ICARDA - Head of Partnerships and Resource Mobilization

About ICARDA

ICARDA is an international organization that for over four decades undertakes research-fordevelopment to provide innovative, science-based agricultural solutions that improve the livelihoods resilience of rural dryland communities. ICARDA’s mission is to reduce poverty and enhance food, water, nutritional security, and environmental health in the face of global challenges, including climate change. ICARDA is the only CGIAR research center headquartered in the non-tropical drylands. Our unique dryland agricultural experience, combined with our extensive networks of research and development partners, including farming communities themselves, makes sure we provide people-centered solutions that are integrated directly into farming activities and food systems. For more information visit the ICARDA website.

All 12 CGIAR Centers are currently engaged in a transformation effort (the ‘One CGIAR’) that will help the CGIAR achieve better impact through more strategically integrated research, unified governance, an integrated structure, and new research modalities.

Role:

Head of Partnerships and Resource Mobilization

Location: Cairo, Egypt

The Role Job Summary

The Head of Partnerships and Resource Mobilization reports to the Director General and is a member of ICARDA’s Senior Management Team. S/he also leads and manages the Partnerships and Grants Unit (PGU) with the overall responsibility of developing partnerships, driving resource mobilization, supporting bankable project proposal development, grants management and close-out. S/he will be expected to work as part of the integrated matrix structure and to collaborate with global colleagues.

The role will ensure predictable and sustainable longterm funding to meet ICARDA research needs and aspirations. This role will focus on the development and management of long-term partnerships including but not limited to bilateral and multilateral donors, new means of partnership and income generation, in-country partnership, and broader international

Salary: Competitive

partnerships supporting the positioning of ICARDA and its mandate globally. The role also provides advocacy support at the global, regional and national level using strategic content and approaches.

The Head of Partnerships and Resource Mobilization is an internationally recruited position. ICARDA offers an attractive compensation package to the successful applicant, including a competitive salary, housing allowance, non-contributory retirement plan, medical insurance, 30 days of annual leave, five months of maternity leave, and 15 days of paternity leave. All benefits are denominated and paid in US Dollars. ICARDA will offer the successful candidate an initial contract of three years, renewable, subject to a continued need for the position and satisfactory performance. The first year will be a probationary period.

Responsibilities

Strategic guidance on resource mobilization for ICARDA

• Lead on the development, implementation, and update of the ICARDA resource mobilization and donor engagement strategy, building on the existing donor mapping and ongoing engagements.

• Set and monitor institutional annual priorities and quarterly objectives and key objectives for resource mobilization and donor engagement, and the supporting action plan for achieving the objectives.

• Advise on best practice and channels for resource mobilization including but not limited to traditional government/bilateral donors, International Financial Institutions (IFIs), Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), multi-partner funds, foundations, private sector, as well as other innovative financing mechanisms, etc.

• Identify and establish mechanisms to engage with priority partners including public and private sector partners at the global level.

• Strategic and operational thinker able to see the institutional big picture and future needs, while at the same time being able to dive into the work itself

• Lead on the development and implementation of the institutional and country ICARDA partnerships and resource mobilization strategy through the identification and delivery of new funding pathways

Proactive and targeted engagement with donor partners

• Lead on the design and implementation of effective advocacy strategies and methods for strategic targeting of existing and prospect donor partners, in collaboration with the ICARDA communications team as needed.

• Engage in targeted networking to establish connections, leading to the development, mobilization, prioritization and management of partnerships with the purpose of mobilizing resources.

• Ensure updated donor intelligence as well as proactive outreach for insights.

• Build a global partnership ecosystem and actively engage partners through regular checkins and engagement.

• Oversee prospective contributions and ongoing donor engagement.

• With the support of the Communications Unit, lead the development of donor

outreach materials, including but not limited to brochures, pitch decks, concept notes, expressions of interest, etc. that are in line with donor/partner criteria and audience needs.

• Lead quality assurance for donor proposals, in collaboration with ICARDA team leads as needed, and incorporate donor feedback in a timely manner.

