Partnerships Manager

JOB OVERVIEW

The Partnerships Manager is a key position supporting the Ukraine Country Program. With the overall objective of achieving high quality and compliant programming, the main goal of this position is to manage a partnership portfolio and support the field office (and IRC Ukraine as a whole) to ensure effective sub-grants management and build strong, sustainable partners. The Partnerships Manager will coordinate the daily management of sub-awards under their management and invest in their sustainable growth and capacity for the Ukraine portfolio.  

This position will be based in Odesa, with occasional travel to other locations in Ukraine as permitted. As this is a fluid and rapidly changing context, the location of this position and length of assignment may change based on the needs of the program.  

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Promote Effective Partnerships

• 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 Program, and to ensuring that IRC’s partnership principles, skills and approaches are applied by staff across programs and projects with partners.
• Facilitate systematic partner feedback on IRC’s management of the partnership relationship, including the documentation of, and response to partner feedback.
• Support in building a culture of effective and respectful partnerships. Foster and Promote attitudes and values conducive to collaborative partnerships across the field staff and among partners based on a clear and shared understanding of IRC’s strategy, role and approach, and IRC’s core partnership principles.
•  Ensure that IRC’s partnership principles, skills, and approaches are applied across programs and projects.

Partnership Management

·Facilitation and coordination of all partnership management processes to ensure well planned, timely, coordinated and coherent partnership management.

• Lead in the overall management of all partnerships in your portfolio and all PEERS processes/documentation.
• Conduct & coordinate Partner Identity and Background Review (Vetting) processes, including completion of the vetting report.
• Coordinate and co-lead Partnership Capacity Analysis (PCA) processes, including contributing to and facilitating the collaborative risk analysis and management.
• Support facilitation of Partnership Project Cycle: Opening, review and Closing Meetings.
• Coordinate narrative and finance reporting processes, including reviews and feedback.
• Support IRC functional teams to ensure timely and effective partner program, finance, and compliance review and reflection (monitoring).
• Support the IRC functional teams to ensure project support plans are implemented in line with agreements.
• Process sub-awards modifications in a timely manner ensuring that the relevant IRC units (in-country and at the HQ) provide their inputs and approve the modification.
• Facilitate management processes to ensure the smooth close out of partner projects, as applicable.
• Maintain complete and organized partnership files for each partner, and ensure Partnership Project Tracker / Monitoring & Reporting Schedule and other trackers are kept up-to-date.

• Foster ongoing learning, honest dialogue, and reflection at team level to strengthen safeguarding, wellbeing and duty of care, and to promote IRC values and adherence to IRC policies.
• Lead by example and support IRC’s commitment to taking all necessary preventive measures and creating an environment where people feel safe and can report misconduct.

JOB REQUIREMENTS

Education:

• BA degree or equivalent in International Development or Affairs, Finance, Business or related field; Advanced degree a plus – or equivalent work experience

Experience:

·Experience with I/NGOs (desired)

·Demonstrated successful experience working with partners

·Knowledge of key donor rules and regulations (in particular U.S. Government, SIDA, and ECHO)

·Highly organized, close attention to detail, and ability to effectively prioritize tasks in a fluid environment

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

·English knowledge: at least upper-intermediate

·Ability to work well independently but also coordinate with other teams

·Willingness to travel frequently to field offices and partner locations

·Very strong computer skills.

REPORTING STRUCTURE AND TEAM COLLABORATION

• This position reports to the Kyiv-based Partnerships Coordinator in Kyiv, and supervises one Partnerships Officer. The Partnerships Manager closely collaborates with other Partnership team members, as well as program and operation colleagues in Odesa and Kyiv, and regional/HQ support teams.

WORK ENVIRONMENT AND OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION

These are some examples of other relevant information to include, but is not an exhaustive list. Include the points that are relevant for your position or add more.

• This role requires full-time work in the office or hybrid type of working is possible after probation period
• Travel to other locations is needed up to 30% of time
• Exempt from overtime
• Sometimes work on weekends may be required
• Work in the matrix organization
• Fast pace of working, multitasking and stressful work
• The organization cares about staff and provides flexible working options (start early-finish early, start later-finish later, remote work)
• Staff can ask for accommodation of a workplace. Specific requests can be discussed with HR.

IRC employees are eligible to the following benefits:

• Competitive salary
• Purposeful job and development opportunities

• English classes and unlimited online training courses
• Life Insurance
• Medical insurance for staff and family members
• Free psychological support to employees and their family members
• 30 calendar days of annual vacation with flexibility beyond the legally set minimum requirements
• Up to 10 days of paid medical leave