fund and provides for the alignment with the broader UN Development System reforms. The Administrative Agent of the Fund, in charge of financial management, is the Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office (MPTF-O). Official documents (e.g. Terms of Reference and Operational Guidance) of the Fund and information on funding can be found on the Gateway portal.

To advance the dual mandate of supercharging the UN Development System reform to be fit for purpose and, in turn, supporting the acceleration of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Fund incentivizes coherent and coordinated joint UN action, anchored in the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks (UNSDCF) at country level under the leadership of Resident Coordinator (RC). Serving as the catalytic funding to piece together emerging policy priorities and financing strategies, the Fund aims to galvanize the UN Country Teams around integrated policies and identify the fiscal space to overcome the political and financial hurdles to scale and accelerate progress towards the SDGs.

Position Purpose

The Resource Mobilization Specialist (P4) is responsible for translating the Joint SDG Fund’s strategic priorities into actionable resource mobilization opportunities. The role is responsible for pipeline management, donor intelligence, including with Member States, preparing compelling pitches, proposals, briefs, reporting and donor-facing materials; supporting day-to-day donor engagement and stewardship; generating analytics on funding trends, instruments, and positioning; supporting high-level engagements and visibility efforts; and ensuring timely reporting and donor compliance.

UNDP adopts a portfolio approach to accommodate changing business needs and leverage linkages across interventions to achieve its strategic goals. Therefore, UNDP personnel are expected to work across units, functions, teams, and projects in multidisciplinary teams in order to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration.

Duties and Responsibilities

Strategic Resource Mobilization and Donor Engagement

  • Support the implementation of resource mobilization priorities established by senior management through donor research, opportunity development, pipeline management and fundraising coordination.
  • Prepare strategic briefing materials, talking points, background notes and analyses to support senior management engagement with donors and institutional partners.
  • Coordinate the donor engagement lifecycle, including donor intelligence, opportunity tracking, proposal coordination, stewardship activities, reporting schedules, and follow-up actions.
  • Prepare high-quality proposals, pitches, briefs, memos, talking points, concept notes, and funding packages tailored to specific donors.
  • Coordinate routine communication and follow-up with donor focal points, Permanent Missions and institutional partners under the guidance of the Senior Advisor.
  • Maintain and update the Fund’s donor pipeline, engagement trackers, and funding forecasts.
  • Ensure compliance with donor requirements and UNDP/MPFTF-O policies in solicitation, negotiation and reporting processes.

Member State, Donor Stewardship and Engagement Support

  • Support strategic engagement with Member States, Permanent Missions and institutional partners to strengthen support for the Joint SDG Fund and advance resource mobilization objectives.
  • Prepare inputs to support senior-level engagements with Member States, including identifying opportunities, sensitivities, and follow-up actions to advance partnerships and funding objectives.
  • Draft compelling materials (briefing notes, talking points, speeches) to support high-level engagements with SG/DSG/ASG, Permanent Representatives-level meetings, and other senior officials.
  • Develop and maintain Member State and donor profiles, including funding priorities, contribution history, thematic interests and engagement opportunities.
  • Coordinate preparations, logistics, background documentation and follow-up actions related to Strategic Advisory Group meetings and donor consultations.
  • Support field-level engagement with Resident Coordinators and UNCTs to identify and package joint financing opportunities.
  • Any other relevant tasks related to Member States engagement as guided by senior management.

Donor Intelligence, Funding Opportunities and Reporting

  • Conduct donor intelligence, financing landscape analysis and pipeline assessments to identify emerging funding opportunities, donor priorities and resource mobilization prospects, and provide strategic insights to senior management.
  • Support the coordination of donor-facing reporting products, ensuring compliance with visibility requirements and supporting the production of the Annual Report and thematic investment briefs.
  • Review inputs from UN entities, joint programmes and country operations to generate evidence, results narratives and strategic content for resource mobilization and donor engagement.
  • Strengthen internal knowledge management systems related to fundraising, proposals, and donor engagement.

