Senior Director, Institutional Partnerships at Center For Reproductive Rights

The Role:

• Reporting to the Chief Development Officer, the Senior Director Institutional Partnerships leads the implementation of a comprehensive strategy for building and sustaining donor relationships with bilateral and multilateral funders and Foundations. The Senior Director is charged with identifying, securing and stewarding funds from Government, Foundations and multilateral sources to support the expansion of the Center’s global and US programs, while building the foundation for future expanded support. The Senior Director oversees relationship-building and cultivation efforts, understands donor priorities and funding trends, leads the team in submitting responsive proposals, ensures that program initiatives are linked to donor interests, and supports the capacity building of regional program staff as key partners in securing and managing grants and sub-grants from institutional funders and stewarding donor relationships. The post holder will build and lead a high performing team that will ensure high quality delivery and technical excellence across the grant lifecycle.

This position will be located in Nairobi, Kenya.
Primary Responsibilities:
Leadership

• Set and meet annual and multiyear revenue goals.
• Attract, supervise, lead and develop the Institutional Funding Team to build a highly skilled and efficient unit providing high quality support and guidance to Global Programs, Government and External Relations and Regional Teams.
• Lead the Centre’s institutional funding efforts, overseeing the development of the highest quality standards, policies, guidelines and processes.
• Advise the Center’s Executive Team on current and anticipated changes in institutional donor priorities to inform strategy, engagement and decisions
• Represent the Center at external events and meetings, including with partner organizations, donors, and global and regional convenings.

Strategy

• Lead the development of the institutional funding work plan with clear targets and KPIs.
• Drive forward the external engagement strategy to ensure that the Center is positioned as a premier, effective Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) agency in the view of priority institutional funding partners.
• Support the institutionalization of robust proposal development and grant management processes across the grant life cycle.
• Work closely with Global Programs, Government and External Relations, and Regional Teams to increase their capacity to engage with and mobilize funding from institutional funders, including overseeing the integration and build-up of commons ways of working, policies and procedure needed to secure and manage funding from institutional funders.

Business Development

• Develop and deepen relationships with select priority funders and strategic partners.
• Help shape funders’ programs where we have the opportunity to do so.
• Review bid opportunities with Regional Directors and ensure timely decision making around go/no go procedures, escalating where appropriate.
• Lead and manage the submission of funding opportunities to ensure high quality cohesive proposals that are compliant with donor specifications.
• Work across teams to ensure support for the management of grants and sub grants through ongoing advice and support form inception, including staff recruitment, contract negotiation, development of systems and processes, delivery of key milestones, reporting, and providing technical support.
• Lead across teams to develop high quality tools and systems across the grant life cycle, including managing sub award agreements.
• Negotiate with international and local NGOs as appropriate to establish partnerships for existing and future program development opportunities.
• Hold debriefings with proposal teams to identify and document lessons learned and best practices for program development efforts.
• Provide leadership support to build the capacity of the Center’s Regional Offices to build relationships with priority donors, develop quality proposals and reports, and drive new funding for the Center’s programs.

Management

• Provide leadership and mentoring to program staff on identifying and cultivating new donor prospects and on the packaging and pitching of existing or proposed work.
• Ensure smooth integration of development goals with program priorities.
• Responsible for hiring, training and developing staff.
• Coach and mentor direct reports on performance and goal setting, provide timely feedback, and foster an environment that supports staff development.
• Develop, monitor and report on the team budget and KPIs.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree required; Master’s degree preferred in Business, Global Development, Human Development or a related field
• Extensive knowledge and understanding of the donor landscape around SRHR globally an asset
• Experience prospecting for and managing government grants
• Minimum of 20+ years progressive work experience in business and grant development - including 5 years at a senior leadership level.
• Track record of winning and effectively managing 6,7 and 8 figure awards
• High level of comfort interacting with institutional donors, and successful track record of managing high-level donor relationships.
• Demonstrated leadership skills and ability to manage, develop and engage a multi-location team. Prior budget management responsibility required.
• Proven negotiation skills and the ability to make sound decisions and apply creative problem solving
• Excellent communications skills including written and oral communications, and the ability to effectively influence and convince internal and external stakeholders
• Analytical thinker, detail-oriented, team player who takes initiative and can work independently.
• Experience working in development and/or humanitarian contexts, preferably for an INGO or international organization (e.g. UN, major donor), preferably with some time spent in the field
• Commitment to the Center’s mission, purpose, and values.

Don’t meet every single requirement? At the Center, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you are excited about this role but your past experience does not align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.
Leadership Competencies:

• Leading the Work (Strategy & Implementation): Generates new ideas, develops long-term objectives and strategies that align with institutional priorities, and translates them into actionable plans.
• Leading Others: Inspires commitment; develops and empowers staff; identifies and mentors the next generation of organization leaders; establishes results-oriented culture in teams.
• Leading by Personal Example: Models organizational values; takes action and is courageous; projects confidence and steadiness; learns from experience and is self-aware.
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Attracts, develops and retains a diverse team; recognizes the many dimensions of diversity and the particular harms of anti-Black racism and colonialism; considers equity in decisions and processes internally and externally; demonstrates inclusive leadership behaviors.