Manager – Programme and Partnership Development (National Position) At ActionAid

Job Summary:

The Partnership and Resource Mobilisation team at Cox’s Bazar office of ActionAid Bangladesh (AAB) is seeking a capable individual to lead them under the direct supervision of the Head of Partnerships & Resource Mobilisation and with close collaboration with the Head of the Humanitarian Programme. The primary responsibility of this role is to cultivate and enhance partnerships that contribute to the success of the Rohingya Response Programme (RRP). Specifically, this position will be expected to: (i) secure funding from potential donors for the RRP, (ii) build and maintain sustainable, long-term relationships with current and potential donors, and (iii) provide support for strategic planning and programme quality monitoring of the project portfolio.

In addition to these core functions, the successful candidate will serve as a member of Cox’s Bazar Leadership Team (CLT), offering strategic guidance to attain operational excellence, accountability to the affected population, and capacity development of team members in partnership and program development. Furthermore, this position will play a vital role in advancing the organisational growth mandate by collaborating closely with cross-cutting units and providing support as needed to non-RRP humanitarian response and DRR resource mobilisation efforts.

Key responsibilities include (not limited to):

Rise funds from potential donors for Rohingya Response Programme:

This role involves providing strategic leadership to design a comprehensive resource mobilisation strategy for the Rohingya Response Programme (RRP) that aligns with the ActionAid Bangladesh (AAB) Country Strategy Paper. To achieve this, the successful candidate will need to understand and critically analyse donor priorities and communicate this information effectively to the AAB Dhaka Office and the RRP team.

The candidate will also be responsible for developing high-quality proposals/concept notes, budgets, log frames, and implementation plans that meet donor requirements. This will involve initiating and collecting donor intelligence from Cox’s Bazar, Dhaka, and international sources to position AAB optimally.

Finally, the candidate will be focused to ensure stable growth of funding for the AAB RRP portfolio.

Maintain long-term and sustainable partnerships with existing & potential donors:

This position involves identifying new partners and cultivating relationships with the relevant focal person or desk officer of donor agencies. The successful candidate will attend meetings, workshops, and seminars with both donors and partner agencies to foster collaboration and communication.

Other key responsibilities will include ensuring timely and high-quality submission of donor reports, while also ensuring compliance with donor requirements. The candidate will be responsible for keeping the resource mobilization department and Cox’s Bazar Leadership Team (CLT) informed on current and future partnerships.

Additionally, the candidate will be responsible for arranging donor visits and providing guidance on external donor audits as required.

Grant Management & MIS:

This role involves managing the post-award lifecycle of active projects by organizing inception workshops, coordinating PMF meetings, and working with the Finance, MEAL, programme, and audit teams to track progress in accordance with Standard Operating Procedures.

The candidate will also arrange quarterly donor reflection and project review meetings with project teams, and advise the programme, finance, procurement/admin, and MEAL teams on donor compliance, risk mitigation, and operational challenges. Additionally, the candidate will participate in monitoring missions to oversee programme quality, and performance against expected results, and analyse risks, offering mitigation measures to project and support units.

The successful candidate will be responsible for curating and managing the information management process of the unit’s core functions, including the proposal pipeline, dashboard, call calendar, Go/No Go decisions, due diligence checks, and fundraising performance reports for the PPD unit, International Secretariat, AAB Senior Leadership Team, and CPD CoP.

Furthermore, the candidate will maintain the Contract Management System KPIs for AAB RRP, develop the end-users’ capacity, and manage collaboration with the approvers. The candidate will also support the CMS management team and the Super Users.

Team building & Team Management:

In this role, the main responsibilities include coordination and collaboration with the Head of Partnerships & Resource Mobilisation, Head of Humanitarian Programme, and the RRP team. This involves providing support in partnership and programme development, engaging in strategic decision-making, communicating with donors, and building capacity.

Another key responsibility is supervising the Senior Officer – Reporting & Documentation role and monitoring team performance. This includes advising on areas of improvement to ensure that the team is performing at its best.

In addition, it is important to create an enabling environment for team members that encourages them to uphold AAB’s mission and vision. This involves fostering a positive work culture that supports the growth and development of all team members.

