Foundations and Institutional Philanthropy Advisor, P5

University of Denver; New York (NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

UN Women in New York seeks a senior Foundations and Institutional Philanthropy Advisor to lead the implementation of its foundations strategy and to advance partnerships and resource mobilization across the organization.

You will steward high-value relationships, coordinate efforts across Headquarters and regional offices, and shape fundable offers aligned with the Strategic Plan 2026–2029. Strong leadership, negotiation, and stakeholder engagement are essential.

Qualifications

• Master's degree or equivalent in international relations, public policy, development studies, business administration, philanthropy, social sciences or a related field.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• At least 10 years of progressively responsible experience in strategic partnerships

Responsibilities

• Lead implementation of the Institutional Foundations and Philanthropies Strategy and translate priorities into workplans, targets and governance arrangements.
• Advise senior leadership on philanthropic market trends, portfolio choices and risks for growth.
• Set and adjust portfolio priorities and resource-allocation with escalation pathways.
• Establish and monitor portfolio performance indicators including pipeline quality and renewal.
• Lead portfolio reviews to identify bottlenecks and corrective actions for improvement in conversion and renewal.
• Cultivate diversified global pipeline of institutional foundations and philanthropic actors with clear ownership and forecasting.
• Establish and monitor minimum account-management standards, including documentation and quality assurance.
• Originate, negotiate and steward high-value, multi-year, flexible funding partnerships.
• Develop tailored engagement strategies for priority accounts and coordinate outreach across the partnership lifecycle.
• Represent UN Women in philanthropic forums and strengthen organizational positioning with the philanthropic community.
• Convene multidisciplinary teams to prepare fundable propositions and partner-ready engagement materials.
• Build capacity of partnership personnel through guidance, coaching and communities of practice.

Education

Master's degree or equivalent in international relations, public policy, development studies, business administration, philanthropy, social sciences or a related field

First-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted

Job description

Background:

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

The Strategic Partnerships Division leads and coordinates UN Women's strategic partnership and resource mobilization efforts, supporting the organization to diversify and grow its funding base and build sustained partnerships that advance delivery of the Strategic Plan 2026–2029.

UN Women has developed a Strategy on Partnerships with Institutional Philanthropic Foundations 2026–2029 to strengthen and systematize its engagement with foundations and the broader institutional philanthropy ecosystem. It establishes five mutually reinforcing priorities: sharper and more fundable offers aligned with the Strategic Plan; a coherent One UN Women pathway with clear account ownership and handoffs; improved agreement and operational stewardship with proportionate safeguards; stronger co-creation readiness and scalable programme pathways; and integrated communications, advocacy, visibility and learning as part of disciplined relationship management.

Reporting to the Director, Strategic Partnerships Division, the Foundations and Institutional Philanthropy Advisor provides senior-level organization-wide leadership for implementation of the Strategy and serves as UN Women's organizational convenor and principal advisor for this portfolio. The Advisor sets portfolio priorities, establishes account-management standards, guides portfolio governance and corrective action, cultivates and stewards high-value relationships, advances strategic funding opportunities, coordinates institutional support across Headquarters, Regional, Country and Liaison Offices and National Committees, and strengthens the systems, capabilities and accountability required to secure more structured, sustained and scalable partnerships with institutional philanthropic foundations.

Key Functions and Accountabilities:

1. Lead implementation of the Institutional Foundations and Philanthropies Strategy

• Provide strategic leadership for implementation of the Strategy on Partnerships with Institutional Philanthropic Foundations 2026–2029, translating priorities into workplans, targets, governance arrangements and accountabilities.
• Advise senior leadership on philanthropic market trends, portfolio choices, institutional positioning, investment needs, risks and opportunities for growth.
• Set and periodically adjust organization-wide portfolio priorities, sequencing and resource-allocation recommendations, and advise senior management on corrective action where performance, risk or accountability issues require intervention.
• Establish and monitor portfolio performance indicators covering pipeline quality, conversion, funding mobilized, renewal, partnership duration, funding flexibility, diversification and partner engagement.
• Lead periodic portfolio reviews with relevant organizational units and senior management, identifying bottlenecks, underperformance and corrective actions required to improve conversion, renewal, stewardship and partner confidence.

