Officer, Strategic Planning and Incubation

United Nations Foundation•Washington, DC

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

As a strategic partner of the United Nations, the United Nations Foundation (UNF) brings together fresh thinking and diverse voices around innovative ideas to drive progress and tackle problems. The Officer is a key member of the Strategic Planning and Incubation team and manages new and incubating initiatives and projects to improve operational effectiveness. They are responsible for providing grants management support for a portfolio of initiatives as well as providing project and financial management for a select number of Pan-Foundation partnerships and special projects, and for managing team members who provide this support. The Officer will be responsible for coordinating with team leaders and ensuring timelines, milestones and policies are met by Foundation staff regarding partner-funded activities. The Officer, Strategic Planning and Incubation reports to the Director, Incubation and works closely with internal clients across the Foundation, including team leaders, while collaborating regularly with cross-functional partners such as Agreements & Accountability, Budgets, Finance, and People & Culture. The role also provides strategic and operational support on select priorities and special projects led by the Chief Operating Officer.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, or comparable professional experience required
Five or more years of experience with grants, proposals, and reports, preferably in a non-profit setting
Demonstrated familiarity with budgets, budget processes, grant, and financial management
Exceptional operations and project management skills with minimal supervision
Demonstrated proposal writing and reporting experience
Proven ability to manage multiple competing priorities
Exceptional attention to detail
Proven ability to work across departments to accomplish mission
Ability to work with senior staff to prepare analysis and information to inform decision-making
Proven ability to facilitate staff at all levels to meet external deadlines
Ability to develop, maintain, and enjoy effective working relationships with people from a wide variety of organizations and with a wide variety of functional expertise
Continuous learning skills and the ability to synthesize information
Demonstrated discretion and sound judgment in managing sensitive organizational information and strategic planning matters

Responsibilities

Manage select pan-UNF partnerships through the entire partnership lifecycle, including proposal development, award, implementation, and close-out, providing financial and programmatic management support, liaising with partners and internal stakeholders
Manage a portfolio of incubating initiatives and special projects by providing grants management support and facilitating start-up activities for incubating initiatives
Manage one or more team members who work on UNF’s incubating initiatives and special projects, providing grants management and administrative support
Investigate, negotiate, and help resolve any issues that arise with respect to activities funded by key partners, including finalizing contribution agreements, ensuring internal adherence to donor-specific rules and regulations, and request renewals or extensions
Liaise between project leaders and operational teams to ensure smooth execution of special projects and successful onboarding and launch of incubating initiatives
Provide budget support directly and oversee staff who provide budget support for incubating initiatives and special projects in conjunction with UNF’s Budget and Finance team
Ensure high quality, timely work products are submitted for donor funded activities; and resolving any issues that arise with respect to activities funded by key partners
Lead and support projects to improve organizational effectiveness and efficiency
Provide project management support for special projects assigned and led by the Chief Operating Officer
Support the organizational decision-making process through conducting and/or supporting quantitative and qualitative analysis and research to provide leadership with the necessary information to make timely and well-informed decisions
Manage other staff, as appropriate
Other duties as assigned