Partnership Manager

The Organisation

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.

We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it’s girls who are most affected.

Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children.

We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood. And we enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.

We have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 85 years, and are now active in more than 75 countries.

ROLE PROFILE

role PURPOSE

Plan International Cameroon recognizes that we can’t achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by working independently. This requires us to build relationships with various organizations, institutions, and other actors (including the corporate sector) that impact the changes we are seeking through our Plan International Program and Influence Approach. The organization has decided to refocus its country strategy on meaningful programs that adds values in the life of the most vulnerable children, especially girls in all context; taking advantage of the decentralization to re-introduce community/council managed programs.

Plan International Cameroon is therefore committed to creating the conditions for developing genuine partnerships with other organizations, civil society, government institutions, universities and research institutes.

Dimensions of the Role

The Partnership Manager reports to the Country Director and is Responsible for improving and strengthening our our advocacy environment to better engage local actors in their child rights-based community development & influencing process. S/He strengthens partnership relations at Plan Cameroon levels and contributes significantly to develop the country portfolio at national level and undertake appropriate initiatives in conjunction with the BD Department to reassure donors and strategic partners and alliances of their investment in our programs in Cameroon.

The Partnership Manager does have a delegation of authority for approving budget or expenditure; S/He collaborates in the management of the CO Annual Plans & Budget. The incumbent is member of the Extended Country Leadership Team (eCLT).

Accountabilities

• Initiate and introduce new partnerships where it is necessary to guarantee our ambition and goals in the country.
• Responsible for capacity building of Plan International Cameroon’s staff and partners.
  Represents the organization in national, regional and international networks and promotes the global and local partnership policies and principles.
• Participate & Contribute to the development of programs & project proposals
• Initiate and develop networks with our project implementation partners and expand our partnership portfolio.
• Support projects in the process of acquisition of partners as well as in the management of selected and approved partnerships
• Lead & manage the process of assessing and developing partner capacity building plans.
  Establish a support team and focal point in each project and office for an adequate follow-up of the partners’ strengthening and development plans.
• Partnership management from a programmatic point of view
  In this context, the main responsibilities are:

• Develop or update a partnership strategy together with an implementation plan
• Ensure the operationalization of Plan International Cameroon’s partnership strategy;
• Update the partners mapping ;
• Ensure the development of effective partnerships for the implementation of quality projects and programs;
• Develop and implement a capacity building plan for staff and partners in collaboration with other departments and specialists;
• Contribute to the efficient & effective management of GIN’s partnership portfolio;
• Ensure that for each partner of Plan International Cameroon that there is an operational mechanism for periodic evaluation of the partnership;
• Develop and implement with the Quality Assurance Department an annual / quarterly plan of institutional analyses and periodic evaluations of partners;
• Develop and update a mapping of existing and potential partners of Plan International Cameroon;
• Organize an annual online partnership survey;
• Support the development of standard partnership documents according to partnership typologies

Ensure that our partnership documents & discussions & our operations with partners including those implemented by & with our partners do no harm to children & youth and that full safety is applied to them during implementation. And that the Safeguarding policy & its 13 standards are full respected and applied at all time during Plan International operations. The Ability to work virtually online, and remotely to manage your teams at distance & keep a high performance under emergencies, epidemics & pandemics. And finally, the ability to adapt & be resilient in tough times and be capable of supporting your teammates remotely accordingly.

Key relationships

As part of its mission, the Partnership Director is under the direct responsibility of the CD with a close, relational and programmatic link with the HPI, HPO, CoPs, PM, PIIAMs and the whole ECMT.
He maintains working relationships with project / program managers as well as partnership focal points who report to him / her on project and office developments.

At the external level, the Partnership and Capacity Building Specialist interacts with Plan International’s Partnership and Working with Civil Society networks to foster learning and sharing experiences. At the country level, it is also in contact with partners through their constituent coordination teams.

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1. Ensures that Plan International’s global policies for Safeguarding Children and Young People and Gender Equality and Inclusion are fully embedded in accordance with the principles and requirements of the policy including relevant Implementation Standards and Guidelines as applicable to their area of responsibility. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring staff and associates are aware of and understand their responsibilities under these policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), their relevance to their area of work, and that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures.

