Partnerships Officer

AKF(UK) Partnerships Officers are part of the Global Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) Partnerships team tasked with identifying funding partnerships and strengthening existing ones to support our strategic goals. Partnerships Officers manage a set of grants across a variety of themes and geographies. They also support engagement with European and Asian bilaterals, multilaterals and foundations to secure funding for ten multi-sector not-for-profit and forprofit agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) operating across Asia and Africa. This is all done in close collaboration with field units, global teams, and our partners.

 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND CORE TECHNICAL COMPETENCIES

Grants Management

• Manage a portfolio of grants through regular interface and coordination with AKF(UK)’s partnerships team, AKF(UK)’s programme finance team and relevant AKF/AKDN field units/agencies acting as a central resource for field units in donor best practice.

• Interface with donors about the implementation of ongoing grants to ensure strong, enduring relationships.

• Coordinate, review, and assure the quality of donor deliverables (e.g. work plans, monitoring and evaluation plans, staffing plans, budgets, close-out plans, donor troubleshooting).

• Ensure adherence with donor requirements, rules, and regulations, and that grant deliverables are produced on time and to a high standard.

• Coordinate contractual amendments, changes, and project adaptations, engage with donors in a pro-active and diplomatic way, and flag potential changes (e.g. budget revisions, extensions, risks) in advance to ‘trouble shoot’ and ensure smooth project implementation.

• Facilitate grant monitoring efforts including routine coordination meetings and as needed, support with donor steering committees, donor project visits, and donor monitoring missions.

• Undertake coordination and administrative tasks related to grants and support the maintenance and update of grant management tools and tracking systems (e.g. Award Information Management System (AIMS)).

• Ensure strong relationship cultivation throughout the grants cycle, anticipate, and plan for future funding and project extensions.

Mobilising Funds

• Coordinate and facilitate the development, review and quality assurance of expressions of interest, concept notes, and full proposals for funding opportunities.

• Liaise and coordinate with internal stakeholders as well as with donors, partners, and consortia to facilitate project design, align proposal and donor requirements, gather required legal and administrative documentation, and draft sections of proposals as needed.

• Coordinate processes of contracting and negotiation, engaging relevant stakeholders, and ensuring contracts ‘get over the line’ in a timely and efficient way.

• Contribute to management systems, such as AIMS.

Donor engagement and positioning

• Research, scan and source relevant information regarding new donors and partnership opportunities to identify potential funding matches and gather intelligence around European and Asian donors. 

Update donor profiles, researching and summarising latest donor strategies and using AIMS to update AKF/AKDN funding summaries.

• Develop positioning materials (e.g. presentations, capability statements, briefs, talking points), collaborating with communications teams, to enable effective donor engagement.

• Guide teams to make informed, effective decisions on which opportunities to pursue (including ‘Go No-Go’ requests).

• Identify and support cultivation of and pre-positioning with partner organisations to form or join consortia focused funding bids.

• Conduct due diligence on new partners in coordination with finance and partnerships teams.

Communicating practical lessons and results

• Engage communications teams to identify opportunities and support the development of content (e.g. social media campaigns, videos) that promote AKF and AKDN’s work and position us as ‘partners of choice’ in the sector.

• Participate in events (e.g. conferences, roundtables, policy forums) to share lessons, innovations and knowledge about our programmes that position us as ‘thought leaders.’

Carry out any other duties as assigned by the Senior Partnerships Manager, Deputy Directors or Regional Director for Europe & Asia.

 

QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE, BEHAVIOURS, ATTRIBUTES

Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree essential

• Master’s degree in a relevant field preferred

Skills

• Creativity, critical thinking, and project management

• Entrepreneurial, pro-active self-starter with maturity and emotional intelligence

• Ability to problem-solve, work independently and manage multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment with numerous and competing deadlines

• Ability to handle complex relationships with colleagues and external stakeholders in a professional manner

• Excellent writing, speaking and other communications skills, with thoroughness and attention to detail

• Ability to provide stable, consistent, reliable and courteous communication when dealing with external organisations, senior colleagues and community members

• Strong financial literacy, including the ability to read and produce detailed budgets and business plans

• Strong IT skills, including Microsoft Office 365 and Salesforce

• French language skills desirable, but not essential

• Proficiency in French language desirable

Knowledge

• Understanding and knowledge of the UK/European and Asian donor landscape preferred

• Knowledge of and commitment to international development

Experience

• A minimum of 3 years of professional experience

• Experience in developing and writing proposals, developing budgets, business plans/cases, concept papers, briefs, executive summaries, as well as coordinating multiple inputs from a variety of sources

• Experience of managing relationships in complex organisations with numerous stakeholders

• Experience managing grants in complex organisations desirable

 

Application Details:

• Applicants must already have the right to work in the UK.

• Must include CV and a supporting statement that outlines why you want the role, why you want to work for AKF(UK) and how your experiences and skills to date make you the most suitable applicant for the role.