Partnership Coordinator

DISCLAIMER It is mandatory to mention the job title in the subject of your application email Applicants who do not mention the position they are applying for will be disregarded DISCLAIMER It is mandatory to mention the job title in the subject of your application email Applicants who do not mention the position they are applying for will be disregarded DISCLAIMER It is mandatory to mention the job title in the subject of your application email Applicants who do not mention the position they are applying for will be disregarded   GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY: The Partnership Coordinator will work closely with both program teams and support teams, to develop Mercy Corps Lebanon partnership strategy.  S/He will be the focal point for maintaining Mercy Corps Lebanon’s adherence to Mercy Corps’ partnership policies and procedures across all of Mercy Corps’ programming in Lebanon. S/He will maintain and update partner tools and relevance, assist with identifying new partners based upon strategic priorities for Mercy Corps.  S/He will lead the development of partner capacity building protocols for MC Lebanon, produce training materials as required in line with Mercy Corps’ partnership policy, and assist program teams and supporting departments to initiate and maintain strong, mutually beneficially partnerships with local organizations.   PROGRAM/DEPARTMENT SUMMARY: Working in Lebanon since 1993, Mercy Corps has been running community development programs focused on promoting economic development and increased opportunity for disadvantaged communities, while responding to emergencies as they have emerged. The program portfolio has expanded in response to the massive refugee influx from Syria.  To date, more than one and a half million refugees have fled to Lebanon. As numbers have continued to increase, humanitarian conditions are deteriorating.  The burden on host communities and the financial and emotional stress on refugees and their hosts is tremendous. Mercy Corps is responding to these needs by addressing urgent basic needs, child protection as well as the psychosocial impact of the conflict and displacement.  At the same time, Mercy Corps’ programmatic focus is on mitigating social tensions between hosts and refugees, particularly over economic resources, by addressing both livelihood opportunities, conflict mitigation capacity and local government capacity.    The Mercy Corps Lebanon team consists of over 180 staff working across five offices throughout Mount Lebanon, South Lebanon, Tripoli and the Bekaa Valley.  The Performance and Quality (PaQ) unit collaborates with program teams, supporting departments and partners to use evidence to design and deliver relevant and impactful programs that improve the lives of beneficiaries. The PaQ unit supports team development and assists teams to stay accountable to the principles of good program management, as well as to our end beneficiaries and other stakeholders.  The PaQ unit consists of a partnership coordinator, monitoring, learning and evaluation advisor, information and accountability manager, communications coordinator and reporting coordinator.    ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:   PARTNERSHIP STRATEGY AND CAPACITY BUILDING: Develop and internally disseminate MC Lebanon’s partnership approach, taking into account Mercy Corp’s vision for change, articulating our commitment to partner capacity building and settling clear objectives and measures of success for partnership at MC Lebanon. Work closely with the sub-grant management team and program teams to develop clear policies and procedures that help in assessing the capacity of potential partners Work with the Finance team, Human Resources, Operations and Performance and Quality teams to develop guidelines for use by partners in organizational management, including budgeting and reporting; procurement and supply planning; human resource management and recruitment, monitoring, evaluation and reporting best practices, documentation and communication requirements. Support the building of partners’ capacity and understanding on Mercy Corps core values including Do No Harm, Accountability to beneficiaries, Gender Equity and Humanitarian conduct. Support, and lead where necessary, the development of high quality partner capacity building plans, curriculum and tools. Work with Mercy Corps’ Program and Support teams to improve ongoing coaching for partners, focusing particularly on Financial Compliance, Monitoring & Evaluation, Accountability and Learning. Support with the recruitment of consultants and staff that have a role in partner capacity building Support with the recruitment and orientation of a national partnership coordinator   PARTNER SELECTION: Maintain and promote the partner identification, assessment and selection tools and procedures and suggest appropriate improvements when necessary. Work with the Sub Grant Management Team  and Program teams to maintain and update the database of partners across Mercy Corps in Lebanon (sectors, geographic, affiliates) and advise senior management as to further steps to consolidate institutional memory. Identify key domains in which Mercy Corps wishes to develop institutional partnerships, assess civil society sector and networks, as well as potential partners from private and public sector that respond to these needs, identifying opportunities for added-value to Mercy Corps’ programming Support program teams in the assessment and identification of new partners, and development of roles and responsibilities at program level, including during the design of new programs. ·         Support program teams to develop annexes for the sub-grant agreements with partners (scope of work, workplan, logframe and indicators, narrative report formats).   PARTNERSHIP AND SUBGRANT POLICIES, PROCESSES, PROCEDURES AND TOOLS: Assess current weaknesses, strengths and challenges that govern the working relationships between Mercy Corps and partner organizations, in consultation with MC Lebanon staff and partner organizations Update, finalize and coordinate the translation of the Partnerships and Sub-grants document Update and share the document relating to 'Partnership Tools, processes and procedures' in Lebanon Coordinate with headquarters governance and partnership team and private partnerships advisor to identify existing tools that can be adapted to the Lebanon context. Develop or update as appropriate tools and materials to improve the management and quality of partner relations Work with Mercy Corps supporting departments and program staff to support application of Mercy Corps’ partnership policies and procedures in program implementation.   ASSESSMENT OF PARTNER WORKING RELATIONS:   Initiate and facilitate peer reviews with Mercy Corps’ partners to inform future partnership approaches and program implementation, and to further shape roles and responsibilities within partnerships through clear understanding of Mercy Corps’ added value.   OTHER:   Ensure all activities are gender sensitive and follow Mercy Corps’ Gender Equity Policy Apply Do No Harm standards to ensure activities do not have detrimental effects on vulnerable communities Participate in internal office coordination and planning meetings and workshops Support the Program Performance and Quality Unit with other tasks as assigned   Accountability to Beneficiaries Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects. Organizational Learning  As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.   SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY: No direct supervision of staff ACCOUNTABILITY: REPORTS DIRECTLY TO: Performance and Quality Manager   WORKS DIRECTLY WITH: Director of Programs, Program Managers, Program Teams, Sub-Grant Management Team (SGMT), Technical Support Units and Compliance, Risk and Governance teams at Mercy Corps’ headquarters, Performance and Quality Team.   KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE: Bachelor’s Degree in a related field required; Master’s Degree desirable  Minimum of two years’ experience from working in an INGO/local NGO, preferably in both humanitarian and development programs Experience from working with social or political-related work, with good understanding of Lebanon’s current refugee and host community context Ability to analyse and summarize information, evaluate options and to think and plan strategically Excellent organizational skills Ability to work independently and calmly under pressure in a rapidly changing, multi-cultural context, whilst adhering to strict deadlines Excellent interpersonal, communication and presentation skills, and a proven ability to develop relationships; Must work well as a member of a team; Ability and willingness to travel regularly to the field Fluency in both written and spoken English and arabic, including the ability to craft documentation for different key audiences.  Commitment to and  understanding  of  Mercy Corps’  aims,  values  and principles  including rights-based approaches   SUCCESS FACTORS: The successful Partnership Coordinator will be bright, energetic, hard-working and eager to learn.  S/he will take a deep personal interest in humanitarian and development assistance.  S/he will have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability. S/he will be attentive to detail and able to carry out assigned tasks in a timely manner and according to a very high standard of quality.  S/he will be creative and flexible, contributing to developing and encouraging new and innovative solutions, but at the same time will not have any difficulty in adhering to systems and procedures. S/he will strictly follow all protocols related to safety and security, and holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Mercy Corps’ values.  The most successful Mercy Corps staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations.