Digital Fundraising Specialist

Tags: international relations UNDP English
  • Added Date: Tuesday, 24 June 2025
  • Deadline Date: Monday, 07 July 2025
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Background

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals SDGs. UNDP's policy work carried out at headquarters, regional hubs and country offices, forms a contiguous spectrum of deep local knowledge to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy.ย 

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is the part of the United Nations Secretariat responsible for bringing together humanitarian actors to ensure a coherent response to emergencies. OCHA also ensures there is a framework within which each actor can contribute to the overall response effort. With its partners, OCHA contributes to principled and effective humanitarian response through coordination, advocacy, policy, information management and humanitarian financing tools and services. OCHA also manages the UNโ€™s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and almost two dozen country and regional pooled funds, which are unique instruments that allow donors to support urgent life-saving interventions delivered by trusted local and international NGOs and UN agencies.

The Connecting Business Initiative (CBI) is a joint partnership between OCHA and UNDP dedicated to facilitating private sector engagement before, during, and after emergencies.ย 

Under the umbrella of CBI, OCHA is launching a new strategy to increase resource mobilization from the private sector โ€“ broadly defined as corporations, foundations, and individuals โ€“ for OCHA and its pooled funds.

OCHA has two online fundraising platforms, crisisrelief.un.orgย and climaterelief.un.org. Donations to UN Crisis Relief go directly to relief organizations delivering life-saving aid at the front lines of the worldโ€™s most severe crises. UN Crisis Relief is run by OCHA with donations going to OCHA-managed global (CERF) and crisis-specific pooled funds. UN Climate Relief donations go to the CERF Climate Action Account and are used for anticipatory action, urgent life-saving relief, and strengthening resilience.

CBI is recruiting a Digital Fundraising Specialist who will be expected to significantly contribute to further shaping OCHA's approach to individual fundraising and corporate giving. The Digital Fundraising Specialist will have a key role in supporting the OCHAโ€™s private sector fundraising strategy globally to grow OCHAโ€™s public supporter base and income streams.

Duties and Responsibilities

Based in Geneva, Switzerland, the Digital Fundraising Specialist will be responsible for:

Digital Fundraising Marketing Strategy

Work closely with OCHAโ€™s Public Advocacy and Campaigns section to ensure all public facing digital fundraising marketing activities are in line with OCHAโ€™s Strategic Communications Strategy.ย  Support resource mobilization objectives through the development of fundraising campaigns for key campaigns and priorities, as set out in the work plan.ย  Build compelling digital fundraising campaigns on OCHAโ€™s Crisis Relief and/or Climate Relief online fundraising platforms and ensure their availability in key languages.ย  Develop fundraising-specific content for key campaigns to post on social media to drive traffic to the platforms and advise on scheduling according to a strategic fundraising calendar or schedule. Support the implementation of a search engine optimization (SEO) strategy for OCHAโ€™s webpages.

Digital Fundraising Activities

Maintain control of timings and workflow across the projects, ensuring good quality of information to sponsors.ย  Provide project updates on a consistent basis to review strategy, adjustments, and progress.ย  Develop and maintain good relationships with key stakeholders across OCHA. Boost fundraising revenues and return on investment (ROI) from planning and implementation to on-going optimization and post campaign review. Champion a strategic evolution of paid social advertising investments based on maximization of results (output vs input) through test & learn, constant optimization, machine learning automation and full leverage of first party data integration.ย  Support OCHAโ€™s Country Offices so that they can mobilize digital media quickly when emergencies strike. Support the improvement of processes so that quick responses become a key capability.ย  Work closely with other fundraising digital specialists and with Data Analysts to build a solid framework for measurement and review of all campaigns. Represent paid digital advertising campaigns in the necessary level of detail for complete measurement and optimization in global market reports and analysis.ย  Work with the social media and campaigns teams during planning and execution, to ensure relevant paid advertising expertise is utilized.ย  Plan and execute centrally paid advertising campaigns, always to maximize income growth and ROI as defined by organizational needs.ย  Provide technical expertise in any interaction with platforms (Google, Meta, LinkedIn, etc.) and service providers.ย  Build and sustain engagement with individual donors through email marketing as per the digital fundraising strategy

ย Moderation & Community Management

Support the moderation of digital channels by closely monitoring reactions to fundraising content on digital channels, flag potential risks and work closely with the communication team to escalate when necessary.ย  Identify high performing content for use in fundraising initiatives and other opportunities for conversion.ย 

Analytics & Reporting

Support team members in the preparation of analytics reports regarding the platforms and the performance of digital fundraising marketing efforts across all channels, to be shared within relevant teams.

Other Dutiesย 

Perform other digital fundraising communication and content management duties as required. Attend meetings on digital strategy and work closely with other OCHA campaign and private sector teams.

