Officer, Capacity Building in Institutional Fundraising

Organizational Context

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, with a network of 191-member National Societies (NS). The overall aim of the IFRC is “to inspire, encourage, facilitate, and promote at all times all forms of humanitarian activities by National Societies with a view to preventing and alleviating human suffering and thereby contributing to the maintenance and promotion of human dignity and peace in the world.”  The IFRC works to meet the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable people before, during and after disasters, health emergencies and other crises.  

The IFRC is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (Movement), together with its member National Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The work of the IFRC is guided by the following fundamental principles: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality.  

The IFRC is led by its Secretary General, and has its Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The Headquarters are organized into three main Divisions: (i) National Society Development and Operations Coordination; (ii) Global Relations, Humanitarian Diplomacy and Digitalization; and (iii) Management Policy, Strategy and Corporate Services. 

The IFRC has five regional offices in Africa, Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, Europe, and the Americas.  The IFRC also has country cluster delegation and country delegations throughout the world. Together, the Geneva Headquarters and the field structure (regional, cluster and country) comprise the IFRC Secretariat. 

IFRC has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment and other forms of harassment, abuse of authority, discrimination, and lack of integrity (including but not limited to financial misconduct). IFRC also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. 

In late February 2022 a new phase in the armed conflict in Ukraine started with the intensification and spread of hostilities affecting many parts of the country and causing major concern for the protection of civilians and essential civilian infrastructure. IFRC has launched an Emergency Appeal for Ukraine and impacted countries that is coordinated on a European regional level and that it is expected to end in December 2025. As part of the exit strategy, to ensure that impacted National Societies can continue providing long term support to people from Ukraine and other vulnerable populations, the IFRC plans to provide support to the NS and to do so it is required to appoint a dedicated Officer focused on Capacity Building in Institutional Fundraising.

The position is in the Strategic Partnerships and Resource Mobilization Unit, Regional Office for Europe (ROE), and is based in Budapest, with regular travel to operational areas as required. Collaboration with the Red Cross EU Office (RCEU), located in Brussels, and the IFRC HQ, will be an essential component of this role, to ensure full adherence to the principles of engagement with institutional partners that are governed by respective protocols and agreements. 

Job Purpose

Reporting to the Strategic Partnerships and Resource Mobilization (SPRM) Senior Officer, the Capacity Building in Institutional Fundraising Officer will interact with a wide spectrum of actors in support of, and on behalf of the IFRC ROE SPRM Team, and more specifically will focus on:

i) Building the resource mobilization capacity of Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies with institutional donors and National Authorities. This encompasses comprehensive research into funding flows through national authorities and opportunities available through indirect implementation.

ii) Supporting National Societies in proposal development, which includes conducting relevant organizational assessments and determining readiness and prioritization relative to these funding flows.

iii) Assisting in the creation of effective communication and positioning strategies, as well as in the development of project concepts, to enhance the positioning of National Societies with their national authorities and strategic stakeholders.

iv) Facilitating knowledge sharing to strengthen the capacities of National Societies by equipping relevant departments to ensure a focused and systematic approach to identifying and leveraging these funding opportunities.

v) Managing relevant tools and processes of the Strategic Partnerships and Resource Mobilization (SPRM) framework to support these efforts effectively.

With the main focus on supporting the National Societies impacted by the crisis in Ukraine, the job holder will support the development and implementation of the ROE SPRM Institutional Fundraising Capacity Building Plan for the impacted NSs. The Capacity Building in Institutional Fundraising Officer will ensure i) relevant support, tracking and analysis in the development and implementation of annual funding plans, unified plans and emergency appeals, as needed, in close cooperation with relevant Regional and Country/Country Cluster teams within the Europe Region; and (ii) will support research and development efforts in building new partnerships together with National Societies. 

Job Duties and Responsibilities

The primary focus of the post-holder will be on the capacity building linked to institutional donors. In case of the EU, the RCEU Office is dedicated to managing relationships with EU institutions and coordinating the IFRC’s positioning and fundraising efforts within the EU. The cooperation between the Regional Office for Europe (ROE) and RCEU Office is outlined in the document ‘Protocols for Engagement with the EU’. This document delineates the methods by which ROE and RCEU can align their EU-related activities in terms of partnerships, humanitarian diplomacy, resource mobilization, and the capacity strengthening of the National Societies supported by each office. All engagements and activities concerning the EU will be conducted in strict adherence to these protocols.

