1. Strategy and Program Approach:

• Co-facilitating and supporting robust stakeholder analysis processes and informed decisions in each outcome area as to whether working in partnership with local civil society, government, and private sector actors, or implementing services directly, or both, will produce the best outcomes for the people we serve.
• Collaborate with technical coordinators to proactively identify potential partnerships with local and national organizations, including those that are led by women and serve women and girls.
• Co-facilitate and guide partner mapping and selection processes to identify new partners, including to identify women-led and women/girls serving organizations.
• Proactively engage partners in program development efforts.

1. Promote Effective Partnerships:

• Manage the Partnership Working Group (co-responsible for delivering the functions of the PWG), including referral of issues to Senior Management Team as appropriate.
• Promote and apply the IRC’s Partnership Excellence for Equality and Results system (PEERS). Contribute to building a strong understanding of PEERS throughout IRC Afghanistan, and to ensuring that IRC’s partnership principles, skills and approaches are applied by staff across programs and projects with partners.
• Facilitate systematic partner feedback on IRC’s management of the partnership relationship, including the documentation of, and response to partner feedback.
• Monitor opportunities to improve IRC’s overall performance as a partner and make periodic recommendations to SMT.
• Provide a quarterly Partnership Management Report to the SMT, incorporating input from technical coordinators and operational leads as appropriate.

1. Partnership Agreement Management:

• Lead facilitation and coordination of partnership management processes to ensure well planned, timely, coordinated, and coherent partnership management.
• Contribute relevant proposal content and ensure appropriate budget resourcing for partner projects and support.
• Co-facilitate and guide competitive and non-competitive partner selection processes to identify new partners, as well as new applications from existing partners.
• Manage and facilitate funding opportunities for local and national civil society organizations, making efforts to target women-led and women/girls serving organizations.
• Coordinate and co-lead Partner Identity and Background Review (Vetting) processes, including completion of the report for approval.
• Coordinate and co-lead Partner’s Project Capacity Review (PPCR) processes, including contributing to and facilitating collaborative risk analysis and management.
• Determine appropriate partnership agreement type and draft agreement, considering the due diligence outcomes and specific project and donor requirements, liaising with HQ for review and approval (and obtaining donor approvals as necessary).
• Co-lead Partnership Project Opening, Review and Closing Meetings, together with the Technical Coordinator.
• Coordinate and participate in timely and effective partner program, finance, and compliance review and reflection (monitoring), and work with the Technical Coordinator to address any project performance issues.
• Coordinate narrative and finance reporting processes, including review and feedback.
• Liaise with finance to achieve timely funds transfers and proper financial follow up and support for partners; work with finance to address any challenges in payments and raise proposed disallowed costs to SMT.
• Work collaboratively with partners and IRC staff to constructively resolve any issues that may arise.
• Where partner performance issues are identified, facilitate timely action by the IRC to address any areas of non-performance as they arise.
• Maintain complete and organized partnership files for each partner.
• Co-lead the review of the performance of the partner, of the IRC (including on the basis of partner feedback), and of the partnership, including successes, challenges and lessons learned, fostering ongoing partnerships beyond the sub-award project cycle.

1. Partnership Resourcing, Training, and Development:

• Work with senior management team to ensure the partnerships management function is appropriately resourced and structured.
• Lead efforts to build a strong understanding and application of PEERS and partnership principles, skills, and approaches among all departments.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree (BA) or equivalent in international affairs, development, international political economy or another relevant subject, master’s is preferred.
• At least 4 to 5 years of experience of working in partnership management preferably in development sector.
• Good communicator with strong organizational, time management and analytical skills
• Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures but also use own initiative, meet deadlines, and work independently and cooperatively with team members
• Flexibility to adapt to changing requirements and circumstances
• Ability to mentor and build staff and partner capacity
• Ability to juggle competing priorities, meet deadlines and work under pressure in an insecure environment
• Willingness to travel
• Commitment to women’s rights and IRC’s vision, mission, and values, including sensitivity to cultural settings
• Prior knowledge of donor compliance regulations (OFDA, USAID, ECHO, DFID, SIDA etc) is desirable
• Proven previous successful experience developing projects, writing proposals and donor reports is desirable.
  
• Fluency in Dari, Pashto, and English is required