Senior Manager, Business Development, Partnership And Advocacy at CARE

The purpose of this role is to plan, organize, lead, coordinate, support and control efforts and resources with the aim to build and maintain strategic relationships including civil society, government, private sector and development partners and individuals that will strengthen CARE International strategic presence in the country and mobilise necessary resources for programme delivery. It is a strategic role at the core of organisational development.

The Business development, Partnership and Advocacy Manager is responsible for the day-to-day management of CARE International Nigeria resource mobilization efforts, support partnership development and lead on national and international advocacy issues. The role manages CARE International’s strategic partnership, and promote policies and laws that favours philanthropy and resourcing to promote the strategic mission of CARE International in Nigeria.

The position holder will contribute in the development, implementation and periodic review of resource mobilisation strategy, strategic engagement, partnership strategy, public policies policy and design and activities, engagement with broad range of stakeholders, support to projects’ financial and administrative management processes, protocols and systems, including identified risk elements.

He/she will provide specialist advice on resource mobilization, partnership and advocacy issues in Nigeria; and support in building partners’ and staff competencies. This role requires the ability to generate and analyse data, and communicate findings to the understanding of a wider audience; requires creativity and innovation while being realistic and practical; and calls for being proactive in writing proposals, preparing budgets, and working with others to gain consensus on a program approach.

Resource Mobilization/Business development

• Lead the development and implementation of fundraising strategy to meet the strategic requirements of the Country Programme.
• Provide advice on institutional donor requirements and private foundations including reporting timeliness and expectations.
• Support proposal development through coordinating the establishment of proposal development working groups with representatives from key departments (on as need bases) within the CP and ensure key actions are delegated and timeliness maintained.
• Depending on the nature of the funding opportunities, draft proposals and concept notes.
• Advice the Country Office on potential funding opportunities and donor priorities.
• Establish and maintain regular contacts with agencies as appropriate, covering a specific set of donors to be agreed upon. This entails contributing to maintaining networks and actively engaging in knowledge sharing, information dissemination on CARE International Nigeria.
• Help prepare and participate in internal/external meetings with donors-thematic meetings and related resource mobilization events.
• Support the facilitation of the negotiation and signing of new funding agreements, working in close collaboration with relevant units of the organisation.
• Maintain up to date knowledge on donor funded projects and ensure reporting is completed to the donor in a timely manner.
• Support with the drafting of external reports and work with programme teams to finalize these in accordance with requirements and timelines.
• Lead on the creation of products, packaged and positioned to attract and secure increased resources for CARE International Nigeria.
• Drive improvements in new business development and fundraising practices across CARE International Nigeria

Builds and manages relationships with strategic partners (including institutions) at different levels, current and potential donors to support the country program development and implementation.

Partnership Development:

• Continually carries out strategic partnership mapping, identification, the mutual appraisal, and risk assignment of potential strategic partners for effective and successful partnership relationships.
• Facilitates effective negotiation, development, appropriate signing and management of partnership agreement with strategic partners and CARE International Nigeria.
• Build and maintain relationships with CARE International’s Nigeria’s network partners, donors and external partners, civil society stakeholders and provide relevant, effective and timely support to all current and new donors and partners.
• Supports in carrying out annual partnership reviews for improved relationship and effective attainment of the partnership objectives.
• Promotes and ensures CARE International partnership principles, values and standards are understood and applied in all partnership relationships in Nigeria
• Supports in the mobilization of strategic partners towards a greater voice on gender equality and the advancement of rights of women and girls.  
• Works with the Monitoring and Evaluation, Communication and Knowledge Development Units of CARE International to capture learning in the humanitarian and development programs for knowledge creation, and impact dissemination for the mobilization of financial and non-financial resources for country program.

Advocacy and Influencing:

• Collaborates with the programme team to develop and carry out influencing strategies that persuade donors, foundations, philanthropies, and individuals to contribute enthusiastically their financial and non-financial resources for the rights of children, girls and young women in Nigeria.
• Work with the programme team to produce a wide range of high-quality written outputs for various audiences including high-quality, well targeted research reports, policy briefings, key messages, blogs and other outputs with the aim of educating and influencing stakeholders for resource mobilization.
• Foster strong relationships and work closely with the Programme team and external stakeholders in policy and influencing work to keep abreast of key policy changes and relevant external issues that would require the mobilization of support for the change CARE International Nigeria aims to achieve in Nigeria
• Proactively engage on a strategic basis with institutional donors in order to facilitate technical programme exchanges, influence policy and thinking, and identify key areas of potential cooperation, including programme funding.

