Senior Manager, Partnerships (Global Climate Action Partnership - GCAP)

While this position is primarily advertised for Vienna, Austria, an alternative duty station may be offered or considered based on organizational needs and the successful candidate's profile. 

The incumbent provides overall strategic leadership and oversight in donor engagement, resource mobilization, network governance reorganisation, and inter-secretariat coordination. S/he leads the execution of GCAP's transitional workplan following its Calibration Assessment, establishing a host-performance review mechanism, deploying a narrowly defined finance-facilitation capability, and embedding a common M&E indicator framework. Operating under the direct supervision of the UNOPS WEC Head of Portfolio and in coordination with GCAP Steering Committee Co-Chairs, the Senior Manager positions GCAP as a leading, demand-driven platform within the global climate action landscape. 

Under the direct supervision of the UNOPS WEC Head of Portfolio and in coordination with the GCAP Steering Committee Co-Chairs, the incumbent will execute leadership across four primary functional areas:

• Lead the operationalization of the GCAP Calibration Assessment recommendations across global and regional levels.

• Finalize and implement updated Terms of Reference (TORs) for GCAP’s governance and operational structures, including the GCAP Steering Committee, Global Secretariat, and thematic working groups.

• Support GCAP Steering Committee decision-making regarding governance models and manage conflict-of-interest mechanisms.

• Reconcile relationships and alignment between thematic working groups, Communities of Practice (CoPs), regional platforms, and the Global Secretariat under a synchronized workplan towards a strengthened one-initiative identity.

• Articulate and promote GCAP’s value proposition, including its regional architecture, thematic working group structure vis-a-vis governments, technical partners and the broader stakeholder group of GCAP.

• Design and lead a positioning strategy to strengthen GCAP’s visibility and recognition within the global climate action landscape, including targeted engagement at major climate fora, coalitions, and knowledge-exchange platforms.

• Oversee the development of consistent branding, messaging, and communication products (institutional profile, positioning briefs, knowledge products) that reinforce GCAP’s identity across the Global Secretariat and regional platforms (AfCAP, ALP, LEDS LAC).

• Coordinate with thematic working groups and regional secretariats to ensure a unified external narrative and avoid fragmented or inconsistent messaging about GCAP’s role and offer.

• Manage GCAP’s institutional-support arrangements, establishing a host-performance review mechanism for future cycles.

• Oversee the design and launch of a narrowly defined finance-facilitation function (modelled on LEDS LAC’s ArticuLAC) to bridge CoP outputs with actionable climate financing channels.

• Facilitate strategic alignment and deep engagement with multilateral and regional development banks (MDBs/RDBs), technical assistance windows, and regional partners.

• Implement the GCAP fundraising strategy and achieve approved target sheet thresholds.

• Lead donor engagement initiatives to diversify the funding base beyond core sources, targeting climate-development sources, philanthropies, AfDB facilities, and the Africa Carbon Markets Initiative.

• Refine donor-facing value propositions and update messaging frameworks to highlight development linkages and climate action impacts.

• Oversee the allocation and tracking of the interim per-region funding baseline and unearmarked contributions within the pooled GCAP fund managed by UNOPS.

• Direct the benchmarking of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) practices against peer organizations and oversee the adoption of a unified, quantified indicator framework across AfCAP, ALP, and LEDS LAC.

• Evaluate and implement technical tools (such as impact-calculator models) to improve reporting accuracy and eliminate double-counting.

• Standardize light operating workflows and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) governing the strategy-priority-outreach-response cycle.