Partnership Manager

Job Description

Organization Description

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home. The IRC has been working in Uganda since 1998 supporting nationals and refugees and various institutions in the country notably the government, community-based organizations, the civil society and the private sector. The current program portfolio in Uganda includes health, gender-based violence prevention and response, economic recovery and development, protection and rule of law, and education.

The IRC, in its Strategic Action Plan (SAP), has a set partnership ambition which seeks to increase the number of strategic local partnerships, particularly with women-led or focused, refugee-led, and disability-focused organizations, to increase sustainability in refugee response, client reach, cost reduction and community acceptance. With this ambition, the IRC is currently implementing projects with 17 partners with funding from different donors including BPRM, EU Supreme, IKEA Foundation, among others, and as such, seeks to build a network of local partners.

Job Overview

Under the direction of the Partnership Coordinator, the Partnership Manager will support the Uganda Country Program in its strategic management and oversight of its robust partnerships across the country. The Partnership Manager will facilitate the Uganda team’s 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 IRC’s Partnership Excellence for Equality and Results (PEER) System. Working in close collaboration with the programs, finance, grants and operations departments, the Partnership Manager will co-lead 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 Manager 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 Manager will report directly to the Partnership Coordinator. The Partnership Manager is based in Kampala, with travel to the field sites.

Duties and responsibilities

Partnership management

•Lead facilitation and coordination of partnership management processes to ensure well planned, timely, coordinated and coherent partnership management.

•Manage and facilitate funding opportunities for local and national civil society organizations, making efforts to target women-led and women/girls serving organizations.

•Coordinate and co-lead Partner Identity and Background Review (Vetting) processes, including completion of the report for approval.

•Coordinate and co-lead Partner's Project Capacity Review (PPCR) processes, including contributing to and facilitating the collaborative risk analysis and management.

•Determine appropriate partnership agreement type and draft agreement, taking into account the due diligence outcomes and specific project and donor requirements, liaising with HQ for review and approval (and obtaining donor approvals as necessary).

•Co-lead Partnership Project Opening, Review, Monitoring and Closing Meetings, together with the project teams, Technical Coordinator and ensure partner participation in all project cycle meetings.

•Coordinate and participate in timely and effective partner program, finance, and compliance review and reflection (monitoring), and work with the Technical Coordinator to address any project performance issues.

•Liaise with the Partnership finance manager and grants team in the development of the partnership tracker.

•Coordinate narrative and finance reporting processes, including review and feedback.

•Liaise with finance to achieve timely funds transfers and proper financial follow up and support for partners; work with finance to address any challenges in payments and raise proposed disallowed costs to SMT.

•Work collaboratively with partners and IRC staff to constructively resolve any issues that may arise.

•Where partner performance issues are identified, facilitate timely action by the IRC to address any areas of non-performance as they arise.

•Maintain complete and organized partnership files for each partner.

•Co-lead the review of the performance of the partner, of the IRC (including on the basis of partner feedback), and of the partnership, including successes, challenges and lessons learned, fostering ongoing partnerships beyond the sub-award project cycle.

Promote effective partnerships

•Co-manage the Partnership Working Group (co-responsible for delivering the functions of the PWG), including referral of issues to Senior Management Team as appropriate.

•Promote and apply the IRC’s PEER System. Contribute to building a strong understanding of PEERS throughout the Uganda country program, and ensure that IRC’s partnership principles, skills and approaches are applied by staff across programs and projects with partners.

•Facilitate systematic partner feedback on IRC’s management of the partnership relationship, including the documentation of, and response to partner feedback.

•Co-facilitate and guide partner mapping and selection processes to identify new partners, including to identify women-led and women/girls serving organizations.

Partner support and capacity sharing

•Facilitate the collaborative development and delivery of the partner project support plan, ensuring that it appropriately addresses issues identified in the due diligence process, and coordinate with relevant departments for the timely, quality implementation of the plan.

•Ensure IRC understands partner capacity strengthening priorities and identifies opportunities and plans for IRC to support partner capacity strengthening efforts.

•Promote efforts to strengthen the understanding and application of PEERS and partnership Principles, skills and approaches in all departments.

•Ensure the implementation of partner strengthening and monitoring plans by all relevant departments (supply chain, technical sectors, finance, monitoring and evaluation) so that partners build effective internal systems.

•Support the resourcing of organizational development support where appropriate for partners in liaison with finance and program departments.

•Collaborate with technical coordinators to integrate technical capacity sharing approaches, including how IRC can learn from local partners.

•Promote and identify ways for continual learning between IRC staff and partners.

Key working relationships

Position reports to: Partnership Coordinator

Direct reporting: N/A

Other internal contacts: County Director, Deputy Finance Controller, Deputy HR Coordinator, Grants team, MEAL Coordinator, Technical Coordinators, Field Coordinators, Supply Chain Coordinator, Program Coordinator for Quality and Learning, global and regional partnerships team, regional grants/compliance teams.

Qualifications

•Bachelor’s degree in relevant discipline, Master’s degree a plus.

•At least 5 years work experience in the NGO environment.

•Demonstrated successful experience working with partners or consortium management.

•Demonstrable understanding of project planning and management cycles, and strong program design and implementation skills.

•Significant knowledge of key donor rules and regulations (U.S. Government, ECHO, UNHCR, Lego Foundation, IKEA Foundation).

•Highly organized, close attention to detail, and ability to effectively prioritize tasks in a fluid environment.

•Ability to independently organize work and prioritize tasks.

•Willingness to travel frequently to the field offices of sub-grantees.

•Professional fluency in spoken and written English; able to communicate concisely and with impact.

•Very strong English writing and editing skills; strong computer skills.

Deadline for receiving applications is 27th March 2023.

Professional Standards

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability and Equality. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, Anti-Retaliation, Combating Trafficking in Persons, and several others.

Gender Equality & Equal Opportunity

We are committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer generous 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. We welcome and strongly encourage qualified female professionals to apply.

IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants based on merit without regard to race, sex, colour, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.