Partnership Officer

Partnership Development

• Identify, establish, and maintain strategic partnerships with NGOs, private sector entities, donors, and other stakeholders.

• Support the negotiation of agreements and align partnership objectives with organizational goals.

• Promote and facilitate collaborative partnerships management, including timely and effective partner program, finance, and compliance review and reflection (monitoring), and work with the CO partnerships focal person, and technical coordinators to address any project performance issues.

• Together with the Partnerships taskforce, support Partners’ Due Diligence and prepare a response strategy to risk and recommend capacity-building actions accordingly.

• Support in drafting sub-grant agreements and modifications

• Facilitate partner grant kick-off and close-out meetings to monitor project progress and ensure donor compliance, operation/program integration, procurement planning, sharing of lessons learned, etc.

• Support in developing and updating the tracking tools and templates for effective partnership management.

• Review the partner’s budgets and ensure that the budget costs are justified and aligned with program activities.

Relationship Management and Coordination

• Cultivate strong relationships to ensure mutual benefits and sustained collaboration.

• Address partner concerns and facilitate smooth communication.

• Collaborate with partners and DRC staff to constructively resolve any issues that may arise.

• Coordinate with the Finance team to ensure partners’ liquidity and advances for the smooth running of partners’ financial reporting.

• Maintain effective coordination with the program colleagues to track the partner’s program activities.

• Ensure that timely and reliable sub-grant administration support is provided to all units within the office.

• Maintain regular and effective coordination with partner organizations to ensure smooth implementation of project activities and closeout

Program Support and Monitoring

• Coordinate with internal teams to integrate partnership contributions into projects.

• Monitor partner commitments and ensure compliance with agreements.

• Champion robust partner relationship management characterized by core partnership principles of responsibility, results-oriented approach, equality, transparency, and complementarity.

• Conduct periodic monitoring visits to partner project sites

Reporting and Documentation

• Track partnership activities, support partners prepare progress reports and share impact stories.

• Coordinate external reporting, ensuring high-quality, well-written, and timely reports meeting donor and DRC requirements, with support from the technical program coordinators and program managers.

• Maintain partner files, including regularly updating DRC’s Grants Management System (DRC Dynamics).

• Maintain the subgrants and report tracking system to ensure all grant files are organized and well managed for planning and preparation of donor reports and project monitoring

• Support the Programme Manager and country partnerships focal person in providing timely, thorough responses to information requests from internal and external sources.

Capacity Building

• Train staff on partnership engagement strategies and cross-sector collaboration.

• The Partnerships Officer plays a critical role in resource mobilization and advancing organizational missions through strategic collaborations.

• With In collaboration with the CO Partnerships focal person, provide training to partner staff as per DRC’s PCD guidelines.

• Degree in a related field, such as social work, social sciences, or development studies.

• A minimum of 2 years’ experience working in international humanitarian and/or development aid, preferably with displaced populations.

• Technical expertise and experience in social work, protection, and Anticipatory Action.

• Robust Engagement and planning skills.

• Demonstrable track record of meeting or exceeding program targets, whilst maintaining technical quality

• A demonstrated ability to build and maintain relationships with host governments, donors, partners and local organizations

• Fluent in written and spoken English

Education:

• Degree in social work, social sciences or development studies, or other relevant field.