Partnership Specialist Private Sector and Foundations, GPE

Partnership Specialist Private Sector and Foundations, GPE Job #: req33830 Organization: World Bank Sector: External Affairs & Corporate Relations Grade: EC2 Term Duration: 1 year 0 months Recruitment Type: Local Recruitment Location: Paris,France Required Language(s): English Preferred Language(s): French Closing Date: 8/4/2025 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

Description

Are you a very passionate advocate for education? Do you want to make a difference in the lives of children? The Global Partnership for Education Secretariat (GPE) would like to hear from you.
Who We Are GPE is a shared commitment to end the world’s learning crisis. It is the only global partnership and fund dedicated entirely to helping children in lower-income countries get a quality education, so they can unlock their potential and contribute to building a better world. We bring together governments, teachers, civil society, donors, United Nations agencies, development banks, the private sector and philanthropy to transform education systems so that every girl and boy can have hope, opportunity and agency. 
What We Do GPE helps low- and lower-middle-income countries to build stronger education systems so that all children can get the education they need to thrive. We currently support nearly 90 countries where  the needs are the greatest and focus on reaching the children who are the most vulnerable, including girls, children with disabilities and those affected by extreme poverty or conflict. Our unique approach works. Since 2002, 160 million more children in GPE partner countries have set foot in classrooms for the first time, more than half of them girls. GPE was also the largest provider of education grants in the global COVID-19 response, providing partner countries with vital resources to ensure that learning could safely continue. 
How We Work Now, GPE is working to help governments transform their education systems to get the most vulnerable children in school, improve teaching and learning, and build equitable, inclusive and resilient education systems fit for the 21st century. Between 2020-2025, GPE will support transformative change in up to 90 countries and territories, which are home to 1 billion children. Transforming education is about creating lasting changes and achieving impact at scale. GPE sets out to deliver this transformative change by convening partners, mobilizing funds and catalyzing  reforms to help partner countries accelerate access, learning outcomes and gender equality. 
Raise Your Hand In July 2021, the Global Education Summit put GPE firmly on the path to be fully-funded by 2025, by raising a record US $4 billion from donors for GPE’s Raise Your Hand campaign. At the Summit, Heads of State and Government from partner countries made historic commitments to education financing and GPE also mobilized an unprecedented number of pledges from businesses, private foundations and development banks.By the end of 2025, GPE would have supported transformed education systems in over 90 countries and territories, enabled up to 175 million children to learn and helped get 88 million more girls and boys in school. In the longer term, this investment could add $164 billion to economies in GPE partner countries, lift 18 million people out of poverty, and protect 2 million girls from early marriage.
Governance And Organizational Arrangements The GPE Board of Directors includes ministerial-level board members and alternates representing 20 constituencies that reflect the Partnership’s breadth. The Board Chair is HE President Jakaya Kikwete and the Board Vice Chair is Ms. Christine Hogan. The Board of Directors, with its three standing committees, provides policy and strategic oversight and approves or delegates funding decisions.
The GPE Secretariat, with 160 employees and hosted by the World Bank, is responsible for translating the policies and strategies set by the Board into practical support for partner countries, coordinating with diverse stakeholders and galvanizing global support for SDG4. The Secretariat’s headquarters are in the World Bank’s offices in Washington, D.C., with a European office in Paris, an Africa office in Nairobi, a satellite office in Brussels, and a support office in Chennai.
ABOUT THE TEAM
The External Relations team (EXR) responsibilities include donor relations, external communications, advocacy, civil society engagement, private sector and private foundation partnership development and it has the primary responsibility for overseeing GPE's Financing Campaigns.
The Private Sector and Foundations Team (PS&F) is part of External Relations (EXR). This team leads on the strategic engagement with private and philanthropic entities and their networks in support of GPE’s mission and goals, leveraging the multiple capabilities this category of partners bring to education and to the Partnership. In addition, the team also manages the Secretariat's support to the Private Foundations and the Private Sector constituencies in their participation to GPE governance processes (GPE Board and committees).
ABOUT THE JOB
This position will be based preferably in Paris or London but may be relocated if business needs arise that make it necessary to do so.
Duties And Accountabilities1. Role DescriptionGPE’s Private Sector and Foundations Team seeks to recruit a partnership specialist to help foster and facilitate engagement with private and philanthropic entities, including the business community to advance GPE’s strategic priorities and mission. GPE’s model for engagement with these partners centers around the following dimensions: advocacy and influencing in pertinent areas of mutual interest, leveraging expertise and know-how to support ministries of education and national priorities in GPE eligible countries, financing and strengthening the engagement of the private sector and private foundations constituencies within GPE’s governance structure.The Partnership Specialist will primarily support engagement and partnerships with private foundations, but will also support specific projects more broadly across the wider PS&F team mandate.
2. Duties and accountabilitiesFurther refinement of tasks and responsibilities will be done upon appointment of a suitable candidate, to align where possible their areas of strength and expertise to the needs of the team in the given period.Partnership development and stewardship (primarily vis-à-vis private foundations, but not exclusively)* support the development and strengthening of existing partnerships, mainly but not only with philanthropic partners by supporting the timely delivery and completion on agreed objectives, monitoring of current initiatives and collaborations and other tasks as appropriate (including metrics and milestones documentation as appropriate)* support the nurturing of positive and constructive relationships, mainly but not only with private foundations through briefing, materials, events coordination and other tasks as required* coordinate relationship with some GPE philanthropic partners (including but not limited to: foundations, networks, philanthropic vehicles) by delegation and based on strengths of the candidate* lead on prospect research and documentation, as required by the needs of the team, keeping abreast of key trends and evolutions in philanthropy and developing as needed internal communication for the team, analyses, reports, presentations or other products
Internal coordination* represent the PS&F team in internal working group and tasks teams as required and ensure sustained levels of engagement and information of the wider team; this may related to internal projects in the areas of advocacy, engagements and joint opportunities in key countries, thematic/technical coordination, coordination of engagement, strategies or events with Donor Liaison Leads or others as needed* support engagement with PS&Fs in key GPE moments, leadership meeting, global or country initiatives, country missions, consultations, training or other GPE-led moments/events/projects* support in coordinating external communications if and as needed (e.g. blogs, social media, etc.), in liaison with the Communications Team* support the development of case studies and other tools (e.g. business cases, briefing paper, other)* serve as focal point as needed across resource mobilization, technical, country engagement, finance/operations team, or other GPE Secretariat task teams to ensure that PS&F engagement is meaningful and conducive to collaboration
These groups of tasks will be prioritized to support opportunities most aligned with GPE’s objectives, in the context of a replenishment campaign. The right candidate will have strong experience in partnership development (ideally beyond a grantor-grantee model), including and in particular with/for private or philanthropic organizations at global or regional level, and a sound understanding of key challenges and issues at country level around aid delivery, policy dialogue and programming. He or she will be able to quickly work autonomously to achieve objectives, whilst ensuring positive and engaged communication with the wider team for ease of coordination and information sharing. 
Specific experience in any of the following can be an asset: advocacy and campaigns, innovative partnerships / innovative or social finance, thematic knowledge of education sub-sectors or cross-sectoral ramifications (e.g. nutrition, climate, gender equality).
Reporting linesThe selected candidate will be a member of the Private Sector and Foundations Team within the External Relations department. The role is unique in that it will require substantial engagement and coordination with other teams across the secretariat, including technical and country support teams, advocacy and communications teams, the donor team and the partnerships team. The selected candidate will report to the Senior Partnership Specialist (Philanthropy) but will work closely with the rest of the team.

