Partnerships Coordinator

Requisition ID: req47250

Job Title: Partnerships Coordinator

Sector: Program Administration

Employment Category: Fixed Term

Employment Type: Full-Time

Open to Expatriates: No

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

Work Arrangement:

Job Description

Across two refugee camps, Dadaab and Kakuma, and four counties (Garissa, Turkana, West Pokot, and Nairobi), the IRC implements programs in the sectors of health, Nutrition, governance & rights, and womens protection & empowerment, Economic Recovery and Development, as well as providing emergency response through a network of four field offices and a range of institutional and community-based partnerships.

Within the IRCs global strategy, Strategy100, the IRC has prioritized partnerships with local actors, recognizing that local partnerships can result in more effective, responsive, and durable assistance that reaches more people and produces better outcomes for the people we serve. Investing in local civil society organizations and government agencies recognizes those organizations not only as allies in achieving the IRCs core outcomes, but also as catalysts and drivers of change. Additionally, the IRC also partners with international organizations and public institutions as an effective means of achieving program outcomes and organizational objectives. Specifically, within Kenya, the IRC has prioritized developing at least 7 strategic local partnerships of which 5 are women-led or focused and dedicating 8% of its operating budget to local partners by FY2024. Currently, IRC Kenya manages 18 active partnerships with 9 local NGOs and 3 international NGOs, with funding from UNHCR, PRM, BHA, ECHO, IKEA Foundation, and the LEGO Foundation.

Scope of work:

The Partnership Coordinator will support the Kenya Country Program in its strategic management and oversight of its robust partnerships across the country. The Partnership Coordinator will facilitate the Kenya teams delivery of high-quality partnerships that are strategic for IRC, compliant with IRC and donor requirements in order to provide quality services and outcomes for the communities we serve, consistent with the IRCs PEER System. Working in close collaboration with the programs, grants and operations departments, the Partnership Coordinator will oversee all steps in the partnership management lifecycle ensuring that partnerships are appropriately integrated into the overall project cycle management.

With the support of the senior management team, the Partnership Coordinator will also be a leader in building and promoting a culture, attitudes, and values conducive to collaborative partnerships among the team, based on a clear and shared understanding of IRC’s role and approach, and core partnership principles. The Partnership Coordinator will report directly to the Deputy Director for Grants and Accountability (DDGA). The Partnership Coordinator is based in Nairobi, with travel to the field sites.

Major Responsibilities:

Partnership Strategy

• Together with DDGA lead on the development and implementation of IRC Kenyas partnership strategy.
• Form and chair the Partnership Working Group to promote a coherent, strategic, and coordinated approach to local partnerships in IRC Kenya.
• Oversee the partnership management operating procedures for IRC Kenya that set out efficient and responsive processes, delineate clear roles and responsibilities, and articulate IRC Kenyas strategic approach to partnerships, consistent with PEERS.
• Promote and take forward initiatives to enhance local partnerships in consultation with senior management and program staff, support further development of local partner capacity development, approaches and processes.
• Work with the IRC Kenya country leadership team and technical coordinators to ensure that the partnership-specific targets and ambitions with the IRC Kenya Strategy Action Plan are realized by FY24.
• In collaboration with the technical coordinators and program coordinator for quality and learning, identify key stakeholders for effective programming through a comprehensive stakeholder analysis.
• Promote, and support the DDGA and technical coordinators to conduct, an effective analysis of the roles, capacities and relationships between local government, civil society and private sector actors, and to identify the IRCs program approach, based on how the IRC can best add value to local capacities and systems.
• Participate in Go/No-Go discussions to promote program approaches and design that are consistent with the SAP.
• Support the technical coordinators to ensure actor mapping is up-to-date and accessible to all programs, and to build and foster partnership relationships with appropriate actors.
• Promote full partner participation in program management, including through the IRCs project cycle meetings processes.

Partnerships/Sub-Grant Processes:

• Supervise and support Partnership Manager, programs, grants, finance and operations staff on IRCs on the implementation of the PEER system across all areas of sub-award management and documentation requirements; including pre-award assessment, partner proposal review, contracting tool selection; preparing sub-award agreement packages aligned with specific donor requirements, and sub-award review through OTIS.
• Ensure that Partnership Managers hold all project cycle meetings, and that sub-grant agreement terms and conditions are well understood by partners.
• Establish partner monitoring schedule per PPCR score and ensure programmatic and compliance monitoring visits take place in coordination with pertinent department staff.
• Lead periodic mapping of potential partners for emergency response, with a particular emphasis on local organizations; and update the potential partner tracker periodically, as needed.
• Coordinate the organization and facilitation of capacity and risk assessments for potential partners.
• Lead the internal sub-award proposal review and approval process.
• Support in the development of partnership templates and contracts/agreements.
• Work in collaboration with IRC finance, Programs, and other units to manage sub-grants effectively and in compliance with donor rules and regulations.
• Lead and facilitate capacity building of partner NGOs and local community organizations. Contribute to development of training materials.
• Ensure that partners meet all visibility requirements as listed in their subgrant agreements.
• Ensure that accurate and up to date records for all sub-awards is maintained, in line with PEER System requirements.

