Strategy & Partnership Development Lead at LEAP Africa

JOB TITLE: STRATEGY AND PARTNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT LEAD

LEAP Africa is a non-profit organization focused on raising dynamic, innovative and principled leaders who will drive positive transformation in Africa. We provide relevant and tailored interventions that support effective youth transitions in the area of education, entrepreneurship & employability, civic participation and social mobility for young Africans.
We are on a strategic journey towards building a world class institution that seeks to be an ecosystem builder, a thought leader and a development hub for young people. We are seeking to hire a Strategy and Partnership Development Lead to support the organization by developing, managing, and growing relationships with existing and potential partners; while also supporting the achievement of the organization’s strategic goals of “Making secondary education work and Developing talents for the SDGs” in Africa.

CORE DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Leadership and Strategy

• Report to and work closely with the Executive Director in developing and implementing organizational strategy, with a strong focus on cultivating new, and leveraging existing relationships and partnerships with local and international funders and donors to ensure sustainability.
• Analyze and make recommendations regarding emerging industry trends, expansion opportunities, internal business opportunities and business process improvement.
• Prepare strategic frameworks, analyses, and storyline to support leadership and management decisions.
• Lead and direct various strategic projects to accomplish the organization's objectives.
• Utilize data backed insights to inform on and/or make recommendations on strategic course of actions and to stakeholders within and outside the organization to achieve success on organizational goals and objectives.
• Break down and translate the organization's overall strategy into actionable functional unit strategies and provide budgets/policies/procedures to support their implementation.
• Prepare pitch documents for partnership meetings.

Partnership Development

• Develop and drive private, public and social sector partnerships that create opportunities for the growth of the organization; Plan and operationalize robust relationship building activities with partners; maintain relationships with decision makers at the executive and management levels.
• Work closely with the communications unit to coordinate marketing campaigns, implement the community outreach events and other PR activities. Organize and manage fundraising events.
• Identify and build new and alternative potential funding streams for the organization. Support the organization’s strategic objectives to increase funding streams globally.
• Establish systems, structures and processes around partnerships, to identify and qualify potential partnerships and collaborations and ensure that they are aligned with the organization’s objectives and core values.
• Work with the programmes unit and coordinate the preparation of concept notes, proposals etc., ensuring timely and complete submissions according to tender guidelines and donor requirements.
• Coordinate the business development activities to leverage the assets, core competencies and resources of the organization to support income generation.
• Develop and maintain an extensive data bank of all partners and funders; liaising and expanding networks with current and potential donors and stakeholders.

The required candidate should possess the following:

• Bachelor’s degree in any field. (MSc/MBA will be an added advantage).
• At least five (5) years of relevant experience, including working as a management consultant with experience in strategy development and implementation in private, public and social sectors.
• Track record of success in creating businesses, partnership and relationship building, leading marketing and fundraising.
• High level of creativity and problem solving and conceptualization.
• Possess very good interpersonal skills, negotiation skill, sound judgment, and a strong work ethics
• Strategic thinker with ability to think holistically about the organization’s mission and bottom lines.
• Keen eye for details and an insightful analyzer.
• Excellent communication and speaking skills with ability to deliver presentations at major industry events and conduct interviews with media.
• Very strong proposal and grant writing skills
• Aligned in thought and actions with LEAP ‘s values (RISE - Respect, Integrity, Synergy and Excellence)

Remuneration: Negotiable