Position Title: Head of Partnerships Team Ops/ Partnership Reports To (Title) Deputy Country Director – Operations Location Damascus, Syria Languages English and Arabic Team and Job Purpose Team purpose
To lead the development and embedding of locally-led programming principles and practices within country programmes, promoting community ownership and sustainability, whilst ensuring alignment with Save the Children International's values of accountability and integrity. This team empowers communities, fostering their autonomy and participation in initiatives tailored to their unique needs. By doing so, we play a critical role in achieving the organisation's goal of creating lasting change for children through inclusive, community-focused initiatives.
Role purpose
To provide strategic, operational, and technical leadership in the development and implementation of a partnerships standards, processes and tools, ensuring the integration of partnership perspectives and objectives within central processes and systems across Save The Children International. This role aims to maintain the highest standards of partnership management in alignment with SCI's Theory of Change, the Grand Bargain, and principles of localisation.
Principal Accountabilities - Develop and implement a strategic partnership framework that aligns with SCI’s theory of change, ensuring all partnerships contribute effectively to our mission and values.
- Oversee and support the partnership management team, fostering a collaborative and inclusive working environment that values diversity and equity.
- Integrate partnership objectives within centralised systems and processes across SCI and SCA, ensuring seamless collaboration and effective resource management.
- Monitor and evaluate partnership quality and impact, implementing improvements to maximise our reach and effectiveness while ensuring alignment with the grand bargain and principles of localization.
- Cultivate relationships with external partners, promoting mutual understanding, trust, and shared goals to enhance programmatic outcomes and sustainability.
- Promote and uphold SCI’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in all partnership activities, ensuring that our partnerships reflect and support our organisational values and goals .
Budget None People Management Responsibility (direct/indirect reports) Number of people managed in total: 3
Manager of a team: Yes
Size of Remit Country Office Travel Requirements International travel required: Yes
Percentage of required for travel: Up to 30%
Key Relationships Internal (excluding direct team and manager)
• Global Partnership Team
• Other departments
External
- National and International Partners
Competencies Cluster: Leading
Competency: Leading and inspiring others
Level: Leading Edge
Behavioral Indicator: Creates and engages others in a shared vision and strategy that will deliver more for children.
Cluster: Leading
Competency: Delivering results
Level: Leading Edge
Behavioral Indicator: Pursues opportunities, managing risks and uncertainty to enable the organization to deliver more for children.
Cluster: Thinking
Competency: Problem solving and decision making
Level: Leading Edge
Behavioral Indicator: Provides a strategic framework to support decision making across the organization.
Cluster: Thinking
Competency: Applying technical and professional expertise
Level: Leading Edge
Behavioral Indicator: Reviews the external environment to lead improvement in standards.
Cluster: Engaging
Competency: Working effectively with others
Level: Leading Edge
Behavioral Indicator: Opens up hidden areas of organizational disagreement and drives for collaborative resolution.
Cluster: Engaging
Competency: Communicating with impact
Level: Leading Edge
Behavioral Indicator: Delivers influential advice and briefings to internal and external audiences to build the call for action.
Experience and Skills Essential
- Demonstrated experience in managing partnerships and collaborating with various stakeholders, with skills in establishing and maintaining strong relationships with partners, stakeholders, and teams.
- Proven track record and strong technical proficiency in integrating partnership objectives within centralized systems and processes to ensure seamless collaboration and effective resource management.
- Strategic thinking skills and experience in developing and implementing strategic frameworks that align with organizational goals and values.
- Extensive skills and experience in leading and supporting teams, promoting a collaborative and inclusive environment, and fostering diversity and equity within organizations
- Effective Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with a strong ability to convey complex information concisely and clearly to stakeholders.
- Project Management: Strong project management skills, including planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of projects.
- Analytical Skills: Ability to analyze data and evaluate partnership impact, making data-driven decisions and improvements.
- Cultural Competency: Awareness and sensitivity towards different cultures and backgrounds, ensuring inclusive practices in all activities.
- Negotiation and Influence: Skilled in negotiation and influencing others to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.
- Adaptability: Flexible and adaptable to changing environments, with the ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines.
Desirable
- Additional languages (Arabic)
Education and Qualifications - Bachelor’s Degree: A degree in International Relations, Development Studies, Business Administration, or a related field.
- Preferred Advanced Degree: Master’s degree in a relevant field is highly advantageous.
Safeguarding We need to keep children and adults safe so our selection process includes rigorous background checks and reflects our commitment to the protection of children and adults from abuse.
Level 3: the post holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once a week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work country programs; or are visiting country programs; or because they are responsible for implementing the police checking/vetting process staff.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Equal Opportunities
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is core to our vision, values and global strategy. Save the Children is committed to creating a truly diverse, equitable and inclusive organization, and one which will support us in our vision to ensure every child attains the right to survival, protection, development, and participation.
We are committed to equal employment opportunities, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, color, ethnic origin, nationality, disability, marital or civil partnership status, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, caring or parental responsibilities, age, or beliefs and religion. We are committed to diversifying our staff to better represent the communities we serve and actively welcome underrepresented groups to apply.
Reasonable adjustments will be made should any candidate invited to interview require this.
The OrganizationWe employ approximately 25,000 people across the globe and work on the ground in over 100 countries to help children affected by crises, or those that need better healthcare, education and child protection. We also campaign and advocate at the highest levels to realise the right of children and to ensure their voices are heard. We are working towards three breakthroughs in how the world treats children by 2030:
· No child dies from preventable causes before their 5th birthday
· All children learn from a quality basic education and that,
· Violence against children is no longer tolerated
We know that great people make a great organization, and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children.We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive workplace where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued.
Application Information:Please apply using a cover letter and up-to-date CV as a single document. Please also include details of your current remuneration and salary expectations. A copy of the full role profile can be found at www.savethechildren.net/jobs We need to keep children safe so our selection process reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.