Capacity building activities with National Societies to support their readiness in accessing institutional funding:

• Audit and synthesize the capacity building needs of the involved National Societies.
• In close cooperation with relevant subject matter experts, develop internal plans and frameworks on National Society capacity development in institutional fundraising
• Help organize and, where appropriate, moderate in-person and online capacity building events and communities of practice leveraging the IFRC peer-to-peer network).
• Work with National Societies to set out action plans, internal procedures and follow up with them on the progress of the implementation.

Supporting National Societies’ Knowledge Gathering, Networking and Positioning with Institutional Donors:

• Assist National Societies in staying informed about relevant policies and decisions made by various institutional donors. Provide guidance on conducting systematic analyses of funding trends and forecasting income projections. If pertinent, assist with coordinating an external research project focusing on institutional donors. In close cooperation with the relevant country manager, help facilitate internal discussions and decision-making on organizational fit concerning opportunities with institutional donors.
• Contribute to National Societies’ preparedness in presenting their programmatic concepts and value propositions to national authorities. Assist National Societies in leveraging their auxiliary positions with their National Authorities to access institutional financing.
• Ensure strong liaison with key stakeholders, particularly other National Societies, the Red Cross EU Office, and global account managers, to ensure alignment with the Movement’s principles of cooperation in resource mobilization
• Provide ongoing assistance for matters related to institutional donors, including donor eligibility requirements, donor compliance requirements, and donor proposal processes and contracting mechanisms. Encourage National Societies’ active participation in regular briefings and information sessions organized by the Red Cross EU Office on EU funding opportunities.

Facilitating Knowledge Sharing and Training to Enhance National Societies’ Proposal Development Capacities:

• Identify capacity development needs in areas of proposal development for institutional donors. Support National Societies in enhancing their skills by leveraging Federation-level knowledge.  Follow up with National Societies to ensure improvement.
• Support the work of IFRC ROE SPRM team in creating best practice for institutional resource mobilization.
• In close cooperation with the SPRM team, support National Societies in identifying resourcing mechanisms for co-funding and co-financing purposes. 

Job Duties and Responsibilities (continued)

Duties applicable to all staff
1.    Actively work towards the achievement of the Federation Secretariat’s goals 
2.    Abide by and work in accordance with the Red Cross and Red Crescent principles
3.    Perform any other work-related duties and responsibilities that may be assigned by the line manager

Education

Required:

• University degree in relevant discipline (ex. g. International Relations, Humanitarian Affairs, Business Administration, Economics, Finance, Marketing)

Preferred:

• Relevant professional training courses (Red Cross/Red Crescent related, humanitarian and development sector, management).

Experience

Required:

• At least 3 years working experience with relevant experience in managing relations with institutional donors and partners.
• Relevant (at least 3 years) work experience in the fields of EU funding, both in terms of proposal development and grant management.
  
• Experience in organizing partnership calls, events, conferences or meetings.
• Experience in developing proposals (with main focus on EU-funding proposals) and coordinating multiple partners.

Preferred:

• Relevant work experience with the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and knowledge of IFRC systems and processes in pledge management, planning, project proposals development, reporting systems and financial management.
• Work experience with other international organizations, large NGOs and/or governmental development agencies.
• Experience of working in Europe and/or Central Asia.
• Experience of working with corporate donors.

Knowledge, Skills and Languages

Required:

• Knowledge of and skills in tracking open calls for proposals from key donor institutions.
• Strong knowledge of information sharing tools.
• Strong knowledge of reporting systems and guidelines.
• Highly organised, with ability to work a strong team player.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Excellent networking and relationship building skills.
• Strong budgeting and finance management skills.
• Demonstrated skills in analytical and strategic thinking.
• Strong writing and editing skills.
• Fluently spoken and written English.

Preferred:

• Knowledge of EU and other key institutional donors requirements for proposal development.
• Good command of another IFRC official language (French, Spanish or Arabic).
• Good command of another European Language (Polish, Ukrainian, Romanian, Hungarian).

Competencies, Values and Comments

Core competencies: Communication; Collaboration and teamwork; Judgement and decision making; National society and customer relations; Creativity and innovation; Building trust         
Values: Respect for diversity; Integrity; Professionalism; Accountability 

Comments: This is a national staff position open to Hungarian nationals and others who are legally eligible to work in Hungary. Candidates must be able to provide proof of their eligibility to work in Hungary.