Regional Partnership, Engagement and Funding Manager

Context

DRC has been operating in West Africa since 1998, North Africa and in Latin America since 2011. The DRC West-North Africa & Latin America (WANALA) Regional Office is based in Dakar, Senegal, and covers 13 countries. Led by the Regional Executive Director, the DRC WANALA oversees, supports, and provides strategic directions for DRC’s Country Offices within the above-mentioned regions. The region includes Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Mexico, Colombia and Venezuela. A department of multi-country grants and operations has been established at the Regional Office since February 2021 with multi country and cross border projects and regionally held grants.

Objectives of the position

• Responsible for supporting the Regional Head of Programmes (RHOP) and Executive Director for the Region (EDR) by leading business development processes at regional level, including elements of partnership engagement, strategic programmatic development, and proposal development. Tasked with anchoring business development in the region to strengthen existing and identify new partnerships and opportunities at regional and country level. Accountable to country programmes for technical support and expert advice around engagement and proposal development. Reports to the RHOP with a technical line to the Director of Partnership, Engagement and Funding (PEF) Division at HQ to align strategic engagement efforts.
• The position of Partnership, Engagement and Funding (PEF) Manager manages the PEF team whose role is to lead on our external engagement and support adequately the regional directors in their external engagements.

Responsibilities

OVERALL

• Develop, coordinate, and lead regional processes for business development and strategic programme development.
• Oversee the regional localisation efforts.
• Support donor engagement and the development and maintenance of strategic partnerships in the region.
• Provide business development support to country programmes within the region upon request.
• Coordinate with relevant global functions to ensure regional efforts are in line with organisational strategies.

PARTNERSHIP ENGAGEMENT

• In close collaboration with sectors leads, identify strategic partners at regional level and support country offices in identifying strategic ones.
• Support regional reflections on strategic partnerships with other actors and relationship building with new donors.
• Contextualise global fundraising and engagement strategies for the region and develop regional donor engagement plans to foster and maintain constructive, long-term relationships with strategic regional donors and partners.
• Lead regional donor and partner mapping to identify strategic partnerships and areas of programmatic priority overlap and alignment.
• Support donor and partner engagement efforts of the RHOP and EDR through preparation, intelligence, follow up, and general maintenance of strategic regional partnerships.
• Maintain a comprehensive regional donor database to track donor engagements and coordinate donor outreach and communications throughout the region, in line with global donor databases and tracking efforts.
• Proactively monitor donor portals and track donor engagements to identify and disseminate new and strategic funding opportunities throughout the region and coordinate with global and regional business development colleagues.
• Provide expert advice to country programmes around engagement and fundraising strategies and support country programmes in the development of donor engagement strategies

STRATEGIC PROPOSAL & PROGRAMMATIC DEVELOPMENT

• Lead the coordination and sometimes development of new, strategic, or complex interventions and proposals (such as long-term consortia, multi country projects or commercial contracts) at regional level, including external communication with donors or partners and internal coordination and process management with relevant stakeholders, including global advisors.
• Collaborate with regional programme and support teams to align and adapt strategic programmatic priorities and regional capacity with regional donor strategies and funding opportunities.
• Under the direction of the RHOP, lead or support country programmes in the development of new, strategic, or complex interventions and proposals outside of country programme capacity or resources.
• Under the direction of the RHOP and the regional Senior Management Team (R-SMT), promote and support the development of adequate programmatic models.

MANAGEMENT OF PARTNERSHIP, ENGAGEMENT AND FUNDING TEAM

• Lead and performance manage the Partnership, Engagement and Funding team,
• Oversee and ensure that the Partnership, Engagement and Funding team is continually ‘fit for purpose’ and equipped to provide the relevant support and guidance to regional and country operations, including in terms of capacity development.
• Ensure the Partnership, Engagement and Funding team is economically viable.
• In close coordination with the Regional Operations Directors (ODR) and country SMT, lead on the business development cycles and strategy,
• Work in close relation to the Regional Head of Support Services on the foreseeable changes of the organisation, driven by new partners, changes in funding streams and our business model.

Qualifications required

The success in this position requires that you listen to teams and partners, that you are able to provide remote technical management to DRC teams and local partners, and that you know how to show leadership in your field of responsibility. In addition:

• Experience and technical competencies: (include years of experience)
• At least 7 years of experience at a senior level leading strategic business development, strategic engagement, and fundraising efforts.
• Demonstrated experience in engaging, coordinating, and maintaining networks with donors, partners, and local actors.
• Demonstrated experience leading the development of high-value and complex proposals to humanitarian and development donors.
• Demonstrated experience in following and implementing the localisation agenda.
• Experience with non-institutional donors / alternative funding mechanisms..
• Master’s degree in political science, international development, economics or other relevant field
• Political and cultural sensitivity, patience, tact, diplomacy, persistence, and a team-oriented attitude.
• Willingness to travel across WANALA, sometimes on short notice.
• Full professional proficiency in English and French.

Source: https://candidate.hr-manager.net/ApplicationInit.aspx?cid=1036&ProjectId=171038&DepartmentId=19110&MediaId=5