Senior Resource Mobilization Strategy Consultant

- A comprehensive analysis of UNCCD's past five years of voluntary funding flows and current resource mobilization practices. - A validated Corporate Resource Mobilization Strategy for UNCCD (2026-2030), including financial targets, priority partner maps, and internal procedures. - Identification of new private sector and philanthropic funding opportunities. - A set of best practices and actionable engagement plans for traditional and non-traditional donors.

Home-based.

60 days between November 2026 to March 2027.

Background note: Desertification, along with climate change and the loss of biodiversity were identified as the greatest challenges to sustainable development during the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. Established in 1994, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management and drought resilience. The Convention seeks to support countries to address Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought (DLDD). (www.unccd.int) The UNCCD unites governments, scientists, policymakers, private sector and communities around a shared vision and global action to restore and manage the world’s land and soils for the sustainability of humanity and the planet. Much more than an international treaty signed by 197 Parties, UNCCD is a multilateral commitment to mitigate today’s impacts of land degradation, desertification and drought and to advance tomorrow’s land stewardship in order to provide food, water, shelter and economic opportunity to all people in an equitable and inclusive manner. The UNCCD secretariat is seeking to develop a comprehensive corporate Resource Mobilization Strategy that considers the needs of its bodies, institutions and its hosted initiatives such as G20 Global Land Initiative (G20 GLI) and the International Drought Resilience Alliance (IDRA) among others. The G20 (or Group of Twenty) is the annual international forum for the governments of 19 industrialized countries, the European Union and the African Union. The G20 Leaders' Declaration, issued in November 2020, launched a "Global Initiative on Reducing Land Degradation and Enhancing Conservation of Terrestrial Habitats" (G20 Global Land Initiative or G20 GLI). Building on existing initiatives and on a voluntary basis, the G20 countries share the ambition to achieve a 50 percent reduction in the amount of degraded land by 2040. The G20 GLI Initiative Coordination Office, with oversight from UNCCD, was established to focus on capacity building, engaging the private sector and civil society and showcasing success. The International Drought Resilience Alliance (IDRA) is an international coalition of partners who are working strategically to elevate drought resilience in the political agenda and to catalyse coordinated, science-based and investment-oriented action. Spearheaded by the Governments of Spain and Senegal, IDRA now gathers more around 80 members, ranging from countries, international organizations, financial institutions and civil society organizations. Since its establishment in UNFCCC COP27 in 2022, IDRA has evolved from a high-level initiative into a consolidated global platform advancing a paradigm shift from reactive drought response to proactive drought resilience. To ensure the successful implementation of the work of the secretariat and institutions, and of some of its initiatives such as the G20 GLI and IDRA, considering the new geopolitical context, a corporate robust and diversified resource mobilization framework is essential. The UNCCD therefore seeks to hire a senior Resource Mobilization Strategy Consultant to conduct a comprehensive analysis of past and potential funding flows, map key traditional and non-traditional donors (including private sector and philanthropic entities), identify best practices from peer organizations, and develop a detailed, actionable corporate resource mobilization strategy for 2026-2030. Duties & Responsibilities: Under the direct supervision of the Deputy Executive Secretary (DES), the Consultant will: a) Analyze voluntary funding resource flows into the UNCCD over the past five years, with a focus on thematic areas, funding amounts, and donor profiles. b) Engage with key team members through a structured questionnaire to understand the current resource mobilization approach, including its strengths, weaknesses, and institutional processes. c) Conduct targeted interviews with key staff members, including the Executive Office and different Units, to identify strategic resource mobilization opportunities and challenges. d) Review the global landscape of resource mobilization for UN organizations and identify potential traditional partners (bilateral, multilateral, and development finance institutions). e) For each identified partner, map out key funding priorities, planning and budget cycles, relevant contact points, and an optimal engagement strategy. f) Pay special attention to private sector funding and philanthropic funding, identifying potential institutions, their strategic priorities, and actionable pathways for engagement. g) Review the resource mobilization strategies of other UN organizations and non-UN international NGOs (INGOs) to identify best practices, innovative financing mechanisms, and lessons learned. h) Develop a detailed, actionable Resource Mobilization Strategy for UNCCD for the period 2027-2030, including: - Financial targets (by year and thematic area). - Priority institutions to be engaged (traditional, private, philanthropic). - Internal structures, procedures, and capacities needed for effective implementation. - A monitoring and evaluation framework for resource mobilization efforts. i) Perform any other tasks assigned by the DES relevant to the scope of this consultancy.

- Bachelor's degree in international development, business administration, economics, law, public policy, or a related field is required. An advanced degree (Master's or PhD) in international development, business administration, economics, law, public policy, or a related field is considered an asset. - Minimum of 15 years of international experience in resource mobilization, donor relations, development assistance management, or a related field is required. - Proven track record of developing and implementing successful resource mobilization strategies for international organizations, preferably UN entities or large INGOs is required. - Strong knowledge of the traditional donor landscape (bilateral, multilateral, development banks) as well as emerging private sector and philanthropic funding mechanisms is required. - Demonstrated experience in conducting high-level stakeholder interviews and facilitating strategic discussions with senior management is required. - Excellent analytical, writing, and communication skills in English is required. Proficiency in other UN languages is an asset.

- Fluency in spoken and written English is required. Knowledge of an additional official UN language is an advantage.

Additional Information: Only individuals who can act as independent, individual economical operators are qualified to apply. Individuals who can provide their services only on account of an institution or enterprise are not eligible under this procedure. Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations Secretariat and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultant and individual contractor is responsible for determining tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. For remote consultancies, the selected candidate will be required to have a laptop or desktop PC (with Windows 11 or newer) or Mac (with the latest MacOS update), as well as a reliable, high-speed internet connection. An Office 365 license will be provided by the UNCCD to enable the candidate to access official emails, SharePoint, OneDrive and other office applications, such as Word and Excel. Further computer requirements: An antivirus application which receives regular updates; Browsers must be a newer version with regular updates enabled; Regular Windows 11 updates should be enabled with Windows laptop or PC.