Senior Director, Global Impact Partnerships

USA for UNHCR•Washington, DC

1d•$206,596 - $240,888

About The Position

The Senior Director, Global Impact Partnerships is an enterprise leadership role at USA for UNHCR, responsible for accelerating growth and turning humanitarian priorities into transformational private-sector engagement. Reporting to the Chief Development Officer, the role shapes and executes an integrated strategy for partnerships with U.S.-headquartered corporations, institutional foundations, civil society and faith-based organizations, community partners, and gift-in-kind partners, while collaborating globally to maximize humanitarian impact. The Senior Director leads a multidisciplinary team of 12 or more fundraising, relationship-management, and partnership professionals. The role develops the team’s leadership, collaboration, and performance, and works across USA for UNHCR with senior leaders and Board members and with UNHCR colleagues around the world. It deepens and expands complex, multi-year, multimillion-dollar partnerships and develops new pathways for financial support, in-kind gifts, employee engagement, cause marketing, thought leadership, and cross-sector innovation. The position oversees partnership strategy, revenue growth, portfolio performance, global collaboration, governance, and external representation. It helps mobilize resources and relationships to advance UNHCR’s work to save lives, protect rights, and build better futures for people forced to flee. The role may be performed in-office, remotely, or in a hybrid setting, depending on organizational requirements and role-specific expectations. Moderate travel is required (10–25%).

Requirements

Bachelor's degree required.
At least 12 years of progressively responsible leadership in partnerships, business development, institutional advancement, or resource mobilization.
Demonstrated success developing strategy, engaging Boards, and leading integrated, multimillion-dollar fundraising programs.
Demonstrated experience navigating complex, matrixed global organizations.
Knowledge of private-sector partnership strategy across corporations, foundations, civil society, faith-based organizations, community partners, and in-kind channels.
Knowledge of integrated and shared-value partnership models combining philanthropy, business capabilities, employee engagement, marketing, thought leadership, advocacy, and in-kind support.
Knowledge of global humanitarian systems, refugee and forced-displacement issues, and the roles of UN agencies, NGOs, governments, civil society, and private-sector actors.
Knowledge of revenue growth, pipeline development, portfolio management, partner retention, account planning, and performance measurement.
Knowledge of governance, compliance, due diligence, safeguarding, reputational risk, and ethical partnership practices in complex global organizations.
Knowledge of organizational strategy, change leadership, and decision-making in highly matrixed, multicultural environments.
Knowledge of emerging trends in corporate social impact, institutional philanthropy, innovative finance, impact investing, and cross-sector collaboration.
Ability to set and communicate a compelling multiyear partnerships strategy aligned with organizational and humanitarian priorities.
Ability to cultivate, negotiate, secure, and expand complex, transformational, multimillion-dollar, multi-year partnerships.
Ability to lead executive-level engagement with corporate, foundation, nonprofit, UN, and Board stakeholders.
Ability to translate technical humanitarian priorities into persuasive investment opportunities, value propositions, proposals, and executive communications.
Ability to build alignment across teams with differing priorities, incentives, cultures, and decision-making authority.
Ability to exercise sound judgment in partnership governance, due diligence, reputational risk, and complex multiparty agreements.
Ability to use portfolio, pipeline, financial, and performance data to allocate resources, assess risk, and drive decisions.
Ability to coach senior leaders and develop high-performing, inclusive, and accountable teams.
Ability to lead a large multidisciplinary team with clarity, trust, empathy, accountability, and sustainable performance expectations.
Ability to influence decisions and align stakeholders across USA for UNHCR and UNHCR without relying solely on formal authority.
Ability to establish shared accountability, clarify roles and decision rights, and resolve competing priorities constructively.
Ability to build trusted relationships with executive leaders, Board members, global colleagues, partners, and technical experts.
Ability to balance ambitious revenue growth with mission integrity, partner value, operational feasibility, and reputational stewardship.
Ability to delegate effectively, develop leaders, share information and credit, and create conditions for colleagues to succeed.
Ability to invite challenge and diverse perspectives while making timely, well-reasoned decisions in ambiguous circumstances.
Ability to lead through organizational change, humanitarian emergencies, and evolving external conditions with resilience and adaptability.
Ability to represent USA for UNHCR credibly in high-level external settings and communicate sensitively about displacement and human rights.
Ability to foster collaboration, innovation, inclusion, learning, and accountability.
Demonstrated commitment to refugee protection, human rights, and centering the dignity, agency, and perspectives of people with lived experience of forced displacement.

Nice To Haves

Relevant master's degree.
Experience leading partnerships or resource mobilization during humanitarian emergencies and/or rapidly evolving external conditions.
Experience partnering with UN agencies, global NGOs, country or regional teams, and technical experts across cultures and time zones.
Leadership experience in a humanitarian, international development, UN-affiliated, or other complex mission-driven organization.

Responsibilities

Establish and lead a multiyear partnership strategy across corporate, foundation, civil society, faith-based, community, and gift-in-kind partnerships, aligned with organizational growth priorities and UNHCR humanitarian objectives.
Maintain executive accountability for acquisition, retention, expansion, pipeline health, forecasting, and delivery against revenue and partnership goals.
Guide the cultivation, negotiation, and stewardship of complex, integrated, multimillion-dollar, multi-year partnerships that mobilize funding, expertise, employee engagement, marketing, thought leadership, advocacy, and in-kind resources.
Build, coach, and retain a high-performing multidisciplinary team; strengthen leadership capacity, clarify accountability, delegate decision-making, and foster inclusion, collaboration, learning, and sustainable performance.
Strengthen collaboration between USA for UNHCR and UNHCR by establishing trusted ways of working, clarifying roles and decision rights, resolving competing priorities, and aligning colleagues around shared outcomes.
Collaborate with program, stewardship, communications, brand, finance, and global colleagues to develop differentiated partner opportunities and persuasive narratives grounded in humanitarian priorities.
Oversee strategic planning, budgets, forecasts, resource allocation, performance measurement, account planning, and data-informed decisions across the partnerships portfolio.
Ensure due diligence, safeguarding, compliance, ethical partnership practices, reputational-risk management, and appropriate governance of complex and multiparty agreements.
Advise the Chief Development Officer, CEO, Executive Leadership Group, and Board on partnership strategy, opportunities, risks, performance, and decisions requiring senior sponsorship.
Represent USA for UNHCR as a senior spokesperson and relationship leader with corporate and foundation executives, humanitarian leaders, peer organizations, and other influential stakeholders.
Perform other duties as assigned.