Team Management:

• Manage and co-ordinate all the department work, ensuring correct, full transparent and accountable financial, administrative and operational procedures are followed.
• Manage Staff performance and provide regular feedback to staff including interns and volunteers on their performance.
• Liaise with other teams to obtain input and support for the work of your team.
• Ensure all procurement is in accordance with CARE International and donor guidelines.
• Submit all internal progress reports (monthly, quarterly) in a timely Manner.

 Key relationships

• Maintains working contacts inside and outside the organization; include the purpose and level (high, medium, low) of the contact.
• Prepares and submits relevant reports based on agreed timelines to supervisor.
• Provides timely responses concerning queries linked with relevant initiatives in the unit.
• Works amicably with CARE International colleagues working at Headquarters, regional office and other offices around the world.
• Works amicably with other members of the CARE International Nigeria team in project locations and Abuja to ensure effective and efficient program delivery. 
• Works with the Programme team to promote constructive working relationships with stakeholders, ensure positive branding, and fundraising material
• Ensures all information, publicity and fundraising material recognises and respects the dignity of the affected persons.

Technical expertise, skills and knowledge:

• A graduate of any social science discipline, preferably post-graduate (master’s or higher) Degree in a development studies – specializing on development related discipline.
• Have at least 7 years’ experience working in the sector, including field and management experience.
• demonstrated experience in donor engagement and resource mobilisation.
• Advanced experience in partnership development.
• Strong knowledge and commitment to women’s rights and gender justice.
• Strong evidence of influencing decision and policy makers, and brokering cross-disciplinary collaboration.
• Proven record of accomplishment of leadership within an international organization
• Compelling influencer and communicator – able to inspire, build consensus and bring people together around a common agenda.
• Experience with a diverse set of stakeholders at all levels of an organization.
• Project management and grant development experience.
• Demonstrated expertise in designing, implementing, and monitoring programs
• Demonstrated problem solving skills, collaboration experience, creativity and willingness to innovate.
• Experience in drafting project reporting and monitoring project progress.
• Experience of managing people and ability to build, develop and motivate a high performing team, prioritizing effective cross organizational working as a key element of high performance.
• Experience of managing budgets and planning and reporting protocols.

Desired:

• Uses evidence-based results to make choices and drive change.
• Taking initiative to be innovative and creative to achieve results.
• Strives for quality in all he/she does, respecting deadlines, working continuously to improve performance.
• Takes responsibility for his/her actions, and learn from success and failures.
• Uses resources as intended, and can account for how he/she has used resources.
• Supports gender equality and diversity, and challenges forms of inequality or harassment.
• Encourages young people, women, partners and colleagues to be meaningfully involved in decisions that affect them.
• Listens to and understand views of colleagues and partners. Draws on their experience to ensure high quality work.
• Upholds and demonstrates CARE International’s values and behaviours.
• Team-orientated, versatile, personable and flexible.
• Calm under pressure.
• Ability to work comfortably and sensitively across cultures.
• Actively seeks for support in addressing difficulties in execution of duties.
• Actively promote Gender Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and maintain a GEDI enabling environment within the unit, organization and with external stakeholders.
• Ensure that all decisions are analyzed through the lenses of gender equity, diversity and inclusion, maintaining high-level transparency. Hold one’s self-accountable to all staff, stakeholders and the organization in respect to promoting and maintaining GEDI
• Maintain communication strategy, taking into account the diversity of the audience and ensure that they are able to receive and understand.  
• Actively work towards maintaining a diverse team (i.e. age, class, caste, religion, departments, nationalities and ethnicities, gender, sexual orientation, etc.) and representatives of the population that we work with.
• Contribute to the development of GEDI strategies and initiatives (within and outside the scope of the current role); support through advocating for resource allocation and championing GEDI on behalf of the organization.

Qualified women are strongly encouraged to apply.