Partnerships Coordinator (Head of Unit) – Beirut

Based in Beirut with occasional travel to the Field Offices in Zahle, Qobayat, and Tripoli, the Partnerships Coordinator (PC) will support the Lebanon Country Program in its strategic management of its Partnership Unit. The purpose of the Partnership Unit is to oversee the management, coordination and risk management of IRC’s Partnership strategy. This includes facilitating the Lebanon team’s delivery of high-quality partnerships that are strategic for IRC, compliant with IRC and donor requirements to provide quality services and outcomes for the communities we serve.

The Partnerships Coordinator will oversee the implementation of IRC’s Partnership Excellence for Equity and Results System (PEERS – IRC’s partnership management system) in Lebanon, ensuring that IRC:

• defines our role in collaboration with local actors based on how we can best support, reinforce, and complement local actors and systems.
• promotes long-term, principled partnerships that share power, resources, and learning and elevate the knowledge and expertise of each partner.
• maximizes power and resources for people impacted by crises and the organizations closest to them to respond and drive lasting change.
• collaborates with partners to identify and manage risks to program outcomes, communities, the partner, IRC, and the donor.
• promotes the core partnership principles of equality, complementarity, mutuality, solidarity, results-orientation, and humility in all aspects of our partnerships.
• ensuring that IRC identifies and effectively mitigates programmatic, operational, financial and reputational risk.

The Partnerships Coordinator role has the following main objectives:

• Implementation of the IRC Partnership Management System, including the facilitation of a coherent, inter-departmental, ‘one IRC’ approach to partnership, with the support of the senior management team.
• Partnership Accountability and Results
• Strategic oversight of the IRC Lebanon’s broader partnership strategy
• Developing strategies and mechanisms for cohesive Capacity Strengthening.
• Promoting a culture of effective and collaborative partnerships for the Country Program.
• Staff Management and Development

Summary of Responsibilities:

Implementation of the IRC Partnership Management System, including the facilitation of a coherent, inter-departmental, ‘one IRC’ approach to partnership, with the support of the senior management team;

• Chair the Partnership working group to promote a coherent, strategic and coordinated approach to local partnerships in IRC Lebanon.
• Oversee and facilitate the coordination of all of program’s, operation’s and finance’s role in partnership cycle management from partner identification, due-diligence, agreement development, start-up, implementation, monitoring through to close-out. Oversee the partner capacity analysis process with respect to all new partnerships, including through appropriate vetting, and working with other departments to analyze project-related risks associated with the partnership, and the identification and implementation of appropriate measures to mitigate those risks.
• Oversee the effective startup of partnerships, including the timely development and delivery of partnership agreements and partner opening meetings.
• Oversee the maintenance and coordination of partner program, finance and compliance review and monitoring schedules and coordinate support for partners to address any concerns or issues that may arise. Ensure response and support plans are implemented by relevant departments.
• Provide and/or facilitate targeted partnership management training, refresher trainings and ongoing support on partnership management and compliance for key partners and IRC staff.
• Facilitate collaborative monitoring and reflection of projects with IRC’s relevant program and operations departments and partners, including progress against objectives and donor compliance, and ensure that key monitoring information, reflections and learning are documented.
• Participate in regular partner visits to meet partner teams regularly, observe field implementation, and ensure that partners operate in compliance with IRC and donor regulations.
• Monitor the timely submission of accurate financial and narrative reports from partners.
• Supervise the Partnership Finance Management Unit, with support from the Partnership Finance Manager to ensure partner financial reports are reviewed, finalized and sent to the IRC Finance Department for booking in a timely manner in line with Partner Financial Management SOPs.
• Ensure that comprehensive electronic files for partnerships are maintained.

Partnership Accountability and Results

• Establish and maintain the six core building blocks of partnership success – self-assessment, working group, defined and resourced role, training, stakeholder analysis and collaborative design.
• Foster and promote a culture, attitudes and values conducive to collaborative partnerships throughout the Lebanon team, based on a clear and shared understanding of IRC’s strategy, role and approach, and IRC’s core partnership principles.
• Support the Senior Program Quality Coordinator in facilitating a process that defines clear roles, responsibilities and management structures across the Lebanon Country Program to ensure efficient and responsive processes with respect to sub-award partnerships, consistent with PEERS.
• In coordination with the Senior Coordinator, collaborate with HR and programs and Ops to ensure that IRC includes key partnership competencies in recruitment for relevant technical and operational positions; provides staff with necessary support for skills development for core partnership skills (mentoring, negotiation, etc.); and includes performance objectives for relevant positions that incentivize effective partnerships.

