🇮🇹 Strategic Planning Manager (P-4) 📊 UNICEF PFP Job in Rome, Italy 🤝

UNICEF's ability to keep defending children's rights depends on money — and at a time of shrinking official development assistance and unprecedented funding cuts across the humanitarian and development sectors, the division that raises it from the private sector has never mattered more. UNICEF's Private Fundraising and Partnerships Division (PFP) is hiring a Strategic Planning Manager at the P-4 level in Rome, Italy — a fixed-term role that functions, in practice, as the PFP Director's Chief of Staff. At Youth Works Hub we surface senior international careers alongside youth opportunities, and this is a rare, high-trust position at the centre of UNICEF's private-sector fundraising engine.

Why This Role Matters

The Private Fundraising and Partnerships Division is of strategic importance to UNICEF — and even more so now, at a time of constrained ODA and subsequent unprecedented funding cuts across the humanitarian and development sectors. UNICEF is determined to maintain its sector-lead position in fundraising and in engagement with more than ten million individual supporters and the private sector at large — including foundations, the corporate sector, faith and membership-based organisations, major donors, and innovative finance modalities. The Strategic Planning Manager sits at the heart of keeping that position.

About the Position

The Strategic Planning Manager is responsible for managing the Office of the PFP Director and providing quality support to the PFP Director and the division's management team — the Cabinet — in realising the objectives of the division as set out in the Office Management Plan. The post plays a critical role in the management of the division as well as in strategy, execution and internal coordination across the entire private-sector fundraising and partnerships ecosystem, akin to a de facto division-level Chief of Staff. It also entails coordinating closely with the People & Culture team and the deputies to assess organisational trends, workforce concerns and staff well-being matters, and to advise the Director on issues requiring strategic attention and follow-up.

Key Responsibilities

🏢 Manage the Office of the PFP Director;

🗂️ Serve as Secretariat of the PFP Cabinet to effectively support managerial excellence;

🔄 Support division-wide management priorities — including change-management processes, collaboration with other divisions, internal communications, and budget and HR management.

Who Can Apply

🎓 Education: A Master's or equivalent (advanced university degree) in Social Science, International Relations, Political Science, Public Administration or another related field.

💼 Experience: A minimum of eight (8) years of relevant professional work experience in external relations, public affairs, or international development cooperation — preferably within the UN, or in a government institution or NGO.

🧭 Skills: Prior experience in the design and execution of strategies, coordination, planning, and partnerships or external affairs is required. Experience in both headquarters and the field (for example a Country or Regional Office), working with multiple priorities in high-pressure environments, is required. Experience in strategic leadership, executive coordination, stakeholder engagement, change management, strategic communication and managing complexity is also expected.

🗣️ Language: Fluency in English is required.

Desirable Assets

🌍 Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language;

🏛️ Experience in an executive office is a strong asset;

🤝 Experience working in or with National Committees for UNICEF;

💶 Experience in the private sector;

🌐 Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.

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The Competencies UNICEF Looks For

UNICEF's Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything the organisation does. For this post, the required competencies are: builds and maintains partnerships; demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness; drive to achieve results for impact; innovates and embraces change; manages ambiguity and complexity; thinks and acts strategically; and works collaboratively with others.

Good to Know

📄 This is a Fixed Term Appointment at the P-4 level, in the categories of Partnerships, Programme Management and Fund Raising.

✈️ Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

🌍 Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF's Strategic Plan; all staff, at all levels, can be called upon to support humanitarian response.

🛡️ UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment and abuse of authority; all selected candidates undergo rigorous reference and background checks. UNICEF does not charge a fee at any stage of recruitment and will not ask for applicants' bank account information.

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Frequently Asked Questions

❓ What level is this role? It is a fixed-term P-4 position in UNICEF's Private Fundraising and Partnerships Division (PFP) in Rome.

❓ How much experience do I need? At least 8 years of relevant experience in external relations, public affairs or international development cooperation.

❓ What does the role actually do? It runs the Office of the PFP Director, serves as Secretariat of the PFP Cabinet, and drives division-wide priorities — effectively a division-level Chief of Staff.

❓ Is another language required? No — fluency in English is required; another UN language is a desirable asset.

Deadline

⏳ 9 September 2026 (W. Europe Daylight Time). Youth Works Hub keeps time-sensitive international roles like this in one place so you can apply before they close.