GRADE: 7

LOCATION: Kathmandu with frequent travel to program areas

TEAM/PROGRAMME: Program Operations Department

Type of Contract: Fixed term

Child Safeguarding: Level 3 -the responsibilities of the post may require the post holder to have occasional contact with or access to children or young people.

ROLE PURPOSE: 

Save the Children office has a diverse range of partnership such as partnership with National NGOs, CBOs, research and educational institutions, government line agencies and also private organizations. Given the diversity of partners, the complexity working with them is equally intricate. Most of the NGOs having limited resources are primarily responsive to donor demand and also not very sustainable in cases if resources cease to be available. Moreover, their organizational development (OD) particularly leadership development, setting long term goal, improving governance and strong networks for resource mobilization also require immense progress. 

The role Save the Children would like to play is to make partnership work rather than only focusing on capacity building. This include enhancing quality of relationship with its partners through frequent interactions and supporting in formulating partnership framework consisting of partnership, vision, policy, strategy, guidelines, tools and also supporting partners in their organization capacity development so that they are more sustainable, take ownership and develop strong civil society to promote child rights and accountability. The position holder will carry out these responsibilities being in line with Save the Children’s vision, global partnership engagement framework, country strategic plan, ToC and principle of Child Right Programming

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY

The specific objectives include:

• Support Save the Children Nepal/Bhutan and its partners to develop an overall vision and policy for partnerships which will contribute to building strong civil society actors and improving outcomes for children.
• Develop/update/revise a partnership framework (strategy, plan, tools, guidelines) for Save the Children Nepal/Bhutan and its partners to build and maintain effective and mutually benefiting partnerships across the country program. 
• Develop models for OCD based on in depth engagement with selected NGOs.

Key areas of work:

• Development of organizational systems and tools for partnership management, ensuring Save the Children has systematic approaches to choosing partners, monitoring partners work, and managing partner involvement in multiple grants, and ensuring regular and consistent partnership engagement with Save the Children. 
• Mapping and assessment of the current partnership portfolio identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The mapping and assessment should cover the whole spectrum of programming including Advocacy. It should also cover assessments and reviews made by other NGOs.
• Based on the mapping and assessment, including Partnership Engagement Framework developed by Save the Children globally and experience elsewhere, develop vision, objectives, strategy and implementation plan for Save the Children Nepal/Bhutan partnership framework. The framework must allow for a range of different types of partnerships that can be useful in different contexts. These different types of partnerships will each be associated with different levels of accountability, duration of partnership, level of involvement in planning of initiatives, etc. 
• Engage with selected key partners in participatory assessment processes and discussions on how the strengthening of their organizational capacity could best be supported by Save the Children Nepal/Bhutan. Develop basic action/OCD plan, outlining 2-3 key areas where Save the Children could provide support.
• Develop a system for accountability towards partners where Save the Children regularly seeks feedback from partners on its strategies and plans. This will include participation of the NGO partners in the country strategic and annual plans development and review process as well as in the process of funding proposals development, as necessary. The process should also secure mutual learning both in terms of program delivery and partnership building. 
• Development of an approach and models for organizational capacity-building for local partners which is based on the engagement with selected partners. This approach should look at factors that help build strong and independent child rights NGOs and include progress indicators and milestones that are confirmed through M&E and, as and when necessary, facilitate and/or commission external support capacity building training, workshops for Save the Children staffs and those of partners. 
• Prepare annual progress report to the core group to update on the progress and challenges faced and take further action based on the inputs.
• Develop in-country learning group in partnership & capacity strengthening; promoting Asia area PCS learning group to share each other's experiences and lesson learned. Documents key PCS experiences and lessons learned and publish effective proven practices for the policy influence. Disseminates the effective practices of Partnering and Organizational Capacity Strengthening to stakeholders, donors and Save the Children Country Offices.

Others:

• Working closely with the core group in developing and agreeing work plan and reviewing it on a quarterly basis to assess progress;
• Engaging regularly with partners to deliver the results.
• Participating in the Extended Senior Management Team (ESMT) and other relevant program forums to share experiences and learning with regard to our approaches to work in partnerships and future engagement.
• Working closely with Programme Teams and those in Grants to support analysis of potential partners including documented selection methods, use of formal agreements, monitoring assessment and capacity building.
• Securing participation of Save the Children staff incl. field offices and partners in discussions and workshops as part of policy development.
• Ensure consistency with Save the Children International and relevant member policies.
• Test and validate all policies, guidelines and tools before adoption.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:

ESSENTIALS:

• Master's degree in Management, Development Studies or related Social Science
• At least 7 (5 years for GSI group) years of working experience in in partnership based programme management 
• Outstanding partnership management and coordination skill and knowledge 
• Knowledge about core elements of approaches to working in partnerships
• Strong understanding of project management and effective delivery of project/program
• Strategic vision, analytical, innovative and creative problem solving skills.
• Financial/budget management skill
• Significant experience of working in the international development organization with knowledge of child- and human-rights frameworks, including rights-based programming.
• Proven track record in training/facilitation, negotiation, conflict handling, presentation and networking 
• Familiarity with humanitarian assistance and long term development work in order to communicate effectively with partners.
• Proven experience of managing relationships in complex organizations with numerous partners/stakeholders
• English language fluency, both spoken and written.
• Commitment to the values, mission and policies of Save the Children International
• Willingness and ability to travel frequently
• Strong commitment to team work and understanding of how to contribute to this 

DESIREABLES

• Knowledge of Nepal economic, social, political and cultural contexts.
• Knowledge about international donor-compliance regulations, especially for USAID, DFID, EC, SIDA, etc.