Strategic oversight of the IRC Lebanon’s broader partnership strategy

• Work with the IRC Lebanon country leadership team to ensure that the Country Strategic Action Plan (SAP) appropriately leverages the opportunities that collaborative partnerships offer to deliver better outcomes.
• Identify key stakeholders for effective programming through annual updates of sector-specific stakeholder analysis and social network analysis.
• Promote an effective analysis of local stakeholders and an appropriate identification of IRC’s role.
• Participate in Go/No-Go discussions to promote program approaches and design that are consistent with the SAP.
• Coordinate with and ensure partners are provided with the necessary tools and information to be prepared to participate/contribute to the relevant Project Cycle meetings which include Project Design, Planning and Opening, Implementation, Learning and Closure meetings.
• Support the incorporation of appropriate partnership related language in all the steps of the IRC project cycle.
• Support Programs in the development of partnership relationships with governmental agencies and municipalities
• Ensure close follow up with Programs in the development of partnerships that do not have a financial component.

Developing strategies and mechanisms for cohesive Capacity Sharing

• Ensure that all capacity sharing initiatives are owned by the partner and based on the partnership principles.
• Ensure that capacity needs identified in the partner capacity analysis phase are addressed through project support plans and that these are implemented in a timely and effective manner.
• Identify and coordinate opportunities to support partners through Organizational Capacity Assessment processes, and the development of capacity sharing plans based on those processes, liaising with the Governance Technical Unit. Oversee IRC’s role in the delivery of support and the monitoring of results.
• Collaborate with technical coordinators to integrate technical capacity sharing approaches with organizational development support as appropriate.
• Ensure IRC understands the capacity sharing priorities of its partners and identify opportunities for IRC to support partner capacity sharing efforts.
• Ensure that the budget for capacity sharing that is not limited to project support is incorporated in the prime award.
• Support IRC staff working with partners on skills related to capacity sharing.
• Develop tools that can be used by IRC staff when supporting the partner’s capacity sharing plans.

Promote a culture of Effective and Respectful Partnerships

• Ensure and champion robust partner relationship management characterized by the core partnership principles.
• Promote meaningful collaboration with partners throughout the project life-cycle, from assessment and issue identification through design, monitoring, adaptation and closure as aligned with the Partnership Excellence for Equality and Results System as well as the partnerships component within the IRC IMPACT framework..
• Ensure appropriate proactive and reactive communications and engagement with IRC partners through regularly scheduled partnership management meetings.
• Implement best practices and clear roles and responsibilities for:
  • systematic partner feedback on IRC’s management of the partnership relationship, as well as appropriate action in response to the feedback;
  • Partner engagement in program development
  • Partner identification efforts

Staff Management and Development

• Coach, train, and mentor staff with the aim of strengthening their technical capacity, exchanging knowledge within the team and providing professional development guidance
• Develop and implement staff capacity building plan to ensure quality partnership approaches across all sectors;
• Conduct timely and quality performance evaluations and give regular and constructive feedback to staff through the year to ensure a culture of accountability.

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to: Senior Program Quality Coordinator
Position directly supervises: Partnership Managers, Partnership Officer, Partnership Finance Manager, Partnership Finance Senior Officers,

Indirect Reporting: NA
Other Internal and/or external contacts:

Internal: IRC Lebanon Finance, HR and Supply chain; Deputy Direct of Programs; Program, Grants and MEAL coordinators; in addition to HQ and Regional grants, compliance and Partnerships teams,

External: In-country donor counterparts, Partner organizations including local NGO’s, Government and Public Institutions, Primary Health Care Centers, bar associations, and other private and national entities

Job Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in relevant discipline, Master’s degree a plus.
• Five to Seven years international work experience in relief or development programs.
• Demonstrated successful experience working with partners
• Understanding of partnership management processes and systems
• Demonstrable understanding of project planning and management cycles, and strong program design skills.
• Highly organized, close attention to detail, and ability to effectively prioritize tasks in a fluid environment.
• Professional fluency in spoken and written English and Arabic; able to communicate concisely and with impact.
• Very strong English writing and editing skills; strong computer skills.
• Experience in the region preferred.

Working Environment:

Office-Based with occasional travel to field offices.