Associate Innovative Financing Officer At UN High Commissioner for Refugees

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is offering an Associate Innovative Financing Officer, LICA-9***,*** position within the Private Partnerships and Philanthropy of the Private Sector Partnerships Service.

UNHCR is a global organisation dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people. Every year, millions of men, women and children are forced to flee their homes to escape conflict and persecution. We are in over 125 countries, using our expertise to protect and care for millions.

Title: Associate Innovative Financing Officer

Duty Station: Home Based

Duration: 01 April – 31 December 2021

Contract Type: UNOPS Local Specialist, LICA 9

Closing date: 2^nd March 2022

Start date: 01 April

Organisational context

Based at UN City in Copenhagen, UNHCR’s Private Sector Partnership Service (PSP) sits within the Division of External Relations and supports the Agency’s global collaboration with the private sector through its network of fundraisers and national associations in almost 30 operations in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East and Gulf region. The growth in income secured from the private sector by UNHCR since 2006 has made PSP the private sector division growing the fastest amongst its peers in the first five years of its creation. The ambition of the new ambitious PSP Global Strategy 2018-2025 has the vision to grow into a service capable of generating $1bn annually.

With traditional funding from both development and humanitarian contexts seeing a downward trend, PSP and UNHCR have made it a strategic priority to pursue innovative financing modalities to channel private sector funding for the benefit of refugees. As a key member of the PPH Section and reporting to the Senior Innovative Finance Officer (Head of Unit) based in Geneva, the Associate Innovative Financing Officer is a significant element of this strategy and will be responsible for ensuring that new financing modalities are mapped, developed, and implemented, to enable sustainable and innovative solutions for refugees.

The position

The role of the Associate Innovative Financing Officer role is to provide the Innovative Finance Unit financial modelling and business case development expertise and capacity to support the Unit’s innovative finance mechanisms across the entire lifecycle from concept development through to implementation.

Duties and responsibilities

• Develop and refine financial models, including income and/or cash flow models, to support innovative financing mechanisms from the concept stage through to implementation
• Support business case development for innovative finance mechanisms, including analysis and research, writing business plans, and making recommendations on business model and/or financial structure
• Engage DFAM, LAS, DRRM, DRS, and other technical and field-based colleagues to support business case and financial model development
• Stay up to date on innovative finance mechanisms in the humanitarian and/or development space, including legal and financial structures and deal economics
• Perform any other duties as assigned by the supervisor

Essential minimum qualifications and professional experience required

The ideal candidate will possess the following qualifications:-

Education

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Economics, Business Administration, Finance, Accounting, International Development, or a related technical discipline.

Work Experience

· Minimum 2 years of relevant work experience in financial modelling and business case development with a master’s degree / 3 years of relevant work experience with a bachelor’s degree.

· Experience in investment and/or financing deal development (e.g. from investment firms, PE firm, management consulting, investment banking)

Desirable

· Demonstrated experience in development and/or humanitarian contexts

· Accounting and/or quantitative financial modelling experience

Key Competencies

Required:

· Superior quantitative and analytical skills, including especially financial modelling skills and business case development

· Knowledge of major trends in the humanitarian/development and private sector on the topics of innovative finance and sustainable financing mechanisms

· Strong communications and interpersonal skills

· Superior ability in understanding and presenting complex/technical issues to a wide range of stakeholders

· Solid organizational skills and ability to multi-task

· Ability to manage a stressful work environment

· Ability to establish and meet or exceed targets and keep in track with objectives

· Results-oriented mentality with a commitment to continuous learning

· Excellent computer skills (MS Office, SharePoint, etc.) and awareness of digital technologies

· Experience in the private sector or at a development financial institution

· Fluency in written and spoken English

Desired:

· Understanding of how to adapt financial mechanisms to humanitarian and/or development contexts.

· Knowledge of humanitarian and/or international development agency context and UN environment preferred.

· Capacity to manage multiple stakeholders, an aptitude for formal and informal networking.

· Ability to thrive in a team environment, and to work within an international multi-cultural team.

· Understanding of the complexities of working with an international organization with multiple geographical operational sites.

Language

· Knowledge of a second UN language will be desirable

Location

The successful candidate will be homebased.

Conditions

This position is a full-time role starting from 8.30am to 5pm Monday to Friday (40 hours per week).