Finally, the role requires maintaining a robust work plan for PPD (RRP) performance objectives and ensuring timely reporting of progress. This is essential for tracking progress and identifying any issues that may need to be addressed. By fulfilling these responsibilities, the role will contribute significantly to the success of the organisation.

Relationships

As the Manager – Programme and Partnership Development, the individual in this role will report directly to the Head of Partnership and Resource Mobilisation at ActionAid Bangladesh. It is essential for the candidate to maintain functional relationships with colleagues and the larger programme team, particularly the team based in Cox’s Bazar.

The role also includes supervising the Senior Officer – Reporting and Documentation. The candidate should be able to effectively coordinate with different teams and units, both programmatically and functionally, to ensure smooth communication and collaboration.

In addition, the Manager – Programme and Partnership Development will be responsible for managing strategic relationships with funding agencies and other stakeholders. This involves maintaining a strategic partnership with the ActionAid Federation to develop programmes and projects that align with the organisation’s goals.

Overall, the individual in this role plays a critical part in the success of the organisation, and their ability to manage relationships and coordinate with different teams will be essential in achieving the goals of the organisation.

Required Educational Qualifications and Experiences

Education

• Minimum Master’s degree in social sciences, humanities, development studies, human rights, political science or other relevant discipline or relevant experience.
• Excellent English and Bengali language skills (written, reading and spoken).
• Excellent analytical and decision-making skills.
• Training on Core Humanitarian Standards, leadership, safeguarding, programme innovation etc. desirable.

Experience

• Minimum of five years experience with an NGO in a senior/mid-level programme funding position(s) involving proposal development, donor relationship management and reporting.
• Programmatic expertise on any of the following themes: humanitarian interventions, Gender Based Violence in Emergency (GBViE), Protection, Camp Coordination & Camp Management, Food Security & Livelihood, WASH, Disaster Preparedness & Disaster Risk Reduction.

Required Functional Competencies

• Experience in developing successful proposals and/or tender bids to the UN as well as other donors such as ECHO, UK FCDO and Australia DFAT.
• In-depth understanding of logical frameworks as a tool to develop the theory of change and intervention logic.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and negotiation skills to work effectively in a multicultural environment, often at a distance.
• Ability to prioritise own workload and work with minimal supervision.
• Knowledge of Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA).

Required Core Competencies

• Leadership: The ideal candidate should have a strong understanding of the organisation’s goals and objectives, possess strong leadership and communication skills, be able to think strategically and make decisions, and have the ability to develop and implement plans to achieve organisational goals. These skills are essential for contributing to the success of the organisation and driving its mission forward.
• Emotional Intelligence: The ideal candidate should possess strong emotional intelligence, including advanced skills in recognising and regulating emotions, responding to others’ emotions, and building effective relationships and teams.
• Communication of Collaboration: The ideal candidate should have strong communication skills, be able to collaborate effectively with internal and external stakeholders, and possess strong project management skills. These skills are essential for delivering effective presentations and reports, building strong relationships, and successfully developing and implementing project plans.
• Networking: The ideal candidate should have strong networking skills, be able to represent the organisation effectively, identify potential partnerships, and mentor team members on networking best practices.
• Problem-Solving: The ideal candidate should have strong problem-solving skills, be able to identify and prioritise problems, work with others to develop solutions, and mentor team members on effective problem-solving techniques.
• Learning Agility: The ideal candidate should seek feedback and adapt behaviour, manage complex projects, pursue learning opportunities, and encourage others to learn and adapt to new technologies.
• Decision Quality: The ideal candidate should make informed decisions, consider alternative options, and be accountable for the quality and impact of their decisions.
• Action Oriented: The ideal candidate should surpass expectations, consider various factors for planning, take on new responsibilities, and rarely give up.
• Resource and Budget Management: The person in this position will anticipate risks, controls resources and assets, assign roles, and optimises utilisation.
• Talent Management: Develop team members’ skills and abilities through career planning dialogues, goal-setting, and ongoing training. Encourages learning culture.
• Feminist Leadership: Promotes feminist leadership principles and gender-responsive policies, and mentors staff to apply these approaches in their work.