Resource Mobilization Head of Development Actors

What we do

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC – www.icrc.org) responds to worldwide humanitarian needs through its global network of delegations. The ICRC is an impartial, neutral and independent organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of war and other situations of violence and to provide them with assistance.

The Resource Mobilization Division (REM) manages the institutional relationship between ICRC and its various donors and partners.

Today’s conflicts are often protracted and increasingly encroaching urbanized, middle-income countries, generating growing, diversifying and complex humanitarian needs, requiring wider systemic responses leveraging the resources and capacities of the entire aid eco-system. The latter is accordingly undergoing significant change and the humanitarian-development nexus is more relevant than ever, with extreme poverty expected to predominantly aggregate in fragile, conflict-affected, and violent environments (FCV) by 2030. This has led to a rising commitment from national and multilateral development banks and agencies (Development Actors or DAs) to become engaged in FCV.

The ICRC is exploring and seeking partnerships to facilitate the delivery of its mission and live up to its mandate, to protect the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence, and to provide them with assistance. Such partnerships involve, amongst others, combining the resources and capacities of different actors – including DAs – as per comparative advantages, to secure the highest possible impact on those in need.
In line with its 2019-2024 Institutional Strategy and 2020-2030 Institutional Resource Mobilization Strategy, the ICRC intends to further engage with DAs to improve and expand its sustainable humanitarian impact (SHI) on conflict and violence affected communities. While this path is three pronged, i.e. (i) shaping humanitarian and diplomacy policy and agenda; (ii) leveraging knowledge and expertise exchanges; and, (iii) exploring operational collaboration potential, the ICRC’s DA Centre of Expertise (DEV CoE) focuses on the latter.

Purpose

The Head of DA Resource Mobilization is responsible for building and establishing the DEV CoE (Center of Expertise) and, through its activities, ensuring the achievement of the ICRC’s Resource Mobilization Strategy’s objectives relevant to DAs. The CoE’s purpose is to contribute meaningfully to the ICRC’s mandate through its specialist knowledge of DAs – both national development agencies and multilateral development entities. The CoE steers and frames the activities of relationship managers handling DA relationships in Resource Mobilization Operations teams, supports the articulation of the engagement requirements with DAs for teams across the ICRC, supports the optimization and effective engagement with DAs, co-steers organizational engagement with DAs from across the organization and the Department of Operations in particular, and plays a key role in informing and guiding institutional developments to improve partnering capabilities with DAs.

Accountabilities & Responsibilities

Leads and steers the financial partnership dimensions of the ICRC’s overall efforts to develop durable relationships and specific operational engagements with DA, ensuring the delivery of related institutional strategic objectives:

• Provides strategic stewardship on the DAs resource mobilisation engagement.
• Establishes the CoE’s strategic course and manages its business framework (arbitrating, planning, monitoring, forecasting and reporting), providing relevant analytics and ensuring end-to-end coherence on the DAs income stream.

Manages the global, DA engagement investment budget, ensuring optimal return on investment:

• Conceptualizes and manages a resource mobilisation framework for DAs, developing and implementing an expenditure rationale, managing the Centre’s budget, as well as monitoring the performance of the development actors’ portfolio based on agreed parameters and performance data.
• Defines RoIs for DAs, criteria of priorities to pursue, taking both tactical and strategic decisions for the course charted.
• Establishes REM DAs engagement architecture and decision-making processes supportive of the ICRC’s ability to identify, follow, and learn from development related fundraising ventures and investments.

Develops and ensures REM workflows, guidelines, policies, and best practice/ intelligence for DAs, and contributes in crafting ICRC’s image as an enabling brand of interest to DAs:

• Contributes to the development of blueprints for surfacing opportunities for knowledge and expertise sharing with DAs, notably when it comes to the path of co-created – and principled – initiatives.
• Leads and develops the analysis and aggregation of theoretical and empirical learning/ best practices on how to successfully form collaborations, secure funding, and provide assurance to DAs, as well as the establishment of standard processes, fundraising models, performance frameworks, and tools, to allow the continuous improvement in effectiveness and efficiency of partnership efforts.

Articulates and coordinates, with REM Operations teams, support and service needs for DA financial partnership from the rest of the organisation:

• Provides overall guidance in identifying possible synergies in product development, communication, and any element reinforcing ICRC’s institutional brand towards DAs.
• Develops aggregated analysis on evolving interests and trends to steer ICRC’s DA engagement strategy and offering.
• Together with peers from other Divisions and Departments, leads efforts to crystallize concepts and content developments for the wider DA engagement.
• Manages and provides tactical guidance, instructions and support to Partnership Coordinators (PCs)/ Partnerships Managers (PMs).
• Is responsible for the overall coordination of DA financial partnership ‘services’ to/by Delegations, Regions, Métiers, etc.
• Contributes to institution-wide efforts to secure broad relationships with Development Actors through the Partnerships Council and other relevant fora and processes.

Accountabilities & Responsibilities

Steers REM skills, systems, and capacity development to ensure optimal outcomes to enhance ICRC’s readiness in successfully partnering with DAs, and advises on similar efforts across ICRC:

• Leads the CoE’s networked approach on engaging DAs on various internal platforms, steering committees, task forces, etc. ensuring coherence and consistency of efforts.
• Steers the ICRC internal definition, arbitration of, and alignment on the ICRC’s portfolio of financial partnerships with DAs and related engagement strategies in coordination, in particular, with the Department of Operations; is a key vector of ICRC’s external narrative around the organization’s SHI endeavours with DAs.
• Aggregates information and leads adaptations required in ICRC’s various ‘ways of doing business’ when it comes to how development actors expect to engage, whether linked e.g. to normative considerations, transaction costs, practical organizational-fit issues, etc.

Represents ICRC, internally and externally, on DA-related financial partnership related matters:

• Advises REM_CHF on choices of engagement with DAs and defends them outside of the Division.
• Engages with REM’s DA counterparts and other actors in coordination with other Departments, as well as support engagement to heighten ICRC’s profile, further learning and improve the CoE’s business approach.

People management responsibilities

• Is accountable for the performance management of up-to a dozen colleagues, both in a ‘blue-line’ (functional) responsibility for Partnership Managers in REM Regions, as well as in a ‘red line’ (line) management function for Partnership Coordinators in the CoE.

Relationships

• Internally: Interacts with peers from other Units, Divisions and Departments.
• Externally: Interacts with relevant counterparts in both the humanitarian sector and national and multinational development institutions.

Certifications / Education required

• Master’s degree in business or management, marketing or fundraising.
• Fluent in English, French or other languages an asset.

Professional Experience required

• 15+ years professional experience.
• Senior experience working with DAs — either as a fundraiser or a practitioner
• Strategic delivery experience
• Programme-level management experience
• Experience working successfully in matrix approaches
• Humanitarian work experience required, ICRC experience an asset

Additional information

• Location: Geneva
• Type of contract: Open-ended contrat
• Duration of assignment: Required Rotation
• Grade: C3
• Activity rate: 100%
• Estimated start date: As soon as possible
• Application Deadline: Thursday 3rd of March 2022

The ICRC values diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive working environment. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates.