Director, Advocacy & Partnerships At VillageReach

ABOUT VILLAGEREACH

VillageReach transforms health care delivery to reach everyone, so that each person has the health care needed to thrive. We develop solutions that improve equity and access to primary health care. This includes making sure products are available when and where they are needed and primary health care services are delivered to the most under-reached. Radical collaboration with governments, the private sector and other partners strengthen our ability to scale and sustain these solutions. Our work increases access to quality health care for more than 58 million people in Africa. VillageReach in incorporated in Washington State and has offices in Seattle (USA), Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, and Mozambique.

DESCRIPTION

Summary

The Director, Advocacy & Partnerships is responsible for leading and growing VillageReach’s policy influence and strategic partnerships in support of VillageReach’s goal of radical collaboration to scale and sustain high impact solutions that improve access to products and services for the most under-reached. VillageReach seeks an experienced professional to support Country Directors and Program Leadership to develop advocacy strategies, develop an ecosystem of partners that increases the likelihood that innovative health solutions are sustained at scale, and to support and mentor advocacy skills across the organization. The ideal candidate believes that collaboration is critical to success, is recognized as a mentor of others, and is experienced in developing advocacy strategies and supporting others to implement those strategies.

This multi-faceted role will oversee a team of Senior Managers leading advocacy and partnership efforts across several countries and will report to the Vice President, within the Partnerships & Impact Unit. This position will be located in Sub-Saharan Africa (preferably Kenya or South Africa).

Description

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following. Other duties, responsibilities, and activities may change or be assigned at any time.

Leadership

• Work collaboratively with the Vice President and other Directors within the Partnerships & Impact Unit to define and support collaboration, partnership, and advocacy objectives.
• Pursue new resources to expand advocacy and partnerships at VillageReach.
• Oversee the budget, planning, and operations of the advocacy team including managing utilization, recruitment and retention of team members. Engage consultants and/or recruit new staff to meet team needs.

Partnerships

• Represent VillageReach in meetings, events, and coalitions with target partners.
• Work with VillageReach leadership to identify priority global and regional partnerships and develop strategies for pursuing strategic engagement at key opportunities, as well as identifying the goals and desired outcomes of those partnerships.
• Provide support and guidance to groups pursuing partner mapping and engagement to advance the work of specific programs, solution teams, and country teams.
• Promote alignment across groups/people working to influence the same audiences (e.g. business development team, country directors, technical leadership, program leads).
• Track the priorities and progress toward the desired outcomes.
• Identify communications materials needed to support partnerships and partner with communications colleagues to pursue their completion and use.

Advocacy

• Provide technical assistance and support to program teams aiming to facilitate the process of determining advocacy goals, tactics, and indicators.
• Provide mentorship and support to advocacy and communications staff working in core country offices to successfully carry out their roles, providing resources and technical assistance where needed to strengthen their skills and expand their influence.
• Oversee the efforts to support and grow the advocacy, communications and engagement skills of the African Supply Chain Champions under VillageReach’s Supply Chain Integrators program. Seek and support them in pursuing opportunities to share their learnings and recommendations with key audiences.
• Identify and support the development of advocacy communications materials and content (e.g., policy briefs, position statements, digital calls to action, blogs, op eds) in partnership with communications colleagues.

Capacity strengthening

• Support VillageReach staff in effective engagement with and messaging for meetings and events with target audiences and partners.
• Provide resources, tools, and opportunities for staff to learn and grow their advocacy and partnership skills.

Competencies:

The following competencies reflect what is expected of all VillageReach employees; including examples of how one might demonstrate each of these competencies in one’s role.

• Think for the long term and drive scalable solutions: VillageReach leaders think broadly about solutions that can be scaled to multiple countries and adapted to different circumstances. They don’t just think about immediate short-term solutions or band aid fixes.
• Ability to see big picture and to dive into details and get to root causes: VillageReach leaders are able both to see the larger context across the mission, organization and region, but also know how to ask the right questions and drive the process to drill down to the root cause of issues/problems to drive effective solutions. They implement effective systems/processes to monitor, identify and mitigate issues before they become too big. They understand the financial and impact drivers of our business and are able to consider both in how they manage and mitigate risk and opportunity.
• Communicate effectively and listen authentically: Leaders communicate concisely and tailor their style to the audience. They understand how to flex their communication style when speaking with board members versus front line contributors. They seek alternative/diverse perspectives and are genuinely willing to shift their thinking.
• Demonstrate commitment to diversity and inclusion: Leaders focus on attracting and retaining diverse talent. They create safety on their teams by genuinely listening, seeking diverse perspectives and connecting with people, personally, not just professionally. They treat people with respect and show sensitivity to gender, cultural, and religious differences.
• Effective decision making: Leaders are willing and able to make decisions, while recognizing the collaborative nature of VillageReach’s culture. They seek input from subject matter experts and those impacted by the decision, and bring that perspective into their decision-making. They demonstrate excellent judgment and think through the implications of decisions, the change management needed to implement them, and how to communicate them.
• Collaborate effectively: Leaders aren’t territorial and do not operate their teams in silos. They seek to collaborate with others both internally and externally. They give credit versus taking credit. They prioritize mission, organization, team and leave self for last. They are driven by the broader goals of the mission. They seek ways to have a bigger impact by supporting or enabling the work of others.

REQUIREMENTS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

This position will directly supervise at least 3 employees. Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization’s policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning and directing work; monitoring performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; and addressing complaints and resolving problems.

Provides dotted line support to 3-6 additional staff in country offices, supporting the Country Directors to build advocacy skills and to link in-country staff with global advocacy and communications support.

Education & Experience:

• Masters in Public Health, Public Policy, or other related field.
• At least 10-15 years of relevant experience, with at least 3 years leading an advocacy & Communications team or function at a senior level.
• Experience supervising staff to successfully achieve their advocacy goals.
• Experience managing budgets, projects, and donor reporting.
• Comfort working in a matrixed environment, with indirect responsibility for others across the organization pursuing advocacy goals.
• Proven experience working in partnership with or influencing global normative bodies or donors to prioritize target issues or actions, ideally on issues including supply chain and/or vaccines.
• Led or managed at least one global health-related coalition, alliance, or network, aligning partners around a common set of goals.
• Trusted relationships with key influencers in the global health space.
• Experience mentoring and coaching others pursuing advocacy and partnerships functions.
• Experience working remotely with staff and colleagues, across countries and cultures.
• Excellent writing skills with proven advocacy communications abilities.

Other Qualifications:

• Established cultural competency in partnering with racial, cultural and linguistically diverse global groups and stakeholders.
• Demonstrated understanding of challenges with working in rural, underserved and low-income context.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Excel) and comfortable in a fast-paced technical environment.
• Fluent English reading and writing required, French or Portuguese skills will be an added advantage.

APPLICATION INFORMATION:

This is an immediate hire and therefore resumes will be reviewed on a rolling basis until February 03, 2023. To apply, please submit your resume and a cover letter to our online portal: http://www.villagereach.org/join-us/

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY & INCLUSION:

VillageReach is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer committed to workforce diversity. We believe that diverse, equitably weighted perspectives foster an organizational capacity to create novel solutions that improve health in the most underserved and hard-to-reach areas. To align our values, innovations and impact, VillageReach is committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse global workforce.

Compensation:

VillageReach has an established compensation structure that is based on the relevant market and internally transparent. The range for this position is $114,900 to $142,300. We hire people into the established range based on one’s experience and education and considering internal equity. We do not inquire about salary history.