The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, the organization’s mission is the enduring purpose: to help people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster, including the climate crisis, to survive, recover and gain control of their future.

The IRC has been working in Somalia since 2006, providing essential services to conflict and disaster affected communities. The IRC has been operational in Banadir (Mogadishu), Puntland, Galmudug and Southwest State implementing interventions in the areas of livelihoods, WASH, governance, and peacebuilding, women’s protection and empowerment, nutrition, education, and health reaching hundreds of thousands of conflict and drought affected people.

SCOPE OF WORK:

The Senior Partnership officer will primarily support the IRC Somalia Partnerships Unit in managing IRC’s Nexus Project funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO) with the support of the Senior Partnership Manager and the Senior Nexus Coordinator. The Senior Partnerships Officer will coordinate and manage all partnership management aspects in line with IRC’s Partnership Excellence for Equality and Results System (PEERS). This will include facilitating the due diligence for the partners, preparing partnership agreements and relevant annexes, working collaboratively with the partners to manage any risks, facilitating partnership monitoring and review initiatives, coordinating the reporting processes for all partners and managing all communications with the partners. The Senior Partnerships Officer will also lead in identifying areas for capacity sharing with the partners and invest in the sustainable growth and capacity for IRC Somalia partnership portfolio.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Partnership Management

• Support the implementation of the Partnership Excellence for Equality and Results (PEERS) system across all areas of partnership management including the pre-award assessment, partner budget review, contracting tool selection; prepare sub-award review through the Opportunity Tracking and Implementation System (OTIS).
• Organize the pre-award due diligence and Partner Capacity Assessments (PCA) process with respect to all new partnerships including through appropriate vetting, coordinating PCAs with the other departments, analysis of the risks associated with the award, chairing the Partner Capacity Assessment and the identification and implementation of appropriate measures to manage those risks, working with other departments as appropriate.
• Lead Partner Sub-Grants Opening Meeting to ensure sub-grants agreement terms and conditions are well understood by the sub-grantees; arrange for the initial financial reporting training to the sub-grantees where necessary.
• Work closely with the partner Partnership team to prepare and update the partnership tracker.
• Support Partner Monitoring schedule per Partner Capacity Assessment Results and ensure programmatic and compliance monitoring visits happen in coordination with the partnership team and responsible project Managers.
• Support the Senior Partnership Manager on managing the Partnership Working Group (PWG) to deliver the functions of the PWG, including referral of issues to Senior Management Team as appropriate.

Partner Support and Capacity Sharing

• Support IRC Somalia program and operations staff in assessing partner’s capacity building needs and coordinate discussions with partners to develop a capacity building/development plan which is based on the outcome of the assessment (PCA). Ensure the plan is tailored, targeted, and responsive to their organizational needs and priorities.
• Support IRC’s role in the delivery of capacity sharing plans for partners in close coordination with the Senior Partnerships Manager
• Support the Senior Nexus Coordinator and Senior Partnership Manager in ensuring that sub-grants are implemented in compliance with the relevant donor regulations and IRC procedures.

Documentation and Reporting

• Support comprehensive information management and filing system to ensure all partnership agreements, reports, key correspondences, D codes, etc. are appropriately filed in up-to-date and consistent soft (Box) and OTIS files managed by the Partnerships Unit.
• Work Closely with the partnership and grants team to ensure the timely scheduling of the sub-award closeout activities in close coordination with IRC internal relevant program staff per PEERS guidelines.
• Oversee and work with project team and other relevant staff to review partner reports and support the drafting and compilation of partner reports in the overall donor reports.
• In collaboration with the Nexus project team, track sub-award partners’ deliverables and ensure that partners’ contractual reports are reviewed, and feedback is provided
• Track and document lessons learned from finalized sub-awards.

Communication and information management:

• Provide support, as required, in drafting donor correspondences and taking minutes during partnership-led meetings, as well as project review meetings, and following up action points, as required.
• Support other program initiatives / work streams / task as assigned.

REQUIREMENTS:

• University degree in Social Sciences, International Relations, or another relevant field.
• 3 to 5 years’ experience working with sub-grantees and/or local partner organizations and demonstrated ability to form effective and productive relationships with stakeholder counterparts.
• Experience in grants management, proposal development (program narratives and budgets) and donor reporting.
• Ability to work with tight deadlines for report writing/ information requests.
• Excellent organizational skills, ability to determine and juggle multiple priorities, and attention to detail is critical.
• Ability to work in a multi-cultural context as a flexible and respectful team player. Patience, cultural sensitivity, and application of contextual understanding in day-to-day work is required.
• Knowledge of German donors (BMZ, GFFO), US (USAID/BHA/CDC), EU (ECHO/EC) and UK (FCDO) donor regulations, procedures, and requirements is desirable.
• Willingness to travel to IRC Somalia’s field sites or to new locations as needed.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent written and spoken English essential.
• High-level of knowledge and practice with Word, Excel, Teams, Outlook, etc. required.