Partnership Manager

Job Purpose:

The Partnership Manager will work within the wider Concern Lebanon team to support mapping, relationship building and engagement with local partners, ensuring trusted, effective partnership are supporting the mission of Concern to eliminate poverty, effective mutual capacity development towards long-term organizational development objectives. S/he will be responsible for managing Concern’s relationship with partner organizations in the Lebanon in coordination with partner focal points in each department, and coordinating the liaison and communication with local partners, on both technical and operational aspects of the partnership(s). S/he will work closely with the Concern Management Teams at both Country Office level and Field Office level, as well as the Partnership Advisor based in HQ. S/he will also liaise with stakeholders at the national and regional levels such as relevant sector coordinators and local organization coordination fora, as appropriate.

Main duties &  Responsibilities:

Partner Relationships and Engagement:

Foster a relationship of accompaniment, close mentoring and mutual respect with partner organizations.

Consider new partnerships which ensure a creative and dynamic programme through new contacts and field visits.

Constructively support partners’ management capacity in the various stages of project cycle management.

Document learning from the country offices’ engagement and collaboration with partners and share with Concern’s global Partnership Advisor and Concern Worldwide globally where appropriate.

Partner Selection and Assessment:

Support to map and gather information on local partners in target areas for future partnerships and programmes.

Coordinate with local partner NGOs on negotiations and signing partnership agreements or MOUs in consultation with Programme Director.

Support on due diligence assessments of existing and potential new programme partners.

Lead on the organizational capacity support assessments, planning and processes for each of Concern’s local partners

Work with partners to identify gaps in policies and procedures, technical capacity gaps, facilitate development of targeted capacity development plans and ensure timely capacity building support from relevant Concern departments.

Coordinate with other INGOs and Alliance 2015 to map national NGOs already assessed.

Partnership Mutual Capacity Development:

Undertake joint learning sessions between Concern and local partners.

In coordination and consultation with the partners, develop capacity strengthening plans based on partners’ identified areas for support.

Coordinate the implementation of capacity strengthening activities for local partners, in collaboration with relevant technical staff and/or consultants as appropriate.

Monitor the progress and performance of partners following the implementation of the capacity support activities.

Support partners and provide capacity strengthening assistance in every aspect of project management, including project/programme development; work-planning; implementation and tracking of activities; monitoring, evaluation and learning; budget monitoring, procurement, logistics and financial management; and project adaptation to learning, as appropriate.

Establish and maintain relationships with Partnership/Capacity strengthening staff in other NGOs, institutions and with professional groups to remain abreast of trends and good practice around localization, partnership and organizational capacity strengthening.

Partnership Project Cycle Management:

Coordinate closely with the Concern’s Programme and Finance teams to ensure effective cooperative management of the implementation through partners; including regular review of progress against activity work plans, indicators and budgets, through meetings and follow up.

Conduct regular field visits to project sites to monitor programme quality, support the field-based partner staff in project implementation, and capture learning on what’s working well and/or opportunities for improvement.

Work with partner counterparts to develop and implement M&E Plans, report on findings and integrate learning into project activities, in coordination with Concern M&E team

Provide technical assistance to partners to ensure project implemention in accordance with the international humanitarian standards, including SPHERE, Core Humanitarian Standards, Humanitarian Accountability and Quality Management and mainstreaming of cross cutting themes like gender equality, do-no-harm principles and conflict sensitivity.

In coordination with the Programme Quality Coordinator and Safeguarding focal points support partners to ensure that accountability mechanisms are embedded into partner programme, with functioning communication methods and feedback handling mechanisms in place; including Concern’s safeguarding commitments.

Support partners in their compliance with donor guidelines, and that their procedures do not conflict with Concern’s policies on HR, Procurement, Logistics and Financial management.

Support partners to comply with both Concern and donor requirements on timely and quality narrative and financial reporting.

Programme Development:

Ensure that learning regarding programme quality (resulting from M&E and from other sources) is acted upon and incorporated into future programming, through facilitating learning and reflection amongst partners.

Work with partners to adapt and/or develop new interventions, including provision of technical and practical support on project design and budget development.

Support in the design and development of new projects and funding proposals with partners.

Design and participate in project/programme inception meetings, grant review meetings, and grant close out meetings with partners.

Organize and facilitate joint Concern and Local Partner staff project inception meetings with clear roles and responsibilities and timelines for follow up, including technical and operational aspects of the project implementation, communication channels, mutual capacity development, and agreed frequency and modality for regular review and follow up.

Organizational Learning and Representation:

Support the inclusion of partnership roles and responsibilities in the job descriptions of Concern staff at all levels, and conduct induction and periodic capacity building sessions for Concern staff, across programme, systems and finance departments, on partnership principles.

Work with the Concern Management Team to form a partnership task force to lead the implementation of the Partnership strategy.

Organize and facilitate partnership review meetings, to reflect on lesson’s learned and ensure accountability to our local partners.

Support Concern Lebanon teams to deliver on the country strategic plan objectives on building strong partnerships, and on the implementation of the Partnership Strategy.

Represent Concern in networks or platforms focused on partner capacity strengthening and the localization agenda.

Identify opportunities to share learning by partners and at relevant fora (e.g. Capacity Strengthening Working Groups, Localization Community of Practice, webinars, etc.).

People Management:

Work with the Concern Management Team to ensure that all the relevant department positions have partnership roles and responsibilities in their job descriptions, set SMART objectives against them, and are aware of the success criteria relating to these roles.

Proactively identify and recommend adaptions to the Concern staff structure from learning during partnership review and/or the capacity strengthening plans developed with new partners during partner assessment and proposal development.

Line manage dedicated partnership positions, contributing to their capacity building and career development through technical support and on-the-job training and coaching, including a thorough induction at the start of their contract.

Other:

Actively participate in collective exercises such as preparation or updates of Preparing for Effective Emergency Response (PEER) plan, Security Management Plan (SMP) and other Concern initiatives. 

Take active measures to address equality issues, particularly relating to gender, in programme as well as operational activities.

Ensure the highest stands of accountability through ensuring good communication and information sharing within and outside the organisation.

Be aware of, understand and comply with all of Concern’s policies and procedures (P4, finance, logistics, HR, security management etc).

Contribute to ongoing security management and planning as necessary.

Actively participate in any emergency response if called upon to do so (within the existing programme area or in a new one).

Undertake other related duties as may reasonably be assigned by the Country Director or Programme Director.

Emergency response:

Concern is committed to responding to emergencies efficiently and effectively in order to help affected people meet their basic needs, alleviate suffering and maintain their dignity. To this end, when emergencies strike and Lebanon Programme is to respond, all staff are required to actively participate in the response, regardless of location and contribute to the efforts aimed at achieving the humanitarian objective of the organization.

Person specification:

Essential

Post Graduate Degree in Development or a related discipline

At least five years of relevant experience with an NGO, UN agency or donor

At least one year of senior management experience with NGO

Experience of partnership approach and capacity development of partner staff

Demonstrable facilitation skills, including ability to facilitate difficult conversations

Demonstrable mind-set of and passion for continuous learning and process improvement

Experience of organisation representation, advocacy and coordination with NGOs/UN, donors

Special Skills, Aptitude or Personality Requirements:

Aptitude to inspire creative growth, innovation and learning.

Advocacy to stakeholders for resources and recognition of complex development problems.

Strong human resource management skills including capacity building and mentoring.

Budget and fiscal oversight.

Ability and personal resilience to work in fast paced, dynamic and pressurised environment.

Excellent written and oral communications skills in English for representation and negotiation.

Job Location:

Beirut, with up to 50% travel to field locations in Lebanon