PSP Associate

Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)A (least hardship)

Family Type (not applicable for home-based)

Family

Staff Member / Affiliate TypeUNOPS LICA6

Target Start Date2025-09-01

Deadline for ApplicationsJuly 27, 2025

Terms of Reference1. General Background
(Brief description of the national, sector-specific or other relevant context in which the individual contractor will operate)

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was established on December 14, 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly. The UN Refugee Agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country.

UNHCR has helped millions of people to restart their lives. They include asylum seekers, refugees, returnees, stateless people and internally displaced persons. Its interventions in the areas of protection, shelter, health and education have been crucial, healing broken pasts and building brighter futures.

The UNHCR Office in China was established in 1979. Although China has been party to the 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol since 1982, it has no law comprehensively governing asylum. In the absence of national refugee legislation, UNHCR continues to register asylum seekers, conducts individual refugee status determination under its mandate, seeks durable solutions for refugees, and provides direct assistance to the refugee population in mainland China.

The Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress adopted an Exit-Entry Administration Law on 30 June 2012, which came into force on 1 July 2013. This domestic law includes a provision (Article 46) regarding the treatment of refugees, which foresees, interalia, the possibility for persons of concerns to legally reside in China on the basis of a temporary identification to be issued by the authorities. UNHCR has been advocating for implementing regulations concerning Article 46 as well as working on building the capacity of the Government of China to implement its obligations under the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol.

UNHCR will continue to work with all stakeholders in China to ensure persons of concern receive adequate protection and assistance as well as to seek durable solutions for refugees.

The Private Sector Partnerships Service (PSP) sits within UNHCR’s Division of External Relations (DER) and is responsible for mobilizing resources and other forms of support from the private sector. In 2019, UNHCR China Office set up a new Private Sector Partnerships team to mobilize resources from the Chinese private sector to support our work globally. One of the key aspects in PSP’s work is to expand UNHCR’s engagement with the general public including UNHCR’s existing and potential supporters.

Since 2019, PSP Beijing team has launched multiple online fundraising campaigns to raise awareness on UNHCR’s branding and mobilize donations from the general public to support UNHCR’s work globally. Within the current legal framework, working with public fundraising foundation remain one of the gateways to leverage public fundraising in mainland China, and digital public fundraising is mostly conducted on third party platforms which requires specific and regular reporting. Therefore, when designing campaigns suitable in this market, it requires timely scoping of in-house content materials, good coordination with PSP HQ as well as Foundation partners to manage expectations, and close communication with the Assistant PSP IG Officer on digital marketing to ensure campaign promotion is aligned with campaign design and ensure campaign reports are provided timely. Timely and quality campaign reports also contribute to a good supporter and donor engagement and communication experience.

The PSP Beijing team has established tripartite collaborations with several Chinese companies and national-level foundations. As we continue to strengthen and expand engagement with existing partners, high-quality partnership management and support are essential. This requires a strong understanding of UNHCR’s global mandate and operations, as well as the ability to meet the specific requirements and expectations of both foundation and corporate partners.

The PSP Associate is a position within the Private Sector Partnerships Service (PSP). The position will be line managed by the PSP Officer, and work closely with the whole PSP Beijing team including the Associate PPH Officer, the Assistant PSP IG Officer, and UNHCR office in Beijing, PSP HK, PSP Regional Office and PSP HQ. S/he will support both IG and PPH teams in foundation-related efforts, liaise with legal firms to provide legal support to PSP Beijing, and manage relationships with relevant government counterparts, including the Ministry of Civil Affairs, as well as foundation partners.

This position is a UNOPS position with a contract which is renewable each calendar year.

2. Purpose and Scope of Assignment
(Concise and detailed description of activities, tasks and responsibilities to be undertaken, including expected travel, if applicable)

Under the overall supervision of PSP Officer, the individual contractor will assist in the following:

1/ Accountability (key results that will be achieved)
• Support PSP team to achieve its fundraising targets
• Plan and design digital fundraising compaigns suitable to China market and sucessfully registered within the legal fundraising framework
• Quality support for partenrship developemnt and engagement.

2/ Responsibility (processes and functions undertaken to achieve results)

Content production
• Through working efficiently with PSP HQ and UNHCR Foundation partners, proactively and accurately scope, identify and produce new themes and contents for all digital campaigns and secure reporting/updates for all digital campaings on exsiting and new digital platforms, ensuring that all targets and key performance indicators are met or exceeded.
• Generate qualtiy and timely content as reports and feedback to meet mandatory requiements by the digital platforms to ensure campaign continuality, and to support supporter/donor egangement communication;
• Support the IG team to proofread digital content to mitigate risks on social media, and to increase traffic generation to online fundraising compaigns;
• Liases with key stakeholders (UNHCR China PI and ER team, & PSP HK & Regional Office, Associate PPH Officer, Assistant PSP IG Officer) to ensure processes/procedures are adhered to, online and offline content is up to date, and support the UNHCR Chinese Website where necessary if workforce allows;
• Where suitable, contribute ideas and locally create content for digital endeavours at UNHCR China;
• Develops market knowledge of fundraising in mainland China including key target audiences for UNHCR and the most relevant content, media channels and methods to reach these audiences;
• Undertakes other tasks as required.

