Regional Partnership Advisor (Strategy and Implementation) at Plan International

Job Description (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Plan International was founded over 75 years ago with a mission to promote and protect the rights of children. The organisation was set up by British journalist John Langdon-Davies and refugee worker Eric Muggeridge in , with the original aim to provide food, accommodation and education to children whose lives had been disrupted by the Spanish Civil War.THE ROLE The role holder is expected to work with the Kenya Country Office with approx. 25% of his/her time allocated to working with and supporting other COs in the MEESA region. He/ she shall focus on creating a consistent approach to how we work with partners but also working on strategy level and reporting on the goals set out in the new global strategy that refer to partnership engagement.The role primarily focuses on developing partnership strategy at the Country Office level and supporting the region in enhancing the quality of partnership management processes and practices. the post holder will work closely with colleagues at Regional Hub levels to embed good practices on partnering within Plan’s operational processes, responding to organisational learning and demand, and connecting closely with the global partnerships team and projects and funds team to ensure strong technical alignment and feedback processes are integrated into daily work.The position focuses on providing technical support to Kenya Office primarily while extending support to countries within the MEESA region aiming to support them to develop good partnership operational management practices which enable Plan International and our partners to work on more equal terms, and with strong mutual oversight in our work together. It involves a mixture of providing technical advice and guidance, developing and facilitating training and materials for colleagues and partners, supporting organisational learning through formal and informal processes, and providing direct, demand driven coaching and mentoring to country offices in order to strengthen organisational partnering practices, systems and processes.To succeed, you will need to enjoy working with a wide range of stakeholders, have strong communication and relationship building skills, and a service orientated approach to your work.KEY RELATIONSHIPS Work closely with the Plan Kenya BD unit, Director of Programme Strategy to coordinate efforts in partners’ mapping and formulating a partnership strategy aligned with Country strategy and Resource Mobilization Strategy.Global Partnership Team to share learning and support global initiativesProjects and Funds Team (GH) to share learning and get support on working with partners in the project cycle.Regional and Country Offices to support working in partnership25% – Support other COs in the MEESA region to create a consistent approach to how we work with partners but also working on strategy level and reporting on the goals set out in the new global strategy that refer to partnership engagement.Other organisations and forums externally, for representation, coordination, collaboration, learning and advocacy LEVEL OF CONTACT WITH CHILDREN Medium contact: Medium level PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT It is an Office-based environment, the office is located at Plan Kenya (Nairobi). The Post holder will be expected to travel in the region as required ACCOUNTABILITIESTechnical support to ensure strong partnership management practices are integrated across all stages of the project cycle in programming and influencing work – 30% Support Kenya Office (programmes/ projects) to develop partnership strategies aligned with Plan’s global ambitions, and support the other offices within the region to replicate the same strategies each localised according to their country strategies and other core organisational guidance, for example Plan International’s ‘ready to respond in emergencies’ guide and conduct partnership mapping aligned with respective partnership strategies.Develop, apply and advise on the adaptation of contextually relevant guidance and tools to strengthen equitable partnership approaches and improve the quality of Plan’s programming and influencing work when working with partners and partnering relationships, including mutual partnership appraisals, partnership monitoring tools and partnership evaluation/ impact toolsAdvise on strategies to mitigate risk in specific partnerships where partnership risk assessment processes have raised issues with potential to impede the effectiveness of the collaboration, such as power dynamics in partnership relationship management, conflict sensitivity and shrinking civic space.Provide advice and support to Kenya office prioritised recommendations from partnership review processes, including annual partnership reviews, the annual partnership survey and programme, audit findings and project and programme evaluations where there are implications for principled, equitable partnering.On request, provide in-depth analytical support for partnership portfolio reviews/ deep dives in relation to working with diverse actors, application of partnership principles and equitable partnership management approaches, and provide technical advice and coaching on process improvement.Technical advice to on the application of partnership models in proposal/ project development Upskilling and capacity development support- 30% Work closely with business development team and Project teams on the alignment of proposal and project development with Plan International’s priorities on equitable partnering and the integration of civil society strengthening approachesDevelop and provide training to key staff on advancing equitable partnership approaches and quality partnership management with diverse actorsSupport in developing appropriate training materials/ resources to use with partners to strengthen partner capacities for partneringAdvise other functional areas on the development of partner friendly training materials/ resources to strengthen partner capacitiesDevelop a regional bank of capacity strengthening resources on partnering approaches and practices, and civil society strengthening and share appropriate resources with COs for use in capacity strengthening work Direct support for regional partnerships/ regional programmes-20% Support MEESA