WFP Kuwait Office - Partnerships Officer (Head of Office) NOC

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS 16 October 2026-23:59-GMT+03:00 Arabian Standard Time (Kuwait) WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or disability. ABOUT WFP The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity, for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of extreme weather shocks. At WFP, people are at the heart of everything we do and the vision of the future WFP workforce is one of diverse, committed, skilled, and high performing teams, selected on merit, operating in a healthy and inclusive work environment, living WFP's values (Integrity, Collaboration, Commitment, Humanity, and Inclusion) and working with partners to save and change the lives of those WFP serves. To learn more about WFP, visit our website: https://www.wfp.org and follow us on social media to keep up with our latest news: YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok. WHY JOIN WFP? • WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. • WFP offers a highly inclusive, diverse, and multicultural working environment. • WFP invests in the personal & professional development of its employees through a range of training, accreditation, coaching, mentorship, and other programs as well as through internal mobility opportunities. • A career path in WFP provides an exciting opportunity to work across the various country, regional and global offices around the world, and with passionate colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches millions of people across the globe. • We offer an attractive compensation package (please refer to the Terms and Conditions section of this vacancy announcement). We are seeking to fill the position of Partnerships Officer (Head of Office) NOC, based in the WFP Kuwait Office in Kuwait City, Kuwait. Please note that this vacancy announcement is being issued internally and externally. ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT This is a national position, open exclusively to Kuwaiti nationals, based in the WFP Kuwait Office (Country Office). The Head of the WFP Kuwait Office leads a newly formalized WFP presence established to strategically position the organization with the Government of Kuwait, regional and international financial institutions (IFIs), private-sector and philanthropic actors, and the broader Gulf donor community. The position reports to the Functional Director at Global Headquarters. The job holder operates across an assigned area and works independently, using technical knowledge and experience, to analyse data and identify solutions for partnerships activities. He/she typically supports process improvements and partnership opportunities with a host of public, private sector and external entities. These can include governments, UN agencies, intergovernmental institutions and their member states, international financial institutions, individuals, corporations, foundations and NGOs. Partnerships Officers are likely to focus on either public, private sector or external entities. Drive WFP’s effective positioning with public, private and external partners to attract policy support, resources, technical assistance and innovative solutions to advance the work of WFP, while supporting member states in the achievement of the SDGs and Zero Hunger and emphasizing WFP’s contributions in this regard. THE ROLE This role drives WFP’s effective positioning with public, private and external partners to attract policy support, resources, technical assistance and innovative solutions to advance the work of WFP, while supporting member states in the achievement of the SDGs and Zero Hunger and emphasizing WFP’s contributions in this regard. KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive, nor exhaustive): • Lead WFP Office in Kuwait, implementing strategic priorities and a work plan for an assigned area to enable WFP to identify, develop and strengthen quality partnerships in support of WFP strategic objectives. • Engage with other WFP functional units, Regional Offices and Country Offices on WFP's thematic and country-specific offerings for Kuwait, developing content and language that speak to government, private sector and IFI audiences and align with on-going policy dialogue in national and global fora; ensure alignment of partner engagement across the organization. • Proactively support a wide range of aspects of a partnerships portfolio, including partner profiling, data/trends analysis and outreach plan, to maximize resources and leverage policy and technical support for WFP’s work; ensure partner visibility and that partner conditions are met. • Facilitate corporate dialogue with partners through preparation of quality briefing materials. • Proactively highlight strategic opportunities and issues to senior management and propose options for the best course of action to nurture trust and interest in the work of WFP; support the preparation of joint events (e.g. UN pledging conferences) that can advance WFP interests and objectives. • Gather and share partner intelligence (including forecasting), using key information systems (e.g. WINGS, Salesforce, WFPGo), and assess results. • Lead the development of Kuwait partnership strategies, including Partnership Action Plans, and manage partnership/contribution management in line with corporate norms, processes and legal agreements, including quality proposal and report writing. • Facilitate partnership growth, by exploring opportunities to expand existing partnerships and scope of new partners, across government, private sector and IFI channels, guided by assessments, analysis and due diligence, with direct follow-up. • Develop partnership proposals, strategic agreements, joint strategies and/or MOU, taking into account corporate norms, processes and external regulations; ensure quality control of content by engaging with relevant functional units, ROs and COs. • Use socio-political insights to support WFP’s effective positioning vis-à-vis national governments, regional and international institutions with the aim to influence the policy agenda. • In the context of the UN system and multilateral fora, support the development of partnerships with member states, civil society and intergovernmental organizations to advocate for the SDGs and Zero Hunger on the global agenda, and advance WFP priorities and policies, based on a good understanding of member states’ dynamics and interests. • Solicit inputs from other WFP entities that contribute to inter-governmental/inter-agency work, ensuring WFP positions are properly explained and taken into account in decision-making relevant to Kuwait. • Manage staff, providing coaching, training and guidance to ensure appropriate development and enable high performance. • Take responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives in all areas of work to ensure equal participation of women and men. • Contribute to preparedness actions, providing technical re