Working in partnership with local civil society, government, and private sector actors is fundamental to the International Rescue Committee’s mission. Our Strategy100 commitment to ‘Partner first and as equals’ with local actors is fundamental to our ambition to expand impact at scale for people impacted by conflict in each context in which we work. This commitment and ambition are reflected in the Strategy Action Plans of each Central Africa country team, and in the core priorities of the Central Africa regional leadership. This ambition recognizes that people affected by crisis and the actors closest to them are best placed, have the right, and should have the power and resources to respond and drive lasting change. When we partner with local actors, we contribute to greater impact and scale and more sustainable outcomes. We are committed to being a feminist and anti-racist organization that promotes equality, diversity, and inclusion. That requires that we champion and resource leadership and action that comes from the communities in which we work. Sector standards, host governments, donors, and our global staff all also require partner-led approaches. The Partnership Excellence for Equality and Results System (PEERS) comprises IRC’s strategy, principles, policy, guidance, process, and tools for how we define our role and work in partnership in each context. PEERS promotes principled, collaborative partnerships that expand the impact and scale of each response, to reach the best outcomes for people affected by crises, consistent with Strategy100. Scope of work  The Senior Regional Partnerships Specialist (SRPS) will support Country Program (CP) Senior Management Teams (SMTs) to define and deliver their Strategy Action Plan partnership ambitions to ‘partner first and as equals,’ consistent with the Strategy100 partnership ambition and regional strategic priorities. The primary focus of the SRPS role is to provide critical partnership change management support to country SMTs to deliver on their ambitions. This will include support to SMTs to establish the core building blocks for partnership success, and evolve management and personnel structures and competencies, roles and responsibilities across all departments, systems and business processes, and culture. The SRPS will also: provide partnership support to technical coordinators and advisors in the use of PEERS to apply a ‘partner first’ approach to strategy, program and project design, and to establish and develop strategic partnerships with local actors; support regional functions to learn and apply their critical roles in partnership; contribute to the global partnership roadmap designed to address constraints faced by country teams and enable the global organizational evolution required to deliver the Strategy100 partnership ambition, ensuring that work is driven by CP and partner priorities.  Specific Responsibilities The SRPS has four core areas of responsibility; the primary focus is the first area of responsibility, to support country SMTs to play their critical role leading the evolution to a ‘partner first’ approach. 1. Critical change management support to CP SMTs to evolve strategy, management and personnel structures, roles and competencies across all program and operations departments, systems and business processes, and culture, in accordance with action plans developed together with each CP SMT. This includes remote and in-person support to DDPs, DDOs, DDFs, CDs and the broader SMT to:• Partner first: define our role in strategy, program and project design, based on our added value to local actors and systems, including in SAP, design and GNG processes• Partner as equals: identify, establish and foster strategic partnerships with civil society organizations, government entities and private sector actors, as well as with networks• Building blocks: establish the six core building blocks of partnership success in each country office:o Co-facilitate a partnership self-assessment to identify priority areas for change, reflected in an action plan, updated annuallyo Design and develop management structures to facilitate a coherent, one-IRC approach to partnership, for example through a partnership working group and standing SMT agendao Design, budget and plan for appropriate personnel structures across all departments, based on the current partnership portfolio and ambition; define clear roles and responsibilities across all departments, based on global frameworks tailored for context, integrated into recruitment competencies, job descriptions, and accountability for those roles through performance objectives. o Address the critical partnership training needs in each country office in the region, including a specific focus on the country SMTs o Ensure adequate stakeholder analysis is in place across geographical and outcome areas to inform analysis of IRC’s value add, using a systems thinking approacho Foster collaborative design with local partners at the strategy, program and project levels, including collaborative project budget development that maximizes impact at scale including by prioritizing resource allocation to the actors leading delivery• Set Strategy100 Phase 2 Strategy Action Plans that reflect IRC’s true added value to local actors and systems in each CA country context• Design and develop models for meaningful partner participation in key strategic decision-making processes, including strategy action plan development • Establish effective feedback mechanisms for understanding partner perspectives, and ensuring accountability to that feedback• Identify and address any program, operational or finance business processes that constrain the CP’s partnership ambitions, and work with relevant departments to identify solutions• Co-facilitate ‘townhall discussions’ and other dialogue platforms for staff to explore opportunities, challenges, enablers and barriers associated with this organizational evolution, including any perceptions or concerns that staff may have, for example relating to implications for their jobs• Develop the team culture required to partner as equals, including through the direction and tone the SMT set, their modeling of partnership principles, the language they use, the competencies they value, and the successes they celebrate• Identify and implement approaches and mechanisms through which the SMT can effectively incentivize, celebrate, and establish accountability for progress towards the SAP partnership spending and strategic partnerships targets• Advocate to influence donor policies and practices that enable equitable partnerships and systems strengthening • Gather and analyze data on partnership performance and system engagement to inform decision-making and continuous improvement• Identify and test innovative approaches to systems change in collaboration with partners, with a focus on sustainability and scalability 2. Partnership support to technical coordinators and advisors and partnership leads in the use of PEERS to apply a ‘partner first’ approach to strategy, program and project design and to establish and develop strategic partnerships. This is guided by the SAP partnership ambitions, features building collaboration on strategy, program design and delivery and capacity sharing, and includes remote and in-person support to:• Technical coordinators and advisors to analyze the roles, capacities and strategies of local civil society, government and private sector actors, to define IRC’s role based on its added value to local actors and systems in strategy and program design, as well as in Go-No Go processes• Technical and partnership leads to identify and establish strategic partnership relationships with civil society organizations, government entities and private sector actors, as well as with networks, based on the stakeholder analysis• Technical coordinators and advisors to identify, support and promote impact at scale priorities as defined in the country Strategic Action Plans • CP business development strategies, approaches and planning, including the development of effective donor submissions, on major opportunities• Partnership and technical leads to promote approaches that maximize collaboration with partners in the design and management of programs• Promote and guide principled, collaborative, effective risk analysis and management with partners across all organizational functions, consistent with PEERS• Promote Project Cycle Management that maximizes the participation of partners• Foster and promote effective capacity sharing approaches across CPs, including effective project support across all organizational functions, and ensuring that we are understanding and leveraging opportunities to learn from partners• Continuing to build the principles, skills, approaches and knowledge required for effective partnerships in CPs, including through in-person and remote training in PEERS and partnership principles, skills and approaches, and building training capacities in the country offices• Guidance, coaching and mentoring of partnership leads in each country office• Facilitating regional partnership communities of practice to facilitate peer learning and networking, including with partners where appropriate• Strengthen the capacity of senior IRC staff to understand and apply systems thinking to their roles, ensuring alignment with Strategy100 objectives 3. Partnership support to regional functions to develop and apply their roles in partnership, in particular technical advisors, RPSTs, DRDs and RVPs as well as RFDs, RSCDs, REDs, RMACs and RSSDs. This also includes serving as a partnership resource for the DRD and the RVP in the performance of their partnership roles, including by bringing challenges and successes to their attention, and identifying and implementing approaches and mechanisms through which the RVP and DRD can effectively incentivize, celebrate, and establish accountability for progress towards the SAP partnership spending and strategic partnerships targets 4. The SRPS will also contribute to the global partnership roadmap designed to address constraints faced by country teams and enable the global organizational evolution required to deliver the Strategy100 partnership ambition, ensuring that work is driven by CP and partner priorities Key Working Relationships• Reports to: Deputy Regional Director, management in partnership with the Global Partnerships Director• Primary CP & regional interlocutors: Country SMT (with DDPs as primary interlocutor) and DRD, and Partnership Coordinators• Significant engagement with: Regional Leadership Team, TAs, Technical Coordinators, DAMs and RVPs• Serves as a partnership resource for: all CP and regional function Qualifications  • Significant demonstrable  progressive managerial and/or advisory experience, with five years’ experience in partnership, capacity sharing, organizational learning and/or related work, required. Experience in and demonstrated knowledge of Africa essential, and Central Africa in particular preferred.• Thorough knowledge of best practices in partnership and capacity sharing, with demonstrated experience in integrating this theme into programming.• Fluency in French, and competency in English, essential.• Demonstrated capacity for strategic thinking and systems development.• Familiarity with key institutions and donor agencies in capacity sharing.• Demonstrated ability to transfer knowledge to diverse audiences through participatory adult training, mentoring, distance learning, and other formal and non-formal methods. Strong workshop design and facilitation skills.• Collaborative, team management style; ability to work well in diverse, multi-cultural team settings.• Exceptional interpersonal and communications skills.• Skilled at persuading and leading through influence, negotiation and coaching.• Must be willing to travel throughout the region approximately one-third of the time, occasionally at short notice and sometimes under strenuous conditions.

Compensation
Posted pay ranges apply to UK-based candidates. Ranges are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget. Exact offers are calibrated by work location, individual candidate experience and skills relative to the defined job requirements.

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