Direct Partner Support Coordinator for HQ at IMPACT Initiatives

BACKGROUND ON IMPACT AND REACH

REACH was born in 2010 as a joint initiative of two International NGOs (IMPACT Initiatives and ACTED) and the United Nations Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT). REACH’s purpose is to promote and facilitate the development of information products that enhance the humanitarian community’s decision making and planning capacity for emergency, reconstruction and development contexts. REACH facilitates information management for aid actors through three complementary services: (a) need and situation assessments facilitated by REACH teams; (b) situation analysis using satellite imagery; (c) provision of related database and (web)-mapping facilities and expertise.

IMPACT Initiatives is a humanitarian NGO, based in Geneva, Switzerland. The organisation manages several initiatives, including the REACH Initiative. The IMPACT team comprises specialists in data collection, management and analysis and GIS. IMPACT was launched at the initiative of ACTED, an international NGO whose headquarter is based in Paris and is present in thirty countries. The two organizations have a strong complementarity formalized in a global partnership, enabling IMPACT to benefit from ACTED’s operational support on its fields of intervention.

We are currently looking for Direct Partner Support Coordinator to lead IMPACT’s direct partner support programmes

Position: Direct Partner Support Coordinator

Contract duration: 12 months

Location: Geneva, Switzerland

Starting Date: ASAP

POSITION PROFILE

Under the supervision of IMPACT’s Executive Director, the Direct Partner Support Coordinator has the overall responsibility for overseeing and providing dedicated program support to IMPACT’s direct partner support programmes, both in countries of implementation and at the global level. S/He is part of the Senior Management Team in HQ.

IMPACT’s direct partner support programmes aim to:

· Improve the effectiveness, efficiency and efficacy of humanitarian and development interventions

· Support the entire program cycle, including program design, assessments, baselines, monitoring and evaluation

Where REACH and AGORA focus on support for coordination structures, group decision making processes and open access to information, IMPACT’s direct partner support programmes work through bi-lateral relationships with key decision makers with all outputs being the partner’s property. IMPACT has implemented more than 45 partner support programmes in 9 countries across MENA and Sub-Saharan Africa for 18 donors.

These activities include:

· Baseline, midterm and endline assessments

· Post-distribution Monitoring

· Long-term Third-party Monitoring

· Institutional Capacity Building

Implemented within an NGO model, rather than that of a consulting firm, IMPACT’s direct partner support programmes deliver:

· Quality à At a level equal to or greater than the private sector by leveraging an extensive global network of technical, contextual and thematic humanitarian experts

· Ownership à Due to our established presence in all responses where we implement partner support programmes, and our generally pre-existing relationships with partners, we have stake in developing ownership over all projects and building/ retaining knowledge

· Value for Money à Extensive existing networks of staff, partners and support structures in-country, combined with no profit motivation, typically make us better value for money than the private sector

The position is based in Geneva with frequent travel to remote field locations across all countries of IMPACT’s operation.

FUNCTIONS

1. Development of coherent programme strategy: Lead the drafting of a coherent global programme strategy which:

· Builds on existing organizational knowledge and best practices within the humanitarian and development sectors in-line with IMPACT’s global objectives and organizational values

· Further identifies, defines and rationalizes all activities conducted under the banner of IMPACT’s partner support programmes into a comprehensive and legible package of services

2. Operationalization of programme strategy: Oversees the identification and implementation of IMPACT’s partner support programmes at global and field level, including:

· Development and dissemination of guidance and best practices;

· Support and validate the development of country level program strategies;

· Regular interaction with country focal points and teams to review the progress of programs implemented at country level;

· Link with other HQ departments to ensure required support and control is provided to ensure effective, efficient and relevant programming

3. Provision of dedicated input to country programs: with a particular focus on priority countries, including new or relatively recently established missions, the Direct Partner Support Coordinator provides dedicated input to specific countries / projects through surge and/or dedicated distance support, including the following:

· Oversight of strategy and program development;

· Direct management of given programs;

· Review of country programs;

· Coordination of direct / dedicated program support with IMPACT’s Head of Programmes through the Global Programs Unit.

4. Representation: Be IMPACT’s external face to engage on discussions related to partner support programmes

· With global partners, including UN, NGOs, donors, academia, clusters, etc – to include leading or supporting fundraising at the global-level

· With country level partners, including UN, NGOs, donors, academia, clusters, etc – to include leading or supporting fundraising at the country-level

5. Capitalization on lessons learned: Through ongoing review of all active partner support programmes, gather best practices, lessons learned, etc…:

· Integrate findings into existing programme strategy, and ensure dissemination and implementation (where relevant) across all active programmes

6. Any other program-related tasks as instructed by the Executive Director.

REQUIREMENTS

• Master’s degree in relevant discipline (International Relations, Political Science, Social Research, Economics, Anthropology, Monitoring and Evaluation, or similar).
• At least 5 years of relevant work experience in humanitarian and/ or development settings including research, evaluation, assessment or programmes
• At least 3 years leading organization-level humanitarian research activities at the country level
• Demonstrated experience designing and implementing third-party monitoring activities
• Demonstrated experience driving organizational change and defining organizational-level objectives
• Relevant work experience in all regions where IMPACT has ongoing operations (Sub-Saharan Africa, MENA, South East Asia, South America and Europe)
• Demonstrated fund-raising experience and strong knowledges of donor objectives and priorities
• Strong knowledge of the international humanitarian architecture
• Proven team management skills
• Ability to manage multiple, diverse research cycles in multiple contexts across multiple countries simultaneously with limited oversight
• Excellent analytical skills
• Excellent communication and drafting skills for effective reporting