Job Responsibilities

• Lead the implementation of the NRC SRO Partnership Strategy. 
• Lead and facilitate the continued development and improvement of NRC SRO’s partnership Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and tools, based on lessons learned and feedback.
• Lead the identification and assessment of civil society, the private sector, academia and local authorities, as potential local partners.
• Build a network of key partners and stakeholders, keeping abreast of evolving trends (social, economic, and political), applying innovation approaches to partnership and project development.
• Facilitate the participation of local partners in NRC SRO’s annual strategy process.
• Support to develop a positive organisational culture to working with local partners.
• Liaise and coordinate with other functions when applying NRC SRO partnership SOPs, and tools throughout the project cycle.
• Lead a structured approach to partnerships, including the development of tools for identifying, assessing, capacity building, monitoring, and evaluating partnerships.
• Provide training and coaching support to programme and support staff to ensure they are clear on their roles and responsibilities with regards to partnership and how to do this.
• Contribute to meetings 'objectives and engagements with relevant actors.
• Proactively solve conflicts and address issues and misunderstandings that could occur between NRC and various partners.
• Coordinate regular partnership committee meetings to ensure senior management is kept informed of progress and guides future direction.
• Act as a help desk to any partnership queries from colleagues across SRO.
• Collaborate with the grants unit to ensure that donor requirements/procedures are reflected in the PIAs and modification requests.
• Support in negotiating new projects and programs with partners, including coordinating technical and financial requirements in line with donors' requirements/procedures.
• Supervise or directly draft partnership agreements and/or contractual documents required for implementation of new projects.
• Work actively with the Core Competency and program support unit teams (CFM, MEL, SIP and grants) to ensure strong mainstreaming of core NRC ways of working across operational partners.
• Provide technical support to partners, particularly on MEL, grants, HR, financial logistics management and compliance in close coordination with relevant staff.
• Provide technical guidance to staff working across areas on topics related with partnership.
• Provide oversight of partner projects ensuring that key steps are followed, such as kick-off and review meetings, and that key agreed checks, such as review of financial reports, take place as agreed.
• Ensure the adherence of the partnership interventions with NRC’s Project Cycle Management (PCM) approach.
• Assess the partner's priority needs in terms of capacity development.
• Provide and oversee necessary assistance to partners to ensure smooth implementation of partnership agreements and foster partners' overall development.
• Ensure partners have an opportunity to provide feedback on their partnership with NRC SRO.
• Actively integrate partner feedback, suggestions and complaints into NRC programmes.
• Lead the partner evaluation and learning events.
• Facilitate peer-to-peer learning among relevant internal staff and partners and develop an exchange network that can share best practices in relation to partnerships.