Officer, Strategic Planning & Incubation

The salary range for this position is $68,000 to $80,000

ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW

The United Nations Foundation was created in 1998 with entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner's historic $1 billion gift to support UN causes and activities. The United Nations Foundation connects people, ideas, and resources to the United Nations to help strengthen the UN and its ability to advance human dignity and well-being on a thriving planet. The Foundation champions multilateral cooperation and the UN system and serves its mission by accelerating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate action, mobilizing diverse constituencies for global change, nurturing a strong U.S.-UN relationship, and supporting the UN and its leadership.   

JOB SUMMARY

The Officer, Strategic Planning & Incubation is a key member of the Strategic Planning & Incubation (SP&I) team and serves as project manager for a cross-functional portfolio of business planning and organizational effectiveness projects. The Officer works to understand organizational needs, collaborates with stakeholders to develop solutions, and supports implementation through effective business processes, systems, tools, and resources.

The Officer also provides grants management, project management, and financial management support for a portfolio of initiatives and special projects. This includes coordinating with team leaders and internal partners to ensure that timelines, milestones, donor requirements, and organizational policies are met for partner-funded activities. The Officer may also supervise team members who provide support across these areas.

The Officer reports to the Director, Strategic Planning & Incubation and works closely with internal stakeholders across the Foundation, including team leaders, as well as colleagues in Agreements & Accountability, Budgets, Finance, People & Culture, and other operational functions.

This position is based in Washington, DC and operates on a hybrid schedule.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Planning & Risk Management

• Collaborate with the Director, SP&I to manage and implement UNF’s business planning processes, including adapting processes to evolving organizational needs, developing templates and supporting materials, ensuring teams meet planning requirements, and analyzing planning information to support leadership decision-making
• Collaborate with the Director, SP&I to manage and implement UNF’s risk management processes, ensuring organizational risks are regularly identified, reviewed, assessed, and appropriately documented
• Support teams participating in UNF’s business planning and risk management processes by answering questions, reviewing materials, providing guidance, and helping teams successfully meet process requirements

Business Processes & Operational Effectiveness

• Lead and support projects designed to improve organizational effectiveness and operational efficiency in close collaboration with the Director, SP&I and relevant stakeholders Projects may include assessing current processes or systems, identifying opportunities for improvement, supporting implementation, and developing related documentation and training
• Support organizational decision-making by conducting and/or supporting quantitative and qualitative analysis and research and translating findings into information that enables timely and well-informed decisions
• Lead and support implementation of organizational business processes, including processes related to due diligence and donor compliance, ensuring that staff have appropriate resources, training, guidance, and support and that processes operate as intended

Grants Management

• Manage select pan-UNF partnerships throughout the partnership lifecycle, including proposal development, award, implementation, reporting, and close-out, while providing financial and programmatic management support and liaising with partners and internal stakeholders
• Manage a portfolio of incubating initiatives and special projects by providing grants management support and facilitating start-up and implementation activities
• Investigate, negotiate, and support resolution of issues related to partner-funded activities, including contribution agreements, donor-specific requirements, renewals, extensions, and other grant administration matters
• Liaise between project leaders and operational teams to support smooth execution of special projects and successful onboarding and launch of incubating initiatives
• Provide budget management support and oversee staff providing budget support for incubating initiatives and special projects in coordination with UNF’s Budget and Finance teams
• Ensure high-quality and timely work products are submitted for donor-funded activities and proactively identify and resolve issues that may affect deliverables, timelines, compliance, or partner requirements

Other Duties

• Perform other duties as assigned

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Officer is a supervisory role and may manage staff supporting Grants Management, Strategic Planning & Risk Management, and/or Operational Effectiveness responsibilities, as appropriate.

EDUCATION/CERTIFICATION and/or EXPERIENCE

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, or an equivalent combination of education and commensurate professional experience
• Five or more years of relevant experience in grant management, proposal development, and funder reporting, preferably in a nonprofit setting
• Demonstrated experience with budgets, budget processes, grant administration, and financial management
• Demonstrated experience supporting strategic or business planning processes
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly Excel
• Demonstrated operations and project management experience, including the ability to manage work from planning through execution

SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the required skills and competencies.

• Ability to effectively manage multiple competing priorities and deadlines
• High degree of accuracy and attention to detail
• Ability to collaborate effectively across functions and departments to advance organizational priorities
• Ability to synthesize and present analysis and information that supports senior-level decision-making
• Ability to coordinate and influence colleagues at all levels to meet internal and external deadlines
• Ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships with stakeholders across diverse organizations and functional areas
• Excellent written, verbal, and active-listening communication skills
• Learning agility and the ability to synthesize complex information into clear, actionable insights
• Sound judgment and discretion when handling confidential, sensitive, or strategically significant organizational information
• Adaptability and a collaborative approach in a changing work environment
• Demonstrated initiative and ability to work independently with appropriate judgment and minimal supervision

WORK ENVIRONMENT 

The essential functions of this role will generally be performed in a typical professional office environment with routine use of standard office equipment. Employees are expected to work on-site in accordance with UNF’s hybrid work policy, which currently requires regular in-office presence.

LOCATION

While The United Nations Foundation headquarters is located in Washington, DC, you are on a hybrid work schedule.

DISABILITY SPECIFICATIONS  

 The United Nations Foundation will make reasonable accommodations in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

REQUIRED APPLICATION MATERIALS

To be considered for this position, please upload both a resume and cover letter. Applications that do not include both documents will be considered incomplete and will not be reviewed.

BENEFITS AND COMPENSATION

For full-time, U.S. benefit eligible employees, UNF offers an excellent range of benefits, including:

• a choice between two health plans through UnitedHealthcare (PPO or HDHP with HSA)
• dental insurance
• vision insurance
• flexible spending accounts
• 403b retirement savings plan with a generous matching contribution
• group term and supplemental life insurance
• short-term disability
• long-term disability
• back-up care
• employee assistance program

Additionally, all benefit eligible employees have 12 paid holidays, 20 vacation days, 10 sick days, 3 personal days, and 8 weeks of family leave care.

The United Nations Foundation is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.