The Senior Partnership Manager (SPM) will support the IRC Tanzania Country Program in its strategic management and oversight of its robust partnerships across the country. The SPM will facilitate the Tanzania team’s delivery of high-quality partnerships that are strategic for IRC, compliant with IRC and donor requirements in order to provide quality services and outcomes for the communities we serve, consistent with the IRC’s PEER System. Working in close collaboration with the programs, grants and operations departments, the SPM will oversee all steps in the partnership management lifecycle ensuring that partnerships are appropriately integrated into the overall project cycle management.

With the support of the Senior Management Team and in coordination with the Deputy Director of Programmes and the Grants Coordinator in particular, the Senior Partnerships Manager will also be a leader in building and promoting a culture, attitudes, and values conducive to collaborative partnerships among the team on mutual planning, trust building and assessment and facilitation of partners for the IRC Tanzania Programme.

The Senior Partnerships Manager will report directly to the Deputy Director of Programmes. The Senior Partnerships Manager is based in Dar es Salaam, with travel to the field sites when necessary.

Areas of Responsibility:

Strategy and Program Approach

Co-facilitate and support robust stakeholder analysis processes and informed decisions in each outcome area as to whether working in partnership with local civil society, government and private sector actors, or implementing services directly, or both, will produce the best outcomes for the people we serve.

Collaborate with technical coordinators to proactively identify potential partnerships with local and national organizations, including those that are led by women and serve women and girls.

Co-facilitate and guide partner mapping and selection processes to identify new partners, including to identify women-led and women/girls serving organizations.

Proactively engage partners in program development efforts.

Provide support and facilitation to the SMT to- evolve the structures and partnership practices and process.

Collaborate with TCs to build partnership relationships with civil society organizations, government entities and private sector actors, as well as with networks, including to establish and foster strategic partnerships consistent with the SAP targets

Promote Effective Partnership

Promote and apply the IRC’s Partnership Excellence for Equality and Results system (PEERS). Contribute to building a strong understanding of PEERS throughout the Country Programme and to ensure that IRC’s partnership principles, skills and approaches are applied by staff across programs and projects with partners.

In collaboration with TCs, promote and support approaches that maximize collaboration with partners in program design and decision making, and equitable resource allocation, consistent with PEERS and Impact Standards

Facilitate systematic partner feedback on IRC’s management of the partnership relationship, including the documentation of, and response to partner feedback.

Monitor for opportunities to improve IRC’s overall performance as a partner and make periodic recommendations to SMT.

Provide a quarterly Partnership Management Report to the SMT, incorporating input from technical coordinators and operational leads as appropriate.

 Manage the Partnership Working Group (co-responsible for delivering the functions of the PWG), including referral of issues to Senior Management Team as appropriate.

Partnership Agreement Management

With support from the Grants Coordinator, facilitate and coordinate partnership management processes to ensure well planned, timely, coordinated, and coherent partnership management.

Co-facilitate and guide competitive and non-competitive partner selection processes to identify new partners, as well as new applications from existing partners.

Manage and facilitate funding opportunities for local and national civil society organizations, making efforts to target women-led and women/girls serving organizations.

Coordinate and co-lead Partner Identity and Background Review (Vetting) processes, including completion of the report for approval.

Coordinate and co-lead Partner’s Project Capacity Review (PPCR) processes, including contributing to and facilitating the collaborative risk analysis and management. Promote and guide principled, collaborative risk analysis and management with partners across all organizational functions, consistent with PEERS, and advise on material risk mitigation.

Determine appropriate partnership agreement type and draft agreement, taking into account the due diligence outcomes and specific project and donor requirements, liaising with HQ for review and approval (and obtaining donor approvals as necessary).

Co-lead Partnership Project Opening, Review and Closing Meetings, together with the Technical Coordinator and facilitate partners’ involvement in IRC project cycle meetings where relevant.

Coordinate and participate in timely and effective partner program, finance, and compliance review and reflection (monitoring), and work with the Technical Coordinator to address any project performance issues.

Coordinate narrative and finance reporting processes, including review and feedback.

Liaise with finance to achieve timely funds transfers and proper financial follow up and support for partners; work with finance to address any challenges in payments and raise proposed disallowed costs to SMT.

Work collaboratively with partners and IRC staff to constructively resolve any issues that may arise.

Where partner performance issues are identified, facilitate timely action by the IRC to address any areas of non-performance as they arise.

Maintain complete and organized partnership files for each partner.

Co-lead the review of the performance of the partner, of the IRC (including on the basis of partner feedback), and of the partnership, including successes, challenges and lessons learned, fostering ongoing partnerships beyond the sub-award project cycle.

Partner Support and Capacity Sharing

Facilitate the collaborative development and delivery of the partner project support plan, ensuring that it appropriately addresses issues identified in the due diligence process, and coordinate with relevant departments for the timely, quality implementation of the plan

Ensure IRC understands partner capacity strengthening priorities and identifies opportunities and plans for IRC to support partner capacity strengthening efforts.

Support the resourcing of organizational development support where appropriate for partners; coordinate organizational development support to partners.

Collaborate with technical coordinators to integrate technical capacity sharing approaches, including how IRC can learn from local partners.

Promote and identify ways for continual learning between IRC staff and partners.

 Partnership Resourcing, Training and Development:

•  Work with senior management team to ensure the partnerships management function is appropriately resourced and structured.

• Lead efforts to build a strong understanding and application of PEERS and partnership principles, skills and approaches among all departments.