2. Develop and manage a strategic portfolio for priority institutional relationships

• Build, qualify and manage a diversified global pipeline of institutional foundations and philanthropic actors, using evidence and market intelligence to prioritize high-potential opportunities.
• Maintain disciplined account planning, relationship intelligence, forecasting and portfolio review routines, including clear ownership, next actions and escalation pathways.
• Establish and monitor minimum account-management standards, including account strategies, decision points, partner engagement protocols, documentation, quality assurance and escalation triggers.

3. Cultivate strategic partnerships and mobilize resources

• Originate, cultivate, negotiate and steward high-value, priority institutional partnerships, with emphasis on multi-year, flexible and scalable funding.
• Develop tailored engagement strategies for priority accounts and coordinate outreach, senior leadership engagement, partner meetings and follow-up across the partnership lifecycle.
• Provide substantive support to resolve or escape competing approaches, unclear account ownership and coordination bottlenecks that could affect priority foundation relationships or institutional credibility.
• Represent UN Women in relevant philanthropic forums, networks and strategic engagements and strengthen the organization's positioning with the institutional philanthropy community.

4. Shape fundable offers and strengthen institutional readiness

• Develop tailored engagement strategies for priority accounts and coordinate outreach, partner meetings, senior leadership engagement, follow up and stewardship across the partnership lifecycle.
• Identify high-priority opportunities for philanthropic co‑creation and support their progression from early-stage opportunity through investable proposition, programme development, evidence generation and potential scale.
• Lead the development and refinement of a focused set of foundation-facing offers aligned with the Strategic Plan, partner priorities and scalable programme pathways.
• Convene programme, policy, technical, results, finance, legal, communications and geographic teams to prepare credible, costed, and partner-ready propositions, materials and co-creation workflows.

5. Strengthen engagement pathways as well as institutional learning and capacity

• Establish and oversee a coherent One UN Women engagement model across Headquarters, Regional, Country and Liaison Offices and National Committees, including coordinating account ownership and stewardship, decision rights, escalation mechanisms, support from enabling functions and senior leadership engagement.
• Integrate communications, advocacy, visibility, learning and proportionate partner communication into account plans and stewardship arrangements.
• Coordinate with relevant teams across UN Women to strengthen systems and business processes for prospecting, pipeline management, account planning, relationship intelligence and stewardship.
• Build the capacity of partnership personnel and relevant teams across UN Women through practical guidance, tools, coaching, communities of practice and targeted capacity development.
• Develop materials and resources to strengthen the organization's expertise, capacity and ability to translate programme priorities and technical expertise into compelling partnership opportunities.

6. The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organisation.

Competencies :

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women's Values and Competencies Framework:

Functional Competencies:

• Strategic understanding of institutional philanthropy, partnership financing trends and their relevance to gender equality and international development.
• Ability to set portfolio priorities, exercise sound judgment and advise senior leadership on strategic choices, risks and corrective action.
• Ability to establish account-management standards, strengthen portfolio discipline and use evidence to improve conversion, stewardship and renewal.
• Strong representational, negotiation and influencing skills with senior external stakeholders and internal decision-makers.
• Ability to convene and guide multidisciplinary teams to develop fundable propositions and partner‑ready engagement materials.
• Strong analytical, results-management and learning skills, including pipeline review, performance monitoring and risk management.

Recruitment Qualifications:

Education:

• Master's degree or equivalent in international relations, public policy, development studies, business administration, philanthropy, social sciences or a related field is required.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• At least 10 years of progressively responsible experience in strategic partnerships