Senior Officer, Partnerships and Resource Development at The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)

Vacancy No: IFRC03834
Location: Abuja
Duration: 9 Months
Category of Staff: National Staff
Grade: Not applicable

Organizational Context

• The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world's largest humanitarian organization, with 192 member National Societies, 160,000 branches and 17 million volunteers. As part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, our work is guided by seven fundamental principles; humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality.
• The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world's largest humanitarian network, reaching 150 million people each year through its 190-membership of National Societies. The Organization acts before, during and after disasters, crises and health emergences in order to meet the needs and build the resilience of vulnerable people.
• IFRC Africa Regional Office is a decentralized part of the Secretariat of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). Mandated by the Federation's Constitution, the Secretariat coordinates and supports the efforts of the membership to improve and scale up work aimed at addressing the increasing number of humanitarian and development challenges in the world.
• The IFRC office in Abuja is the hub to support the Red Cross National Societies of the West Coast Cluster (Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia and Sierra Leone) and has a status agreement with Nigerian government. The West Coast cluster office deliver the IFRC mandate in the sub-region with a focus on Health, Disaster Management, Capacity Building of the National Societies and Humanitarian Diplomacy.

Job Purpose

• The Senior PRD Officer is part of both the IFRC Country Cluster Support Team in Nigeria and the regional PRD Africa unit.
• The position holder works in close liaison with PRD global team (Geneva), regional technical teams as well as Country Cluster Support Teams (CCST) and Country Offices (CO) in Africa to enhance partnerships and resource development outcomes across a portfolio of partners (Movement, public, private, multi-laterals) in support of IFRC priorities and targets.
• The position holder will foster proactive partner engagement through relationship and knowledge development as well as effective use of PRD tools and processes.
• The position holder will also ensure donor care and accountability to partners in coordination with programme managers as well as PMER and finance focal points.
• The position will not only provide support to the IFRC cluster office but also to our member National Societies, particularly in the field of domestic resource mobilization which has been defined as a strategic priority to ensure the financial sustainability of our National Societies as well as their capacity to deliver on their humanitarian mandate.

Job Duties and Responsibilities
Coordinating engagement and relationships strategy with targeted partners across multiple income streams (NS/governments, private sector, multi-laterals):

• Work proactively with COs/CCSTs and technical/thematic leads to ensure coordinated partnership engagement based on common targets and longer-term priorities;
• Develop, broaden and strengthen the network of national societies, private sector and multilateral influencers and advocates in support of IFRC’s mission;
• Lead on regular engagement of discussion with, strategic partners with a view to ensuring donor care on the implementation of IFRC Africa plans and for forward-looking purposes;
• Develop a knowledge base on IFRC Africa private sector and multilateral partners as a shared resource for maintaining and developing partnership engagement across the region;
• Serve as focal point for the assigned portfolio of partners, and provide guidance to COs/CCSTs for partnership engagement and coordination;
• Contribute to the analysis of relevant government policies, decisions and funding trends to help develop funding targets and identify opportunities for partnership to match future IFRC needs;
• In collaboration with IFRC Africa Head of PRD, ensure the overall monitoring and overview of partnership development as part of IFRC Africa strategy map and PRD operational plan;
• Support the organisation of partnerships and cooperation meetings at all levels

Funding and resourcing plans, especially for West Coast Country Cluster Support Team:

• Support the development, and monitor the implementation, of funding plans together with relevant IFRC offices, technical leads and Finance focal points;
• Facilitating the development of core regional programmatic products and multi-year proposals;
• Contribute to funding gaps monitoring and analyse and for propose/implement corrective measures.
• Ensure proactive negotiation of pledges together with IFRC budget holder in relation to assigned portfolio of partners
• Ensure quality control and partner stewardship for pledge management, coordination with PRD team members as well as Finance focal points.
• Developing an engagement strategy for IFRC West Coast Country Cluster programs and projects
• Work with budget holders and Finance to ensure that donor reports are prepared to quality standards; in compliance with donor conditions and requirements, and that all deadlines are met.
• Support the programme coordinators to ensure IFRC reporting standards are upheld

National Society Development in partnerships and resource mobilisation:

• Provide technical guidance and support to our member National Societies in all matters related to partnerships and resource mobilisation.
• Lead and contribute to the Cluster office and Regional office efforts to develop the domestics resource mobilisation capacities of our member National Societies, with a particular focus on the West Coast countries.
• Promote and facilitate a sub-regional network of PRD focal points from each National Society to promote networking, collaboration and learning.

Planning support and coordination for West Coast sub-region:

• Ensure effective coordination with Regional office’s technical units and PRD focal points to be involved in performing tasks;
• Oversee the development of the plan of action (PoA) and subsequent updates that help operationalize the IFRC Secretariat strategy.
• Lead IFRC Secretariat inputs as needed to Federation-wide strategic planning efforts.
• Support programme coordinators and other staff in the design of project proposals, meeting IFRC and international project design standards.

Requirements
Education:

• University degree or equivalent in a relevant discipline.
• Relevant post-graduate degree or MBA
• Relevant professional training courses

Experience:

• Minimum 5 years’ experience and solid track record in partnerships and fundraising
• Relevant work experience with international humanitarian organisations in resource mobilisation, partnerships and fundraising.
• Experience in project management including multi-stakeholder engagement
• Working with international funding agencies (e.g. EU or governments)

Knowledge, Skills and Languages:

• Familiarity with government and multilateral funding systems
• Ability to work in a diverse cultural context
• Strong knowledge of information sharing tools
• Highly organised, with ability to create a team approach
• Excellent communication skills; influencing skills
• Excellent relationship building skills; ability to build and strengthen internal and external networks, and establish effective partnerships, with National Societies
• Demonstrated skill in analytical and strategic thinking.
• Facilitation and presentation skills
• Fluently spoken and written English is required
• Good command of French is preferred

Competencies and Values:

• Values: Respect for diversity; Integrity; Professionalism; Accountability
• Core Competencies: Communication; Collaboration and Teamwork; Judgement and Decision Making; National Societies and Customer Relations; Creativity and Innovation; Building Trust
• Functional