regional hub to adapt business development, partnership management and oversight systems for monitoring country office partnership management, including the management of multi-country projects involving partners.Support regional hub to develop and strengthen partnership management processes for regional partnerships – including due diligence, risk identification, partnership agreements, resourcing requirements and capacity strengthening plans. Monitoring, evaluation, accountability, research and learning-10% Active participation in regional spaces to advance learning on partnership approaches for programming and influencing in line with Plan International’s strategic ambitions and supporting the development of appropriate regional management action plansOn request, support and advise country offices in their response to external audit findings and approach to actioning recommendations on partnership management findings.Lead and co-ordinate regional engagement around research and knowledge products connected to partnering practices and civil society strengthening, as appropriate, and socialisation of outputs and learningsLead and co-ordinate a regional community of practice on partnerships and civil society strengthening, and actively participate and contribute to global community of practices on partnerships and civil society strengthening, civic space, working with young people and others (as relevant)Facilitate the documentation and sharing of partnership experiences and learnings on civil society strengthening, including good practices, lessons learnt and innovation among Plan COs and CSO partners.Monitor the environment for civil society across the region and ensure analysis is shared with relevant programs, initiatives and networks. Safeguarding Children and Young People (Safeguarding) and Gender Equality and Inclusion (GEI) 5% Understands and puts into practice the responsibilities under Safeguarding and GEI policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), ensuring that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures.Leads the orientation of programme staff to ensure that they are properly inducted on and understands their role in upholding Plan International’s safeguarding and GEI policies;Ensures that Plan International’s global policies for Safeguarding Children and Young People and Gender Equality and Inclusion are fully embedded in project design, during implementation and as principles applied in day-to-day work of Programme team;Ensures that Plan Kenya contributes to Plan International’s global efforts to ensure safeguarding and GEI, including making sure that relevant reporting and data are submitted. Other duties (5%) Any other assignment within the scope of work. TECHNICAL EXPERTISE, SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGEKnowledge Master’s degree in Development Studies, social sciences or another related field; At least 10 years of progressively responsible of supporting country programmes and partnerships in different operating contexts within the humanitarian sector in Kenya and MEESA region.5 Years in a leadership/managerial roleFluency and excellent command of English language with a high level of English writing skillsIn depth knowledge on the concept of and trends in civil society strengthening and effective partnership building in development and humanitarian contextUnderstanding the nature and approaches of key movements, actors and institutions relevant to Plan’s ambitions and activitiesUnderstanding and deploying participatory approaches which strengthen civil society, including with children and young peopleExperience of developing partnership strategies (including approaches to localisation), and designing partnership systems and toolExperience of networking with humanitarian and development actors and robust knowledge of humanitarian architecture, coordination mechanisms and sector trendsDemonstrated success in building consensus among diverse stakeholders and working with virtual teams.Ability to critically analyse data and evidence to innovate, deliver, learn and share what works and what doesn’t work for children and youth, partnerships and civil society strengtheningTraining, facilitation and capacity building experience for staff capacity strengthening and partner organisational developmentA sound understanding of power and privilege, gender equality and inclusion, and working with a rights-based perspective Skills Excellent interpersonal skills: ability to develop and maintain successful professional relationships at all levelsAbility to motivate teams and encourage learning and development opportunities.Proven experience in designing and delivering bespoke training packages for diverse stakeholdersAbility to and experience of coaching and mentoring colleagues and partners in their daily work by explaining key concepts; familiarising them with standards and resources; and working alongside them on the application of technical knowhowStrong communication and information presentation skills.Excellent organisational and time management skills; proactive problem solver and self-motivated.Ability to work under pressure and to meet challenging deadlines.Ability to analyse complex organisational challenges and present innovative solutions. Behaviours Demonstrable commitment to safeguarding and creates an environment where children, young people, partners and colleagues are supported and safeUpholds and demonstrates Plan International’s values and behavioursHas the courage to challenge the status quo, to question the way we work, especially when work or behaviour is not of the quality requiredStrives for high quality in all they do, respecting deadlines, working continuously to improve performancePro-actively working to support mutuality and equal working in all relationships, and taking action to address power imbalancesHelps the team to achieve their goals and creates an environment where colleagues, teams and partners feel comfortable to ask for help and have space to growListens to and understands views of colleagues and partners. Draws on their experience to ensure high quality workAdjusts approaches, communication style and behaviour to work effectively across cultures and with diverse stakeholders and communitiesActively promoting diversity, gender equality and inclusion internally and externally.Actively contributing to both internal and external information-sharing network