Support to partnership development and engagement
• Assisting in the implementation of UNHCR fundraising strategies in China to ensure that they positively build the UNHCR brand and support the objectives of Private Sector Fundraising;
• Assisting in the management of the partnership engagement with UNHCR’s existing foundation partners, including but not limited to settle legal agreements, facilitate donation transfer, working closely with the IG colleagues in the PSP Beijing team to ensure the smooth campaign promotion and execution;
• Collaborate with the Associate PPH officer in managing certain private sector accounts/prospects when required;
• Continue outreach and cultivation efforts with potential new foundation partners in mainland China, with the objective of expanding and strengthening the foundation income stream in mainland China;
• Undertakes other tasks as required.

Market landscape analysis and legal support:
• Monitor and analyze the fundraising environment in mainland China that informs the planning and implementation of PSP activities. This includes staying abreast of relevant policy developments, shifts in the legal and regulatory landscape, emerging sector trends, and conducting comparative analyses of fundraising practices among other UN agencies and local NGOs;
• Oversee the end-to-end procurement process for external vendors, including but not limited to legal firms, including preparing terms of reference, facilitating vendor selection, managing contract negotiations, and monitoring the delivery of services;
• Manage relationships with external stakeholders, including relevant government counterparts, legal firms, think tanks, academia and etc. to ensure timely and relevant support to PSP Beijing. This includes providing legal and regulatory insights that inform and strengthen the development and implementation of fundraising strategies, ensuring compliance with local laws and alignment with UNHCR’s operational goals;
• Provide inputs into the development of UNHCR’s fundraising strategy and budget in mainland China as required;
• Undertake other tasks as required.

3/ Authority (decisions made in executing responsibilities and to achieve results)

• Engage with PSP HQ to produce and diversify digital campaign contents
• Engage with PSP HQ to conduct DD for all corporate prosepcts and to facillaite necessary support for partnership development and engagement
• Engage with UNHCR’s exisitng/new foundation partners on behalf of UNHCR China PSP Beijing team
• Engage with external agencies on behalf of UNHCR China PSP Beijing team when needed
• Manage the procurement process of vendors including but not limited to legal firms.
• Provides research on the market landscape and latest fundraising trends in PPH and digital areas.

3. Monitoring and Progress Controls
(Clear description of measurable outputs, milestones, key performance indicators and/or reporting requirements which will enable performance monitoring)

• Digital campaigns that resonate with Chinese audience are planned, designed and executed smoothly
• An increased awareness of UNHCR among digital audiences through effective, relevant and engaging content, translating to an increased and stable response to UNHCR's call to action.
• Trusted partnerships are maintained and strengthened with UNHCR’s foundation partners, through ongoing engagement, exchange and collaboration.
• Partnerships with other private sector partner are managed in a professional manner.
• Foundation income stream is built and expanded.
• Legal support is provided to IG and PPH teams in a timely and effective manner.
• Compliance with UNHCR policies and national legislation are ensured.

4. Qualifications and Experience
(List the required education, work experience, expertise and competencies of the individual contractor. The listed education and experience should correspond with the level at which the contract is offered.)

a. Education (Level and area of required and/or preferred education)

• Completion of high school diploma, or University degree in International Development, Journalism, Communications, Public Policy, Business Administration or related field.

b. Work Experience
(List number of years and area of required work experience. Clearly distinguish between required experience and experience which could be an asset.)

• A minimum of three year of relevant experience with high school diploma and two years of work experience with bachelor’s degree or higher
• At least one year of experience in communications including experience producing and publishing online and offline digital content within the mainland Chinese context.
• At least 2 years’ experience working with partnership development and engagement.
Strong skills and experience for preparation of partnerships materials such as proposals, newsletter and reports to a variety of private partnership audiences.

c. Key Competencies
(Technical knowledge, skills, managerial competencies or other personal competencies relevant to the performance of the assignment. Clearly distinguish between required and desired competencies)

• A vast knowledge and understanding of online and offline content production.
• Proven ability to write high-quality communication materials in Simplified Chinese and English, that are relevant to different type of audience.
• Experience in implementation of effective stewardship programmes that create and enhance lasting relationships and are resourced effectively to create opportunities for consistent and meaningful interactions with donors.
• Current market knowledge of private sector fundraising in China.
• Strong political sensitivity.
• Attention to details and accuracy.
• Multi-tasks skills.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with diversified backgrounds.
• Strong analytical, written and verbal skills.
• Fluent in Chinese and English.

Desirable:
- Professional experience within the non-for-profit sector, UN agencies or international institutions
- Experience running digital marketing programs for customer acquisition and support.
- Experience working with a national-level foundation in mainland China is considered an asset.
- Experience engaging with Chinese government counterparts is an asset.

Standard Job Description

Required Languages English

,Chinese

,

Desired Languages

,

,

Additional Qualifications

Skills

Education

Certifications

Work Experience

Other informationThis position doesn't require a functional clearance

RemoteNo