Regional Institutional Partnership Development Advisor at SOS Children's Villages

Working location: Addis Ababa /Nairobi

Direct Supervisor: Director of Fund Development - ESAF

Region: Eastern and Southern Africa (ESAF)

Envisioning that every child belongs to a family and grows up with love, respect and security, we exist to build families for children in need, we help them shape their own futures, and we share in the development of their communities. Everything we do is guided by the firm belief that no child should grow up alone and that we need to improve care for children who are at risk, enabling them to overcome precarious conditions and to succeed in life. To achieve our mission, our strategy for the upcoming decade focuses on ensuring the best care of children, innovation, and effective collaboration with more partners. Our core values guiding who we are and what we do include courage to take action, commitment to keep our promises, trust to believe in each other, and accountability to be reliable Partners.

Mission of the position:

• The Institutional Partnership Advisor supports and advises the global IPD community (IPD network and MAs) in the development of partnerships with institutions, in order to significantly diversify and increase the financial resources available for national and international programmes.

Key performance areas and main responsibilities:

• Proactively identify and seek donor intelligence on new institutional funding opportunities that match beneficiary needs, organizational priorities and donor requirements.
• Support and coordinate the development of high quality concept notes and funding proposals for submission to institutional donors.
• Keep up-to-date with donor policy developments and trends, in the development and humanitarian sectors.
• Proactively engage donor agencies, regional networks and other stakeholders in fostering relations for collaborations and funding.
• Provide grant management and administration support for effective and efficient implementation of institutionally funded programs with a diverse group of donors, partners and staff.
• Facilitate and coordinate institutional funding activities such as cross regional Capacity building, Knowledge sharing and partnerships between General Secretariat (GSC), Promoting and Supporting Associations (PSA) and National Associations (NAs) and external stakeholders.
• Identify, organize and facilitate capacity building in proposal development, project design and management for NA’s through apprenticeship, webinars, trainings and knowledge transfer.
• Explore new opportunities for innovation mainly through research and close monitoring of cutting-edge approaches and dynamics in international development.
• Liaise closely with other internal functions and external stakeholders to guarantee adherence to organizational standards and to seek synergies wherever possible
• Lead and/or participate in cross-functional processes to enable SOS Children’s Villages to maximize its long-term net income and number of institutional partnerships
• Represent IPD Team in meetings/projects/workshops as appropriate
• Proactively identify and seek donor intelligence on new institutional funding opportunities that match beneficiary needs, organizational priorities and donor requirements.
• Support and coordinate the development of high quality concept notes and funding proposals for submission to institutional donors.
• Keep up-to-date with donor policy developments and trends, in the development and humanitarian sectors.
• Proactively engage donor agencies, regional networks and other stakeholders in fostering relations for collaborations and funding.
• Provide grant management and administration support for effective and efficient implementation of institutionally funded programs with a diverse group of donors, partners and staff.
• Facilitate and coordinate institutional funding activities such as cross regional Capacity building, Knowledge sharing and partnerships between General Secretariat (GSC), Promoting and Supporting Associations (PSA) and National Associations (NAs) and external stakeholders.

Requirements

Knowledge, Experience, Competencies and Skills

1. We are looking for a seasoned professional with minimum of 5 years of relevant work experience in grant writing and acquisition, donor contract management and partnership and network building.
2. Master Degree in International Development or other relevant studies OR 8 years’ experience in a similar role
3. Proven results in institutional partnership development in Africa, preferably within an international NGO/donor organization. Make sure your letter of motivation mention some of the successful proposals you have developed.
4. Demonstrable recent and substantial work experience in a similar role with a minimum 5 years’ experience and direct experience in application writing
5. Ability to work under pressure with minimal supervision to meet tight deadlines
6. A good team builder, innovative and creative, demonstrating high professional standards
7. Ability to translate organizational policy into practice
8. Experience in partnership development, supporting efficiency and relevance of regional networks, grant management & proposal development.
9. Proven track record of successfully training, developing/mentoring support staff in a decentralized environment
10. Ability to represent the organization at high level forums

Leadership competencies:

1. Analytical thinking skills and ability to influence others.
2. Experience in developing, managing and monitoring development projects by NGOs, including multi-actor programs funded by Institutional donors.
3. Willing to travel in and out of the region
4. Concrete experience of work and collaboration with national, international institutional donors

We offer

A diverse range of interesting tasks in a leading INGO multicultural working environment

As a responsible employer we provide a range of training schemes and encourage educational enhancement

A salary that will be commensurate with experience and qualifications

“SOS Children’s Villages International holds strict child safeguarding principles and a zero-tolerance policy for conducts of sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse in the workplace and other places where the organization’s activities are rendered. Parallel to technical competence, recruitment, selection and hiring decisions will give due emphasise to assessing candidates value congruence and thorough background checks, police clearance reference check processes”.**