Resource Mobilization Analysis and Planning Support

  • Provide analytical inputs to senior management on donor engagement priorities, funding opportunities, and resource mobilization approaches to support achievement of fundraising objectives.
  • Analyze donor trends, funding landscapes, and political, reputational, and operational risks that may affect the Fund's resource mobilization efforts and recommend appropriate courses of action.
  • Contribute to the development, implementation, and periodic review of multi-year resource mobilization plans, funding scenarios, and donor engagement strategies aligned with the Fund's strategic priorities.
  • Prepare analytical products, briefing materials and evidence-based recommendations to support senior management decision-making.

Partnership Development, Cross-Institutional Coordination and Facilitate Knowledge Sharing

  • Facilitate coordination with Resident Coordinators, UN Country Teams and institutional partners to identify, develop and advance joint financing opportunities aligned with the Fund's strategic priorities.
  • Provide technical contributions to system-wide initiatives and inter-agency processes to strengthen joint financing approaches and resource mobilization efforts.
  • Coordinate and support high-level partnership engagements, donor roundtables, roadshows and missions to cultivate strategic partnerships and advance resource mobilization objectives.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: None

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 and Technical Competencies:

Partnerships Management - Resource Mobilization: Ability to identify funding sources, match funding needs (programmes/projects/initiatives) with funding opportunities, and establish a plan to meet funding requirements.

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.

Partnerships Management - Relationship management: Ability to engage with a wide range of public and private partners, build, sustain and/or strengthen working relations, trust and mutual understanding.

Business Management - Partnerships management: Build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts and others in line with UNDP strategy and policies partners, experts and others in line with UNDP strategy and policies.

General (across the functions) - Public relations: Ability to build and maintain an overall positive public image for the organisation, its mandate and its brand, while ensuring that individual campaigns and other communications and advocacy initiatives are supported in reaching the public.

Business Direction and Strategy - System 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 - 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.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • Advanced University Degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in Economics, Business Management, Social Sciences, Political Sciences or related fields are required. Or
  • A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the areas mentioned above, in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

  • A minimum of 7 years (with master’s degree) or 9 years (with bachelor’s degree) of progressively responsible professional experience in resource mobilization within an international development context is required.
  • At least seven (7) years of experience supporting or leading resource mobilization for UN Secretariats of global or multi-country thematic funds, pooled funds, vertical funds, with demonstrated experience in managing donor relations is required.
  • Prior experience working in a field context on sustainable development is required.
  • Demonstrated experience supporting successful resource mobilization efforts from a range of public and institutional donors in support of development initiatives, particularly in the context of UN pooled or multi-donor funding mechanisms is desired.
  • Demonstrated experience to inform donor engagement and the development and implementation of multi-year resource mobilization strategies is desired.
  • Experience coordinating donor portfolios and fundraising pipelines is desired.
  • Experience in preparing resource mobilization products and donor reporting is desired.
  • Experience conducting donor intelligence and financial analysis is desired.
  • Experience in UN inter-agency coordination and deep understanding of the UN development system, the workings of the Development Coordination Office and of the Resident Coordinator System is desired.
  • Experience organizing and supporting donor engagement activities, including high-level briefings, donor events, missions, and dialogues, to cultivate partnerships and attract contributions is desired.
  • Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with senior stakeholders, Permanent Missions to the UN and other strategic partners is desired.
  • Prior experience working with international and/or bilateral donors is an asset.

Language:

  • Fluency in English is required.
  • Knowledge of another UN language is 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.

Probation

For all new UNDP fixed term appointments (FTA), including for staff members being transferred or seconded to UNDP under the Inter-Organization Agreement concerning Transfer, Secondment or Loan of Staff, on an appointment of more than one year, continuation of the appointment beyond the initial 12 months is contingent upon the successful completion of a probationary period.

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.

Use of AI by candidates

Applicants are invited to read UNDP’s guidance for candidates on using AI responsibly in UNDP recruitment and selection

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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