Head of External Relations

The Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD) is a private diplomacy organisation founded on the principles of humanity, impartiality and independence. Its mission is to help prevent, mitigate, and resolve armed conflict through dialogue and mediation. Headquartered in Geneva and with several field offices, HD operates in more than 40 countries with more than 350 colleagues.

At a pivotal time for our organisation, we are looking for our new:

Head of External Relations

Location: Geneva  

Starting date: September 2025

Overall Purpose:

This new senior management role will provide strategic direction and align HD’s fundraising and communications efforts, to mobilize support for HD’s work and reinforce its reputation as a global leader in the peacemaking field. The Head of External Relations is accountable for designing and guiding the implementation of HD’s global fundraising and communications strategies and facilitating the organization’s external engagement, in accordance with the institutional vision. The post-holder is responsible for guiding the establishment and achievement of fundraising targets, producing and leveraging information to secure the requisite support for HD’s work, advising internal stakeholders on fundraising and communications, overseeing crisis communications, and managing the External Relations team.   

We are looking for a seasoned professional and team player with solid operational experience in the field of External Relations who is able to provide strong strategic leadership and sound expert advice in fundraising and communications, and who thrives in a fast-paced, multi-cultural environment.

Responsibilities:

Reporting to the Deputy Executive Director, the post-holder’s main responsibilities entail:

Strategic leadership and coordination

• Review HD’s funding model and propose required adaptations to mitigate identified risks and ensure HD’s continuing financial health while preserving identified strengths, factoring in organizational specificities and drawing upon sector best practices;
• Sponsor projects designed to enhance HD’s fundraising and communications capabilities, within the organization’s wider change program; 
• Orchestrate HD’s fundraising and external communications efforts, in support of identified funding priorities;
• Conceptualize and compose a diversified funding portfolio that preserves / expands income from confirmed donors and reaches new donor audiences, to ensure HD’s financial sustainability;
• Oversee the development of strategies, policies and objectives to guide fundraising and communications efforts; formulate key performance indicators and action plans to achieve identified funding targets;
• Coordinate the development of fundraising and communications materials that ensure a clear and consistent HD voice in line with its organizational identity;
• Lead the development of HD’s digital presence and monitor related engagement.

External engagement:

• Represent HD externally to (current and potential) donors, partners and other relevant stakeholders;
• Design a new outreach strategy to maximize the potential of HD’s external engagement;
• Oversee the preparation of HD’s annual institutional publications (e.g., programme of work, programme activity report, and annual report); present their content to relevant audiences;
• Coordinate strategic engagement with HD’s Donor Support Group and other supporter platforms;
• Lead media relations in line with a targeted media engagement strategy and manage institutional responses to media inquiries and reputational risks.

Internal Advisory Support

• Provide strategic advice to the Executive Director, the Senior Management Team and HD’s Board on relevant strategies and policies and their application;
• Furnish strategic guidance and support throughout the annual planning, budgeting, monitoring and reporting cycle; regularly update income forecasts and create relevant narratives to accompany figures and trends;
• Provide substantive communications advice on key events and themes, in coordination with HD’s Mediation Support Unit;
• Serve as the communications focal point within HD’s crisis management mechanism, proposing related strategic orientations and leading the development of plans and key messages;
• Provide internal teams with sound fundraising and communications advice to stakeholders across the organization;
• Guide the development of in-house capacities in fundraising and communications.

Team leadership and management

• Lead and manage a team of skilled professionals in Geneva and in other locations;
• Develop and promote positive team dynamics and motivate and support individual team members;
• Regularly assess the performance of HD’s external relations function and recommend actions to enhance its effectiveness and efficiency.

Qualifications:

• Inclusive and inspiring leader and creative thinker, with confirmed managerial competencies and experience in accompanying organizational change;
• Proven track-record in fundraising, strategic communications, and relationship-management; with a minimum of 10 years of international work experience in related positions;
• Deep-seated knowledge of sector best practices and emerging trends in fundraising and communications;
• Relevant advanced degrees and certifications;
• Experience in identifying and managing strategic opportunities and risks and in designing, delivering and measuring the effectiveness of strategies and policies at a global level;
• Pronounced client focus and ability to create supporters; strong cross-cultural communication skills;
• Proactive and results-oriented; solid ability to prioritize;
• Sense of initiative and ability to work autonomously;                      
• Strong analytical and organizational skills; at ease working with complex financial data;
• Proven capacity to lead and support teams, integrate diverse perspectives, skills and experiences and create a conducive working environment;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, in English and French; other languages a plus;
• Ability to work under pressure and to tight deadlines.

Additional skills needed for the position:

• Comfortable leading organisational change, partnering with Senior Management and bringing all parties together around best practices;
• Deep commitment to building a positive work culture that encourages feedback and accountability at all levels;
• High level of discretion in handling sensitive and confidential situations and documentation;
• High level of emotional intelligence and strong interpersonal skills.

To apply, please send your CV and a motivation letter in a single PDF file to hrgeneva@hdcentre.org by 25 April 2024.  Please include “Head of External Relations” in the subject line of your email.

HD promotes equal opportunities in employment. For more information, please visit https://hdcentre.org/.