ROLE PROFILE Title
Partnerships Advisor
Functional Area Reports to Location
Program Head of Program Plan International Sri Lanka Country Office, Colombo 1st December 2019
Effective Date
Travel required
50%
Grade
D2
ROLE PURPOSE To support Plan International Sri Lanka to work through and with partners, ensuring effective capacity building of local organisations and institutions towards long-term development objectives. We recognise that we cannot achieve sustainable development outcomes by working alone. Key to this is building relationships with a variety of organisations, institutions, corporates and other actors that influence the changes we are seeking. We pay particular attention to partnerships with organizations of children and young people. Based on an understanding of other stakeholders and on the knowledge of our own strengths and limitations, we develop strategic relationships to enhance our reach, influence and capability at all levels. Partnerships Advisor is responsible for ensuring locally customized guidelines, procedures, tools and capacity building plans are in place for Plan International Sri Lanka to implement its programme through a partnership driven gender transformative approach. The position holder is also responsible for monitoring whether the guidelines, procedures and tools on partnerships are consistently applied in day-to-day implementation of all Plan International Sri Lanka’s programmes. Partnerships Advisor will have to identify potential issues related to partnership, challenges and solutions, when these are not consistently applied and recommend corrective action to the Country Management, Provincial Managers and relevant project/programme managers.
DIMENSIONS OF THE ROLE Partnerships Advisor provides leadership to conceptualizing project implementation model driven by strategic partnerships. The position will report to the Head of Programmes and will provide technical support to the Provincial Managers in the supervision of Community Development Facilitators and other programme/project staff based at the Programme Unit level in terms of application of partnership related annual objectives.
ACCOUNTABILITIES 
Establish clear standards for a partnership-driven programme o Local partnership strategy and guideline is revised/updated in line with Building Better Partnerships 2018 Global Partnerships guideline, Plan International Global Strategy, and Country Strategy 4. o Develop key Partnerships tools including the tools for mutual assessment and annual review are developed/revised o Draw process flows (SOP) for partnerships
Plan International LOCATION-TITLE-STATUS-CONFIDENTIALITY-LANGUAGE-DATE
o o o
Facilitate legal and organizational reviews of existing agreements and develop/update purpose driven agreement template/s Database of existing and potential partners at local, national and international level is maintained building on the Civil Society Organization registry that has been established in 2017 Develop tools that each programme/project can use for monitoring their Partners’ performance on a regular basis and periodic monitoring is carried out on project/programme basis whether these tools are used in practice
Ensure capacity development of Plan staff and partners on partnership management o Establish mechanisms where project/programme managers communicate regularly about the capacity gaps that are identified in partners o Support project/programme teams to draw capacity development plans and implement such plans to improve partner performance o Facilitate annual partner survey process using SoGo tool with partner organisations o o o
Identify overall capacity gaps among staff that hinder effective partnership management, design and conduct a staff capacity development process including periodic training Facilitate and support staff who undertake further self-directed learning on Partnership management Provide appropriate engagement & exist strategies for projects
Advice on supervision and performance appraisal on effective partnership management o At the beginning of the FY, give input to the managers regarding how to reflect effective partnership management as they are related to their job functions in staff Individual Accountability Plans o Contribute to staff appraisals by providing observations on relevant staff performance on their partnership related objectives o Make recommendations for changes
Monitoring, documentation and reporting o Involve in conducting monitoring and evaluation of the activities from partnership perspective and provide feedback in coordination with Monitoring Evaluation and Research team. o Conduct monitoring visits to the program area, provide onsite coaching and feedback to team to mainstream partnership approach.
Coordination, Networking and Advocacy o Coordinate and facilitate to build strategic alliances with other key actors internally and externally to advocate for gender-transformative programming. o Coordinate and liaise with program partners, government line agencies and other counterparts to build the synergy in project cycle o Participate and contribute as a focal person in Plan’s country/regional / international Gender networks and alliance. o Assist in research & advocacy initiatives o Sharing of learning insights obtain through projects o Conducts annual relationship status reviews with partners for positioning PISL as a partner of choice
Key relationships Position
Reasons for contact
Head of Programme Programme Team includes PU Finance Team Non-Financial Staf
For guidance and to take approval to carry out day to day activities. For decision-making
Level (high, medium, low) High High
For budgeting, cost recovery and financial oversight of partners To share expertise, knowledge and conduct trainings.
High medium
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TECHNICAL EXPERTISE, SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE Essential Master’s Degree in development studies, social science, or a degree in a relevant field with minimum of 5 years’ experience in managing and leading partnerships with specific training on partnership management in development context with At least 8 years of technical advisory / program experience in designing, implementing and evaluating programmes/projects. Specific experience in approaches to working in partnership and/or support indirect programme implementation Practical experience of developing relationships with a variety of stakeholders in supporting a partner based approach to programme implementation Excellent communication, facilitation and presentation skills with ability to multitask and coordinate with multiple stakeholders Experience of capacity building of both internal and external partner staff Experience of developing practical guidance and templates for field staff and partner organisations Skills & Ability Analytical, strategic thinking and negotiating skills. Ability to build effective relations for influencing. Excellent organisation and prioritisation skills. Ability to write clearly and concisely in English, translating complex issues for a variety of audiences (e.g. general population and policy-makers). Excellent verbal communication skills. Fluency in English and Sinhalese. Knowledge of Tamil language would be an advantage Creative thinking and problem solving skills. Proven IT skills: Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint etc. Ability to prioritise and multitask work when dealing with competing deadlines, sometimes with limited resources. Behaviour Uses evidence-based results to make choices and drive change. Taking initiative to be innovative and creative to achieve results. Strives for quality in all they do, respecting deadlines, working continuously to improve performance. Takes responsibility for their actions, and learn from behaviour, successes and failures. Supports gender equality and diversity, and challenges forms of inequality or harassment Encourages children young people, partners and colleagues to be meaningfully involved in decisions that affect them. Listens to and understand views of colleagues and partners. Draws on their experience to ensure high quality work. Upholds and demonstrates Plan’s values and behaviours. Ability to build, nurture and manage team. Calm under pressure. Ability to work comfortably and sensitively across cultures.
PLAN INTERNATIONAL’S VALUES IN PRACTICE We are open and accountable
Promotes a culture of openness and transparency, including with sponsors and donors. Holds self and others accountable to achieve the highest standards of integrity.
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Consistent and fair in the treatment of people. Open about mistakes and keen to learn from them. Accountable for ensuring we are a safe organisation for all children, girls & young people
We strive for lasting impact
Articulates a clear purpose for staff and sets high expectations. Creates a climate of continuous improvement, open to challenge and new ideas. Focuses resources to drive change and maximise long-term impact, responsive to changed priorities or crises. Evidence-based and evaluates effectiveness.
We work well together
Seeks constructive outcomes, listens to others, willing to compromise when appropriate. Builds constructive relationships across Plan International to support our shared goals. Develops trusting and ‘win-win’ relationships with funders, partners and communities. Engages and works well with others outside the organization to build a better world for girls and all children.
We are inclusive and empowering
We empower our staff to give their best and develop their potential We respect all people, appreciate differences and challenge equality in our programs and our workplace We support children, girls and young people to increase their confidence and to change their own lives.
PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT The position is based in Country Office Colombo under typical office environment with frequent (50%) travel to the field and out of country.
LEVEL OF CONTACT WITH CHILDREN Mid contact: Occasional interaction with children
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