Partner Monitoring:

• Lead the partnerships team in monitoring sub- grantees/partners for donor compliance and progress against objectives; and contributing to the development of monitoring tools as needed.
• Coordinate field monitoring visits to partners; and share regularly monitoring schedule with all relevant departments and colleagues.
• Coordinate the Partnership Team in securing and reviewing subgrantees monthly/quarterly/final narrative and financial reports; share relevant feedback with subgrantees, as needed.
• Coordinate with relevant departments to ensure that all reporting templates are updated; and share with sub-grantees on a timely basis.

Documentation and Reporting:

• Coordinate the maintenance of comprehensive electronic files for all subgrantees (current, past and potential partners) on OTIS and on Shared Drive; as per PEERS documentation requirements.
• Working with the relevant technical teams, coordinating the review of monthly internal reports, compile and submit partner reports into overall donor report, and support government reports/agreements as needed/requested.
• Carry out data analysis of existing subgrant portfolio and potential future partner commitments.

Human Resources Management, capacity building and Development

• Coach, train, supervise and mentor direct-report staff, including communicating clear expectations, setting quarterly performance objectives, providing regular and timely positive and constructive performance feedback, and providing documented semi-annual performance reviews.
• Hold high-quality meetings with each direct report on a regular and predictable basis, at least bi-weekly.
• Provide a measurable development plan including on-the-job learning with the aim of strengthening technical capacity, exchanging knowledge within the team, and providing guidance on career paths.
• In coordination with HR colleagues, promote and monitor staff care, well-being, and self-care. Approve and manage all time, attendance and leave requests to ensure adequate departmental coverage. Model healthy work-life balance practices. Support appropriate interventions in response to identified staff care needs of both national and international staff.
• Look for opportunities to support staff in their career growth, where appropriate. Offer leadership support for successful adherence by staff to IRCs country and Global HR Operating Policies and Procedures.
• Develop a detailed capacity building plan for the partnerships team with regular training (minimum quarterly). As part of succession plan and nationalization goals, identify, train, and develop capability and capacity of a national staff to successfully transition role and responsibilities, by end of assignment.
• Maintain open and professional relations with team members, promoting a strong team spirit and providing oversight and guidance to enable staff to successfully perform in their positions.
• Work with HR staff to identify and implement recruitment and retention strategies.

Key Working Relationships

Position Reports to: DDGA
Position directly supervises: Partnerships  Manager, Partnership Finance Manager

Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in relevant discipline, masters degree a plus.
• At least 5 years work experience in the NGO environment
• Proven experience in coordination of multiple stakeholders (internal and external).
• Bachelors degree in social studies or relevant field from a recognized university with 10 years of relevant experience; or Masters Degree with 7 years of relevant experience.
• Strong preference given to candidates with previous experience in partnership management, consortium/network management or subgrant/partner identification and management.
• Familiarity with IRC PEER system a distinct advantage
• Experience facilitating sub-grants, including proposal review, agreement development, and monitoring strongly desired.
• Familiarity with USG (e.g. USAID/BHA, PRM) and ECHO rules and regulations.
• Program development experience, including development of key project documents such as logical frameworks, monitoring tools, etc.
• Experience designing and implementing capacity building programs is a plus.
• Computer literate (MS Word, Excel, PPT). Budgeting experience required.
• NGO experience in similar position is preferred.
• Good communication and interpersonal skills.
• Professional fluency in spoken and written English.

Ability to Travel

Up to 30% to partner offices, occasional travel to HQ and other regions for workshops, conferences or other meetings.

National Candidates:We strongly encourage national female candidates to apply for this position. The IRC strives to attract, motivate and retain qualified national staff in our programs.

Professional Standards: IRC staff must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way Global Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability and Equality. In accordance with these values, IRC operates and carries out policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti-Workplace Harassment, Respect at Work Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

Accountability to Clients: IRC staff must adhere to the commitment of contributing to the sustainability and development of its (CR) Client Responsiveness Mechanisms, preserving the culture of prioritizing the needs of our clients and affected communities by systematically listening to their perspectives and using their feedback to make programmatic decisions and give them greater influence over program design and delivery.

Gender Equality: IRC is committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols and other supportive benefits and allowances.

Diversity and Inclusion: at IRC, we are passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. Organizations that are diverse in age, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, ethnicity, nationality, and perspective are validated to be better organizations. More importantly, creating a safe workspace environment where everyone, from any background, can do their best is the right thing to do. So, bring your whole self to work. IRC is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, respectful, and safe work environment where all persons are treated fairly, with dignity and respect. In keeping with our core values of Integrity, Service, Accountability and Equality, IRC strives to maintain a work environment built on mutual respect in which all individuals treat each other professionally, and free of bias, prejudice, and harassment. IRC expressly prohibits and will not tolerate discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or bullying of IRC Persons in any work setting. All IRC staff, wherever they are located, are accountable for creating an environment free of discrimination, harassment, bullying, and retaliation.

Disclaimer:

Please take note that International Rescue Committee (IRC) does not ask for any fees in connection with its recruitment processes.