Senior Partnerships Officer (Private Sector)

Job Description - Senior Partnerships Officer (Private Sector) (2601872)

Job Description

2601872

Senior Partnerships Officer (Private Sector)

Job Posting

02/Sep/2026

Closure Date

23/Sep/2026, 9:59:00 PM

Organizational Unit : PSU

Job Type

Staff position

Type of Requisition : Professional

Primary Location

Italy-Rome

Duration : Fixed-term: two years with possibility of extension

Post Number : 0035394

CCOG Code : 1A10

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device. The length of appointment for internal FAO candidates will be established in accordance with applicable policies pertaining to the extension of appointments.

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• FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background and culture
• Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented Members and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply
• Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct, and to uphold FAO's values
• FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination
• All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality
• FAO staff are subject to the authority of the Director-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the Organization.

FAO’s commitment to environmental sustainability is integral to our strategic objectives and operations.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.

Organizational Setting

The Partnerships and UN Collaboration Division (PSU) is responsible for coordinating and overseeing the identification, strengthening and stewardship of strategic partnerships with UN agencies and non-state actors (NSAs) including the private sector, civil society, academia and research institutions, family farmers' and Indigenous Peoples' organizations and parliamentarians. It ensures that multi-stakeholder processes and strategic interventions globally and locally are an integral part of FAO's work and provide targeted support for successful collaboration with NSAs and UN agencies. The Division has the lead responsibility for the implementation of the Private Sector Strategy (2026-2031), the Civil Society Strategy, promotion of the Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (CFS-RAI), the UN Decade of Family Farming (2019-2028) and the FAO Policy on Indigenous Peoples. It is also in charge of FAO's e-learning programmes delivered through the FAO e-learning Academy and access to scientific and technical data through knowledge platforms and enhanced information policies and standards, promotes and facilitates knowledge sharing on sustainable food security and nutrition among various stakeholders.

The position is located in the Private Sector Unit (PSUS) of the Partnerships and UN Collaboration Division at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy.

Reporting Lines

The Senior Partnerships Officer (Private Sector) reports to the Director PSU.

Technical Focus

Lead the implementation of the Organization's strategy on partnering with private sector stakeholders (renewed 2026) to accomplish FAO's mandate. This includes the generation, maintenance, monitoring and evaluation and communication of private sector engagement, in collaboration with FAO's decentralized offices and technical divisions; support for the evaluation and formalization of partnerships with private sector actors at corporate level; and capacity building and support to FAO colleagues globally on approaches, tools and methodologies to engage with the private sector. The role requires the ability to lead FAO towards substantially increased and more meaningful collaboration between FAO and the private sector, with more robust engagement and monitoring mechanisms in place.

Key Results

Leadership and conceptual thinking for the development and implementation of comprehensive private sector partnerships within and outside the Organization with national, regional and international development partners.

Key Functions

Leads the implementation of the FAO private sector strategy at the global, regional and national level.

Leads multidisciplinary team(s), leads and/or participates in teams/committees, leads and/or participates in organization-wide committees and represents FAO at inter-agency meetings.

Identifies strategic collaboration and partnerships with non-state actors for the fulfilment of the FAO Strategic Framework.

Elaborates an annual work plan with the priorities and main activities of private sector, which will be aligned with the FAO Strategic Framework and programmes.

Implements and monitors collaborative work with partners, including meetings, joint projects, information sharing, etc.

Provides support to staff at headquarters (HQ) and in Decentralized Offices (DOs) on the use of corporate requirements, methods and approaches related to partnerships and on managing relations with non-state actors and multi-stakeholder partnerships.

Provides advice to FAO entities and governing bodies, and other relevant regional and national entities, on policy discussions, including the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), on multi-stakeholder partnerships.

Oversees and reviews the quality, consistency and appropriateness of country-specific partnership materials, tools and processes.

Plans, organizes and participates in capacity development activities.

Leads the development and implementation of the Monitoring and Evaluation system for FAO's private sector partnerships.

Produces annual report on the implementation of the private sector strategy for the appropriate Governing Bodies.

Performs other relevant duties as required.

Specific Functions

Supports the coordination of the partnerships function strengthening engagement with private sector partners and other relevant non-State actors.

Co-ordinates the preparation of reports for presentation to FAO Governing Bodies , in particular on budget/programme performance or on programmatic/ substantive issues, as appropriate.

Supports coordination, coherence and integration of the different elements of the partnerships support function across the range of partners, with a specific focus on private sector entities, foundations, financial institutions, and investment partners.

Proposes ways to optimize the provision of partnership services from PSU to the other divisions and to country and regional offices, including the identification of appropriate key performance indicators with a view to strengthening private sector engagement and improving service delivery efficiency.

Performs an analysis of the process and workflows of partnering with the whole range of non-State actors and proposes ways of streamlining and further enhancing efficiency, engaging other divisions/units working on partnerships (Project Support Division, PSS, Resource Mobilization Division, PSR, South-South and Triangular Cooperation Division, PST and Legal Office, LEG inter alia).

Advises on possible gaps in the set of existing private sector partnerships to ensure that the Organization contributes effectively to agrifood system transformation and proposes possible improvements to better support partner engagement, tracking and reporting functionalities.

Reviews existing tools and IT platforms for the different

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