Working under the direct supervision of the Director of UNDP's Istanbul Centre for Private Sector in Development (ICPSD) and with matrix supervision from the Chief of OCHAโ€™s Public Advocacy and Campaigns Section (Strategic Communications Branch), the Digital Fundraising Specialist will be based in OCHAโ€™s Geneva office. Secondary reporting will also be provided by the Lead for OCHAโ€™s Private Sector Fundraising (Partnerships and Resource Mobilization Branch)

Competencies

Core Competencies:

Achieve Results:ย 

LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impactย 

Think Innovatively:ย ย ย ย  ย ย ย 

LEVEL 2: Offer new ideas/open to new approaches, demonstrate systemic/integrated thinking

Learn Continuously:ย ย ย ย ย ย  ย 

LEVEL 2: Go outside comfort zone, learn from others and support their learning

Adapt with Agility:ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 

LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demandsย 

Act with Determination: ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 

LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results

Engage and Partner:ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 

ย LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration

Enable Diversity and Inclusion:ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 

๐Ÿ“š ๐——๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—›๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—š๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—ฎ ๐—๐—ผ๐—ฏ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—จ๐—ก ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฏ! ๐ŸŒ๐Ÿค ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ก๐—˜๐—ช ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ฟ๐˜‚๐—ถ๐˜๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—š๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—จ๐—ก ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฏ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐˜๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜ ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—จ๐—ก๐—›๐—–๐—ฅ, ๐—ช๐—™๐—ฃ, ๐—จ๐—ก๐—œ๐—–๐—˜๐—™, ๐—จ๐—ก๐——๐—ฆ๐—ฆ, ๐—จ๐—ก๐—™๐—ฃ๐—”, ๐—œ๐—ข๐—  ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ผ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€! ๐ŸŒ

โš ๏ธ ๐‚๐ก๐š๐ง๐ ๐ž ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐‹๐ข๐Ÿ๐ž ๐๐จ๐ฐ: ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ๐Ÿ๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐“๐ž๐œ๐ก๐ง๐ข๐ช๐ฎ๐ž๐ฌ ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ ๐ž๐ญ ๐š ๐ฃ๐จ๐› ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐”๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐Ž๐–!

ย LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity

Technical and Cross-functional competencies:

Business Direction & Strategy:ย ย ย ย ย ย 

System Thinkingย 

Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system

Business Development:ย ย ย ย ย 

Knowledge Generationย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 

Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need

Business Managementย :ย ย ย ย ย ย 

Private sector engagementย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 

Ability to identify, conduct outreach, and manage relationships with the private sector

Partnership managementย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 

Ability to engage with emerging partners, develop and manage a strategy and develop approaches to developing and managing these new strategic partnerships

Knowledge and ability to forge multi-stakeholder partnerships, and remove any obstacles to resource mobilization and multi-stakeholder funding platforms

Ability to identify, develop and manage partnershipsย 

Communicationย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 

Communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience.

Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media and other appropriate channels

Business Development:ย ย ย ย ย 

Knowledge Facilitationย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 

Ability to animate individuals and communities of contributors to participate and share, particularly externally

2030 Agenda Partnershipsย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 

SDG Financeย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 

Public Private Partnership

Required Skills and Experience

ATTENTION TO THE APPLICANTS:

This is a short-term IPSA assignment. The contractor will be requested to work no more than 130 working days in a calendar year.ย  The payments will be based on a daily fee and the number of days worked. At the time of application, the candidates will need to share a document/link to the example of at least 1 reportย / writeup on how a previous digital fundraising campaign was managed and executed in previous work experience. The example needs to be uploaded to the Skills and Qualifications Section / Section Attachments / choose โ€˜add a linkโ€™. Applications without the examples of works will not be considered:

Education:

Advanced university degree (masterโ€™s degree or equivalent) in communication, marketing, journalism, international relations or other related field of studies is required.ย  A first-level university degree (bachelorโ€™s degree) in the above-mentioned field of study, in combination with an additional two (2) years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

Minimum of five (5) years (with masterโ€™s degree) or seven (7) years (with bachelorโ€™s degree) of progressively responsible experience in digital fundraising, social media, marketing, or related areas is required.ย  A track record of delivering successful digital fundraising campaigns. This should include planning, delivery, optimization and reporting. Experience in handling data and reports, with solid numeracy skills and the ability to interpret and present information effectively. Experience in developing on-brand digital content that resonates with unfamiliar digital audiences. Experience in production of visual content for web platforms and designing original graphics is an asset.ย  Professional work experience in humanitarian affairs, emergency preparedness, crisis/emergency relief management (complex emergency or natural disaster), rehabilitation, development, or other related area is an asset. Previous experience supporting engagement and collaboration between the United Nations and the private sector is highly desirable.ย  ย  Fluency (verbal and written) in English is required.ย  Working knowledge of French and/or Arabic is an advantage.ย 

Equal opportunity

As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination.ย 

UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.

Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority

UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles.ย 

Right to select multiple candidates

UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement.ย  We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

Scam alert

UNDP does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process. For further information, please see www.undp.org/scam-alert.

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