• Lead the formalization of relationships as opportunities arise, and support the management, initiation, preparation and operationalization of agreements (such as Memorandum of Understanding, Financing Agreement, Project Document, etc.) to formalize contributions.

• Lead the management of donor reporting, in collaboration with implementation project leads, to ensure proper documentation is done and meet donor expectations

Institutional responsibilities and support

• Support ICARDA’s Director General and Deputy Director General-Research in preparing for high-level engagements (panels, speeches, webinars, etc.) with funding partners

• Advise and support regional and country office teams on their resource mobilization requests

• Proactive engagement with other ICARDA’s units, including programme teams, legal office, procurement unit, etc. to ensure organizational awareness and coherence

• Lead the Partnerships and Grants Unit (PGU) staff in partnerships, resource mobilization, project proposal development, due diligence procedures on prospective donors, and grants and contracts management

Institutional processes

• Ensure appropriate processes and policies are maintained, updated, developed and implemented and adherence to standards is made.

• Working alongside relevant institutional units and staff to ensure effective delivery and implementation of robust processes to ensure risk management and effective project delivery

• Lead on the implementation of a customer relationship management (CRM) system in collaboration with the OneCGIAR.

Qualifications

Essential

• Degree in International Affairs, Public Policy, Development, Entrepreneurship, Marketing or Communications or related fields. A Master’s degree would be an advantage.

• A minimum of ten years of progressively responsible experience, including in the public sector, international development or not-forprofit organizations, at management levels, in formulating, planning, and implementing effective resource mobilization strategies.

• Ability to think strategically and pragmatically and to turn strategies into concrete actions.

• Strong demonstrable track record in fundraising, and leading donor relations and project .development with governments and corporate partners at a global level. An established strong network and professional relations with donors and partners. Emphasis will be placed on the experience of donor relations in ICARDA’s region of operations and experience with the agricultural sector.

• Experience in advising senior management on fundraising and partnership opportunities.

• Ability to build strong and sustainable relationships and capability to interact at all levels within the organization.

• Ability to build trust and partnership and convince and manage multiple stakeholders with maturity and tact.

• Ability to deliver in a high-pressure environment.

• Excellent communication and people skills, including the ability to build trust and consensus and effectively manage working relationships.

• Excellent English, both written and spoken with working knowledge of another language of the region.

Desirable

• Experience in working in a matrix organization.

• Knowledge of Arabic is desirable.

• Experience in mobilizing climate finance.

How to Apply

All correspondence, at this stage, should be via Oxford HR.

To apply for this post, click on the “Apply” button on the job advert page, complete our online application form, and submit your CV and cover letter as two different documents, which should be prepared before applying as they will be considered in the application process.

The cover letter should be no more than two pages long and explain why you are interested in this post and how your skills and experience make you a good fit.

The document should be saved in PDF in the following format: Your First Name-Your Last Name-Document Name-Date (mmyy) e.g., Pat-Jones-CV-092023-ICARDA or Pat-JonesCoverLetter-092023-ICARDA.

Timeline

Closing Date: TBC

First stage interviews: TBC

Final interviews: TBC

Selection process

All candidates will receive an update regarding their application after the closing date. We advise candidates to add the role email to their safe senders list and regularly check their spam folder.

Equality Statement

Equality and diversity are at the core of ICARDA’s values. Staff are expected to work collectively and individually to promote a constructive and sensitive approach to others from a variety of backgrounds, where the work of others is valued and respected.

Queries

If you have any queries on any aspect of the appointment process, need additional information, or would like to have an informal discussion, please email at icarda-head@ oxfordhr.com in the first instance.

About Oxford HR

Exceptional leaders can inspire change and propel purpose-led organisations towards reaching their world-changing goals. Finding such leaders can be a challenge; and yet their transition into leadership is vital to an organisations mission and success.

Oxford HR is a global leadership consultancy dedicated to searching for and supporting remarkable leaders and teams in purpose-led organisations.

We understand the nuances of purpose-led leadership because we’ve worked in organisations across the breadth of the sector ourselves. We’ve also worked with such organisations since 1995; so we appreciate just what benefits impactful people can bring.