Head, Sovereign & Private Sector Engagement

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership committed to saving children’s lives and protecting people’s health by increasing equitable use of vaccines in lower-income countries. The Vaccine Alliance brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. Gavi uses innovative finance mechanisms, including co-financing by recipient countries, to secure sustainable funding and adequate supply of quality vaccines. Since 2000, Gavi has contributed to the immunisation of nearly 880 million children and the prevention of more than 15 million future deaths. At the Global Vaccine Summit in June 2020, world leaders pledged more than $8.8bn to ensure Gavi can continue to amplify this work and immunise another 300 million children by 2025.

Over the past 2 years, the crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic has taken hold. In countries with already fragile health systems, this is likely to have a catastrophic impact. Through the ground-breaking COVAX Facility and the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC), Gavi is working with the international community to take urgent action in accelerating a COVID-19 vaccine and ensure it becomes available to populations no matter where they live. This is the moment where more resources from diverse and sustainable sources are required, and that available financing must be leveraged strategically and efficiently to unlock the greatest level of impact possible. What is needed now is a comprehensive approach to attract, retain, and multiply the financial and business resources of sovereign donors, the private sector, and other development institutions to strategically support countries, partners, and the Gavi secretariat as it seeks to ensure sustainability in its ambitious immunisation programmes and safeguard global health security through helping put together the world’s response to the global COVID-19 crisis.

Under the oversight of the Managing Director for Resource Mobilisation, Private Sector Partnerships & Innovative Finance (RMPSPIF), the Sovereign & Private Sector Engagement, Donor Relations & Campaigns team leads on (i) driving sovereign and private sector fundraising and engagement, including through blended and innovative financial instruments and ambitious new partnerships, in key industrialised markets with a particular focus on Canada, UK, Europe and the CIS; (ii) building visibility and trust with Gavi through smart donor relations and campaigning with civil society, parliamentarians and influential voices; and (iii) securing and cultivating support and funding for COVAX and COVAX AMC from a range of economies.

THE ROLE
The role of the Head is to lead on growing Gavi’s sovereign & private sector engagement, shaping and implementing ambitious prospecting and fundraising strategies towards new sovereigns, corporations, foundations, philanthropists, multilateral banks, and other key investors. The Head will oversee donor and stakeholders’ relations in a set of markets under the purview of the team, with a focus on the arc Canada-UKEurope- CIS. S/he will in addition directly engage with the UK, which is Gavi’s lead donor, a core investor in an array of financial instruments, a strategic partner strongly engaged in Gavi’s and COVAX governance, and a global hub home to key influencers, financial institutions, corporations and civil society movements.

Main Duties/Responsibilities

Sovereign & private sector engagement and fundraising strategies:

• Provide leadership, expert advice, and co-ordination in envisioning, developing, and growing sovereign & private sector engagement, and efforts to mobilise funding and expertise in support of the Gavi 5.0, COVAX self-financing, and COVAX AMC. Produce strategic pitches, and business & investment cases; • Anticipate the evolving funding landscape and identify financing structures and new sources of in-kind support to match future Gavi needs. Develop strategic options with senior management for raising resources and selectively developing high-value non-monetary partnerships more effectively; • Inform and drive structuring and implementation of new instruments to leverage private sector funding and lead associated transactions. Lead outreach to key financial and investors groups, pitch and negotiate financing mix (including existing and new funding windows); • Mainstream across a range of markets (with particular focus on Canada-UK-Europe-CIS) Gavi’s sovereign & private sector engagement and fundraising tools and instruments, e.g. Matching Fund, frontloading, IFFIm and innovative leveraged transactions that have proven successful. Propose market-level plans to foster the strategic use of development finance and philanthropic funds to mobilise private capital. Provide advice in markets where there is not enough bandwidth or expertise; • Think through, develop, and structure individual deals. Build new public and private donor relationships at senior level and play a promotional role in generating new business.

Strategic engagement and portfolio oversight in a set of markets, with particular focus on Canada-UK-Europe & CIS:

• Initiate and negotiate grant and partnership agreements and renewals; • Manage relationship with governments and private sector partners. Co-ordinate strategic engagement and operational liaison with senior government representatives and corporate senior executives. Advise Director and GLT on governments’ positions; • Stay abreast of relevant government policies and decisions and the corporate and foundation landscape in a set of markets. Ensure systematic analysis of funding trends, develop funding targets, and forecast income projections to ensure effective resource mobilisation in these markets; • Define and implement market engagement strategies and lead senior donor managers in markets. Develop, broaden, and strengthen network of high-level influencers and advocates in support of Gavi’s mission. Identify and engage with key centres of political support and influential constituencies and institutions, build bi-partisan constituencies, and mobilise champions; • Proactively address private and public donor needs and requests. Fulfil donor reporting requirements included in legal agreements. Lead on high quality documentation and reports; • Ensure effective instruments are in place to manage, forecast and track donor commitments. Develop best-practice public and private donor portfolio management, with appropriate streamlined reporting and results frameworks and management of donor agreements; • Monitor progress and performance towards agreed log frames and deliverables.

Team management and effective partnership with other teams:

• Manage team activities, lead, guide, coach and develop staff; • Advise the team on development of engagement strategies in donor countries, building bi-partisan constituencies and mobilising key champions; • Lead and empower the team to engage with new sovereign and private sector partners; • Ensure effective collaboration with the Innovative Finance team on IFFIm; • Facilitate effective partnerships and cross-secretariat initiatives aimed at implementing selected pillars of the resource mobilisation strategy; • As needed, serve as the focal point with specific teams whose inputs are critical to the strategy process and act as lead in cross-Secretariat discussions; • Carry out projects assigned by the Director in accordance with the team objectives. Second the Director in managing key relationships and initiatives and represent the organisation’s leadership, as necessary.

Note: The essential functions listed in this section are not exhaustive of the job responsibilities; other duties may be assigned consistently with the department needs.

Work Experience

• Minimum 12 years of relevant experience; • Familiarity with international development and/or global health; • Established operational track record of excellence in achieving results; • Outstanding track record in complex projects management; • Demonstrated ability to structure financial instruments and navigate complex funding mechanisms; • Credibility in public and private engagement, fundraising and partnerships, excellent understanding of both public and private sector perspectives is necessary; • Demonstrable experience dealing with political and technical governmental and private sector decision-making processes, and ability to operate internationally; • Experience identifying and articulating strategic issues, trade-offs, and priorities to provide sound advice.

Skills/Competencies

• Results-oriented individual, entrepreneurial and hand-on; • Excellent leadership & management skills; • Excellent technical, analytical, and project management skills; • Track record in producing high quality work with short deadlines and make effective, timely decisions; • Outstanding networking, representational, communications and negotiation skills. An ability to be proactive and persuasive; • Demonstrated ability to work across institutional boundaries with various teams and utilise talent and expertise of team members in a productive way; • High degree of discretion, tact, and sensitivity in dealing with internal and external clients and stakeholders at all level; • Fluency in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint; • Ability to adapt and work within a multicultural, multilingual, multidisciplinary environment; • Exceptional written and verbal communication skills in English.

Languages

• Written and spoken fluency in English;
• Written and spoken fluency in other European languages highly desirable.

Academic Qualifications

• Master’s degree in business administration, international relations, public affairs, or other relevant fields.

Contacts

• Gavi Secretariat;
• Gavi partners;
• Donor government and development agencies, private sector, foundations, philanthropists, multilateral development banks and other investors;
• Civil society, advocates, and influencers;
• Media;
• Other key stakeholders.