All NRC employees are expected to work in accordance with the organisation’s core values: dedication, innovation, inclusivity and accountability. These attitudes and believes shall guide our actions and relationships.

Context Synopsis 

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has been present in Ukraine since 2014, helping more than 700,000 people with food, shelter, water, sanitation, and legal assistance. Following the escalation of conflict since 24 February 2022, NRC is scaling up its efforts inside Ukraine and in neighbouring countries to provide aid to tens of thousands people forced to flee.

In Poland NRC responds largely through local partners, implementing an integrated programme supporting basic needs, shelter, protection, legal assistance and education needs of refugees. NRC has entered partnership with 15 local and international Polish organisations with a countrywide coverage. NRC Poland is funded by various institutional and private donors that require careful planning and managing.

1. Role and responsibilities

Partnership Officer is responsible for providing key support to Grants & Partnership Unit, which is composed of Grants & Partnership Manager, 2 Partnership Coordinators (line manager), and 2 Partnership Officers. S/he will support the development and implementation of the partnership strategy that contribute to programme sustainability and high-quality programmes. The following responsibilities are relevant for this role:

Generic responsibilities

1. Support partners in adhering to key compliance standards including those set out in NRC Project Implementation Agreements, NRC Financial Handbook, other relevant NRC policies, handbooks, guidelines and procedures as well as donor and auditor standards.
2. Support management of the Project Implementation Agreements (PIA) with local partners and NRC staff.
3. Support in training and coaching partners on compliance requirements as well as general capacity building to partners.
4. Support the PCM activities and use of NRC PCM framework of working with partners.

Specific responsibilities

• Support Partnership Coordinator with the management of sub-grants.
• Participate in building relations with a range of partnersand support partnership team to identify  prospective partners and theirorganizational development needs.
• Support and facilitate communication and coordination among partners
• Provide clarifications and support to partners on how to fill required documents.
• Support in drafting project implementation agreement and its annexes providing standard information, and consolidating inputs from programmeand support teams (partners’ information, reporting schedule, etc.).
• Support in arranging the signatures and approvals for partnership-related documentswith internal and external stakeholders.
• Support preparation of and participate in Partnership PCM meetings, actively follow up on outstanding partnership issues, take minutes of the meetings.
• Organize supporting documentation submitted by partners jointly with financial reports. Organize MoVs in accordance with logframe, if requested. Summarise/translate in English organisational policies, procedures and other documentsthat are in the local language (when necessary).
• Support in in maintaining partnership trackers, stakeholder mapping tools and partnership files, monitoring information in scope and updating tools accordingly as a daily routine.
• Support in maintaining tracking of planned, active and closed partner projects in electronic and hard copy, ensuring all documentation is in place.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Line Manager.

Critical interfaces

By interfaces, NRC means processes and projects that are interlinked with other departments/units or persons. Relevant interfaces for this position are:

• Partnership Coordinator, Grants & Partnership Coordinator
• Grants & Partnership Manager
• Head of Programme
• Head of Support
• Partners
• Logistics, Human Resources, Finance Teams
• Core Competency Programme Development Managers, Project Managers & Coordinators
• MEL Team
• Advocacy & Media Team

1. Competencies

Competencies are important for the employee and the organisation to deliver desired results. They are relevant for all staff and are divided into the following two categories:

Professional competencies 

Generic professional competencies:

• University degree or equivalent (e.g., social sciences, international relations, education, development, etc.); degree in accounting or finance strongly preferred.
• Minimum  years’ experience with NGO and/or international organisation, preferably in partnerships and civil society strengthening.
• Native or native-like Polish language speaker.
• Advanced level of communication in English language, both written and verbal.
• Excellent organizational skills, attention to detail and discretion with confidential information.
• Good understanding of project cycle management.
• Confident user of the MS Office 365 Apps (incl. excellent working knowledge of Excel).
• Ability to work with stress and under high time and other pressure.
• Ability to work independently with very limited supervision.
• Willingness to travel inside Poland or the region to all areas of the country where the programme is implemented, on a regular basis.

Context/ Specific skills, knowledge and experience: 

• Knowledge of the Polish context, humanitarian response in Poland and the region, and the refugee situation in Poland.
• Understanding and experience with the Polish accounting systems and the Polish Law.

Behavioural competencies 

These are personal qualities that influence how successful people are in their job. NRC’s Competency Framework states 12 behavioural competencies, and the following are essential for this position:

• Planning and delivering results
• Coping with changes
• Communicating with impact and respect (Partner-centred engagement and communication)
• Analysing
• Working with people