Partnership Manager

All NRC employees are expected to work in accordance with the organisation’s core values: dedication, innovation, inclusivity and accountability. These attitudes and believes shall guide our actions and relationships.

Background

NRC’s Lebanon country programme consists nearly 450 staff and in 2019, NRC’s programmes in Lebanon reached nearly 330,314 refugee and host community beneficiaries. In Lebanon, NRC implements information, counselling and legal assistance (ICLA), shelter, WASH and education for Syrian and Palestinian refugees, as well as vulnerable Lebanese. NRC Lebanon’s Covid-19 response includes crosscutting activities and sector-specific Covid-19 work in the area of water, sanitation and hygiene, shelter, ICLA and education. NRC has also been implementing activities together with other NGOs to extend its access to people in need. The budget for 2019 exceeded USD 33 million.

To work in partnership most effectively, NRC Lebanon will need to strengthen its internal systems and develop standard operating procedures for partnership management, building on NRC’s existing partnership toolkit. Partner capacity building requires inputs across NRC teams, from Finance, M&E, Programmes and others; effective partnership management will require greater internal coordination and leadership. Partner mapping and risk analysis must also be adapted for the Lebanon context and implemented.

This role requires a diverse set of skills including an understanding of partnership programming in protracted crisis, strategizing, ability to operationalize strategies and the ability to collaboratively develop practical field-oriented partnership tools and guidance. The successful candidate will be a strong networker with the ability to explain and share knowledge with a wide range of stakeholders.

1. Role and responsibilities

The purpose of the Partnership Manager position is to develop and implement the NRC Lebanon Partnership Strategy, ensuring the application and effective implementation of appropriate systems and practices. The Partnership Manager will promote ways of working that respect partner contributions to the achievement of the programmatic goals and support adherence to humanitarian principles. The position will be required to provide practical support and guidance to the rest of the programme team on these aspects. The Partnership Manager will also be directly responsible for operational capacity building of key partners on crosscutting support functions and overall organizational management. The position will be part of the Programme Support Unit, comprising of the Grants team, M&E team, Protection Advisor, and the Accountability team and work closely with the Technical Specialists, Support teams and Project Managers to ensure effective development and implementation of partnership strategy, including development of tools and their application in the field.

Generic responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational guidance, to the NRC Country Office in relation to partnerships in Lebanon.
• Ensure a harmonised approach to partnership among NRC Lebanon programme response and NRC partners in line with NRC policy, guidance notes and toolkits.
• Support programme development where partnership is identified as a key methodology for achieving outcomes.
• Support learning and development of staff on issues of partnership.

Specific responsibilities

• Lead the development and implementation of NRC Lebanon overall strategy and operational methodology for engagement with public, private, and civil society stakeholders.
• Coordinate the set-up of new consortia and partnerships, and lead the preparation of new proposals and budgets.
• Responsible for ensuring a structured approach to partnerships, including the development of tools for identifying, assessing, capacity building, monitoring and evaluating partnerships.
• Provide with support from the partnership team direct capacity building to partners in cross – cutting issues (M&E, Protection, Accountability, Finance, Procurement) and operational good practices.    
• Engage in networking, information gathering and context analysis that contributes to NRC’s ability to make strategic and informed decisions in support of NRC’s programmatic goals.
• Actively integrate partner feedback into tools and guidance and ensure strong mutual learning between NRC and its partners.
• Act as focal point for contracting and sub – granting related issues to NRC operational partners.
• Work actively with the protection and compliance unit to ensure strong mainstreaming of core NRC principles across operational partners.

Critical interfaces

By interfaces, NRC means processes and projects that are interlinked with other departments/units or persons. Relevant interfaces for this position are:

• Head of Programme Support, Head of Programme, Head of Support
• Technical Specialists and Project Managers, Project Coordinators, Support Managers
• Area Managers, Grants Manager, M&E Manager, Finance Manager, Protection Advisor, Accountability Coordinator, Compliance Coordinator

2. Competencies

Competencies are important in order for the employee and the organisation to deliver desired results. They are relevant for all staff and are divided into the following two categories:

1. Professional competencies

These are skills, knowledge and experience that are important for effective performance.

Generic professional competencies:

• Master’s degree in related field (preferred)
• Minimum 7 years’ experience in humanitarian/development field, with minimum 5 years of experience in programmes related to building Public Private Partnerships, social entrepreneurship, community development, youth engagement, local governance, or civil society strengthening projects;
• Excellent coordination, communication (verbal and written) and networking skills;
• Documented/proven results related to the position’s responsibilities

Context/ Specific skills, knowledge and experience:

• Experience of designing and implementing partnership programming
• Understanding of Protection Principles and Principles of Partnership
• Knowledge of the context in Lebanon/ the Middle East
• Knowledge of Arabic considered an asset

2. Behavioral competencies

These are personal qualities that influence how successful people are in their job. NRC’s Competency Framework states 12 behavioural competencies and the following are essential for this position:

• Strategic thinking
• Influencing
• Empowering and building trust
• Analyzing
• Communicating with impact and respect
• Planning and delivering results