Senior Partnerships Manager – WISH 2

About Us

MSI Reproductive Choices is one of the world’s leading providers of sexual and reproductive healthcare. We believe that everyone should have the right to choose. From contraception to safe abortion and life-saving post-abortion care, we are committed to delivering compassionate, affordable, high-quality services for all.

Today, our organisation has over 9,000 team members working in 37 countries across the world. Our success lies in the fact that MSI teams are locally led, entrepreneurial and results-driven, and are passionate about delivering high quality, client-centered care in their own communities. As a social business, we focus on sustainable delivery, efficiency, and funding models that are built to last, so that the women and girls we serve today will have a choice in the future too.

We know that access to reproductive choice is life changing. For some, it can mean the ability to complete an education or start a career. For others, it means being able to look after the family they already have. For everyone, it means the freedom to decide their own future, creating a fairer, more equal world.

About the Role

MSI seeks an exceptional Senior Partnerships Manager for an anticipated five-year, FCDO-funded global family planning activity.

WISH 2 is the successor to the 5-year £272m Women’s Integrated Sexual Health (WISH) programme and will support women and adolescents, particularly the poor and most marginalised, to have greater voice, choice and control over their Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and improve the enabling environment for SRHR and gender equality as part of an accelerated, African-led inclusive demographic transition.

WISH 2 is one of three components of the overarching WISH Dividend programme that is being procured by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO). WISH 2 will support targeted countries on comprehensive SRHR including support for service delivery and technical assistance. WISH 2 will be divided into two geographic Lots, and the role will be dedicated to Lot 1 including Chad, DRC, Mali, Mauritania and Senegal.

The Senior Partnerships Manager will be responsible for developing the capacity of Civil society Organisations (CSOs) and local stakeholders to effectively advocate for SRHR and improve overall organizational sustainability and leadership. They will design and provide a comprehensive package of capacity development activities that support the technical and institutional development of partners on this project.

About You

We recruit talented, dynamic people with diverse backgrounds and experiences, all united by a belief in our mission and a focus on delivering measurable results. We’re proud to be an equal opportunities employer and are committed to creating a fully inclusive workplace, where everyone feels able to participate and contribute meaningfully. You must be open-minded, curious, resilient, and solutions-oriented, and committed to promoting equality, and safeguarding the welfare of team members and clients alike.

To perform this role, it is essential that you have the following skills:

• Proven ability to assess capacity building interventions and recommend appropriate activities to develop skills and promote organizational learning and change.
• Strong organization, planning, communication, and presentation skills.
• Superb collaboration, diplomatic and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to handle multiple tasks efficiently, perform under pressure, and work with diverse staff.
• Fluent English oral and written communication skills.
• Fluent French oral and written communication skills.

To perform this role, it is essential that you have the following experience:

• Experience developing training for local organisations across financial management, HR, M&E and project management.
• Demonstrated knowledge of and experience using capacity development tools such as pre-award surveys, and institutional strengthening plans.
• Experience working with HMG, other donors, governments, and international agencies.

Formal Education/Qualifications

• Degree in Social Sciences, Community Development, or related field

Personal Attributes:

We seek exceptional individuals who are aligned to MSI’s mission and entrepreneurial mindset. You must be a strong communicator, self-motivated and solutions-seeking, committed to driving social change in an environment that measures sustainable results and impact at an individual and global level. You must be able to work effectively with and across diverse teams and be comfortable with ambiguity.

For this role, we’re looking for an individual who is:

• A strong supporter of the cause of family planning and a woman’s right to safe abortion (pro-choice)
• Quality-focused and results-orientated
• Proactive
• Highly organised
• Decisive and confident
• Resourceful and determined.
• Self-aware

This position is contingent upon funding being awarded to MSI and on approval of the candidate by FCDO. Candidates must have the legal right to work in either the United Kingdom, or a country where MSI currently works.

For more information about the role, please view the job description on our website.

Location: London (UK), Dakar (Senegal) or Kinshasa (DRC)

Full-time: 35 hours a week, Monday to Friday (UK contracted hours)

Contract type: Permanent

Salary: A competitive salary and benefits package will be provided in line with the national context, dependent on location of the successful candidate.

Salary band – BG 9

Closing date: 4th March 2024 (midnight GMT). Interviews may take place before this date for exceptional candidates.

For internal employees applying from an MSI country programme, the role will be positioned within the existing salary structure of the country. Local terms and conditions of the country will apply.