Selection Criteria

EducationMaster's degree in relevant field of study
ExperienceAt least 8 years of experience or equivalent combination of education and experience directly relevant for the role CompetenciesAccountability & Results Focus -  Engages in productive consultation without losing sight of responsibility for own decisions, deliverables and deadlines. Doesn’t let the pursuit of perfection prevent forward progress. Seeks clarity when needed to move work forward and takes initiative to remove obstacles. Takes ownership of own mistakes, failures or oversights, and seeks to correct them. Manages differences of opinion to productive resolution so as not to impede progress. Works to ensure group efforts produce clear actions and decisions and tasks conclude.
Adaptability -  Models flexibility - responds to changing circumstances by innovating and altering behavior to better fit different situations. Learns new skills and performs work in different ways. Remains calm in stressful situations and influences others do so. Professionally deals with personal discomfort in a changing work environment.
Collaboration & Teamwork -  Actively collaborates with others and models and open, helpful disposition. Acts as a teammate, proactively stepping in to support colleagues as needed. Recognizes and values the role of each team in delivering on GPE’s mission. Approaches challenges and obstacles as shared challenges to be overcome. Sincerely contributes to productive group dynamics and actively seeks and considers diverse ideas and approaches.
Communication & Interpersonal Skills -  Has experience & success working in multicultural environments. Speaks and writes clearly and effectively, adapting language, tone, style and message to diverse, multicultural audiences. Skilled at communicating complex information in succinct and digestible ways. Shares information and keeps people informed; Models transparency, in a way that builds trust in a culturally diverse environment. Maintains productive working relationships with colleagues and models this behavior vis-à-vis other staff, including those more junior. Engages in active listening and two-way conversation. Asks questions for clarification and responds to others appropriately.  Learns from others’ ideas and expertise.
Planning & Organizing -  Works well independently and in teams. Plans and prioritizes work effectively, making adjustments as needed to accommodate changes. Sets and meets individual and team deadlines. Works well under pressure and against tight timelines, and still delivers high-quality work. Foresees risks and identifies mitigation strategies and contingencies.
Conceptual and Analytical Skills  -  Strong research skills. Ability to quickly analyze and synthesize information from technical reports and other sources and summarize it into key messages for political influencing. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills and extensive experience applying them in carrying out operational tasks. Ability to think strategically and tactically.