Technical expertise, skills and knowledge

Essential

• Master degree in rural development, public relations with 5 years of program experience partnership or coordination roles.
• Have a good experience working with a variety of partners; experience with PNDP will be appreciated.
• Good mastery of Cameroon laws and policies of ministry of Territorial Administration ad well as decentralization process.
• Constantly reflect critically on the mechanism for strengthening our partnership with third party organizations;
• Have in-depth knowledge in the areas of strengthening civil society and building effective partnerships in the context of development and humanitarian assistance;
• Have a good understanding of gender equality and inclusion, and work with a rights-based perspective;
• Have a good knowledge of the external environment on strengthening civil society and building partnerships.
• Ability to work virtually online, and remotely to manage your teams at distance & keep a high performance under emergencies, epidemics & pandemics.
• Ability to adapt & be resilient in tough times and be capable of supporting your teammates remotely accordingly

Desirable

• Outstanding knowledge of project / program management.
• Management knowledge based on the result;
• Be familiar with the dynamics of civil society in Cameroon;
• Advanced knowledge of management of development programs;
• Knowledge of Microsoft office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook);
• Knowledge of planning tools, monitoring and evaluation;
• Work experience in conflict zones is an asset;
• Have at least 5 years experiences in project management;
• Have good experience working with stakeholders such as local partners, government officials, donor representatives and other international actors.
• Able to inspire others and bring them together around a common agenda ;
• Have excellent conceptual, analytical and strategic thinking skills ;
• Be able to build networks and manage / influence professional and organizational boundaries;
• Lead and inspire staff throughout the organization;
• Facilitate common understanding and development of good partnership practices;
• Inspire the staff and partners with the trust and support of others;
• Support innovation and learning initiatives;
• Able to create rapport with a wide range of groups;
• Demonstrate commitment to Plan’s goals and values;
• Be committed to safeguarding children and young people.

Plan International’s Values in Practice

We are open and accountable

1. Promotes a culture of openness and transparency, including with sponsors and donors.
2. Holds self and others accountable to achieve the highest standards of integrity.
3. Consistent and fair in the treatment of people.
4. Open about mistakes and keen to learn from them.
5. Accountable for ensuring we are a safe organisation for all children, girls & young people

We strive for lasting impact

1. Articulates a clear purpose for staff and sets high expectations.
2. Creates a climate of continuous improvement, open to challenge and new ideas.
3. Focuses resources to drive change and maximise long-term impact, responsive to changed priorities or crises.
4. Evidence-based and evaluates effectiveness.

We work well together

1. Seeks constructive outcomes, listens to others, willing to compromise when appropriate.
2. Builds constructive relationships across Plan International to support our shared goals.
3. Develops trusting and ‘win-win’ relationships with funders, partners and communities.
4. Engages and works well with others outside the organization to build a better world for girls and all children.

We are inclusive and empowering

1. We empower our staff to give their best and develop their potential
2. We respect all people, appreciate differences and challenge equality in our programs and our workplace
3. We support children, girls and young people to increase their confidence and to change their own lives.

Physical Environment

evel of contact with children

Low contact: No contact or very low frequency of interaction

Mid contact: Occasional interaction with children

High level: Frequent interaction with children

Location:  Yaounde

Closing Date: 10th October 2022

Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the very heart of everything that Plan International stands for.

We want Plan International to reflect the diversity of the communities we work with, offering equal opportunities to everyone regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

Plan International is based on a culture of inclusivity and we strive to create a workplace environment that ensures every team, in every office, in every country, is rich in diverse people, thoughts, and ideas.

We foster an organisational culture that embraces our commitment to racial justice, gender equality, girls’ rights and inclusion.

Plan International believes that in a world where children face so many threats of harm, it is our duty to ensure that we, as an organisation, do everything we can to keep children safe. This means that we have particular responsibilities to children that we come into contact with and we must not contribute in any way to harming or placing children at risk.

A range of pre-employment checks will be undertaken in conformity with Plan International’s Safeguarding Children and Young People policy. Plan International also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this scheme we will request information from applicants previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms their understanding of these recruitment procedures.

Please note that Plan International will never send unsolicited emails requesting payment from candidates.