Manager – Programme and Partnership Development (Only for Bangladeshi Nationals) At

Job Summary:

Work closely with the Head of Innovation & Resource Mobilisation and Cox’s Bazar Leadership Team (CLT) as a member on all matters related to fundraising, reporting, donor compliance and relationship management. Engage in business development targeting bilateral and multi-lateral funding agencies, trust and foundations and major donors through solicited and unsolicited means, making significant contribution to the annual fundraising target as per Country Strategy and Fundraising Strategy. Manage and monitor the portfolio of the institutional donor funded projects as the grants/contract management focal for donors and ActionAid Funding Affiliate countries. Actively contribute to the PPD unit’s annual operating plan and objectives through robust decision making and action on planning, budgeting, execution, monitoring, and reporting. Contribute to organisational profile development externally and sustain partnerships with existing donors and stakeholders.

Key responsibilities include (not limited to):

Fundraising and Proposal Development:

• Lead the proposal development process including the coordination of technical working groups consisting of colleagues from various functions and ensure a consultative approach with key partners and stakeholders, including the community.
• Lead design workshops/ solutioning exercise effectively, capturing the key essence of ActionAid’s approaches, humanitarian signature and unique propositions both as a lead applicant / co-applicant in consortia.
• Regularly gather donor intelligence, scan for funding opportunities and recommend appropriate actions. Share critical insights on the donor funding landscape, including trend analysis, assessing donor priorities and generate donor-specific engagement strategies.
• Manage organizational priorities, donor requirements and core humanitarian standards during programme development ensuring balance between competitiveness (value for money), impact and operational sustainability.
• Contribute to the organizational profile development together with the Communications team (presentations/information pack/case stories/impact stories) to highlight AAB’s experience current and potential donors, fundraising campaigns and events as required to showcase the organization and its work to the external audience.
• Ensure fundraising standard operating procedures are followed, including Go/ No Go assessments, due diligence checks and screenings.

Grant & Partnership Management:

• Manage the post-award lifecycle of live projects, including agreement/contract review, signing, amendment, hosting inception workshops, and coordinating with Finance, MEAL, programme, and audit team to track progress.
• Support project teams to develop quality reports; review, edit and submit reports ensuring donor requirements are met and all reports submitted to the donor are of high quality and are meeting the reporting deadline. Maintain and manage donor communication through the donor focal points on all things related to contractual obligations.
• Participate in monitoring missions to oversee programme quality, performance against expected results and analyse risks and offer mitigation measures to project and support units.
• Cultivate mutually beneficial partnerships with development partners and peer NGOs.
• Assist Finance and Programme teams on handling donor audit missions, review management response to findings and chart a plan of action to improve compliance.

Management Information System:

• Curate and manage the process of information management of the unit’s core functions including proposal pipeline, call calendar, Go/No Go decisions, due diligence, funding dashboard, fundraising performance reports.
• Convening the Core Programme Development Community of Practice (CoP) bi-monthly meetings for. Cox’s Bazar and identify capacity building opportunities for colleagues engaged in fundraising and grant and partnership management.
• Maintain a process to keep the Contract Management System updated with required information and data and mainstream the process across the responsible teams against KPIs. Develop the capacity of the end-users and manage collaboration with the approvers

Team building and People Management:

• Coordinate and collaborate with Head of Innovation & Resource Mobilisation, the resource mobilisation department and Rohingya Response Programme team on partnership and programme development support, strategic decision-making engagement, donor communication and capacity building.
• Maintain close liaison with the Head of Humanitarian Programme and Deputy Head, Rohingya Response Programme on resource mobilisation, compliance and donor relationship management.
• Actively contribute in PPD unit’s workplan management and ensure individual workplans are delivered on time.
• Monitoring team performance and advice areas of improvement.
• Create an enabling environment for team members to uphold AAB’s mission & vision.

  Relationships

  In the capacity of Manager – Programme and Partnership Development, this position entails a direct reporting relationship with the Head of Innovation & Resource Mobilisation at ActionAid Bangladesh. S/he will closely work with the Head of Humanitarian Programme and Head of Programme and Engagement of ActionAid Bangladesh. It is imperative for the incumbent to nurture effective working relationships with all the project managers and all functional lead especially those within the Cox’s Bazar-based programme team.

  Furthermore, the Manager – Programme and Partnership Development holds the responsibility for overseeing strategic alliances with funding agencies and other stakeholders. This encompasses the maintenance of a strategic partnership with the ActionAid Federation to foster the development of programmes and projects that align with the organisation’s objectives.

  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.
• Trained in fundraising, M&E framework, grants management, Core Humanitarian Standards, leadership, safeguarding, programme innovation etc. is desirable.

  Experience

• Minimum of five years’ experience with an INGO / NGO in a 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 of developing successful proposals and/or tender bids to the UN as well as other donors.
• 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.
• Must have the ability to lead the team to achieve organisation’s objective.

  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.