Partnership and External Relations Adviser

ACORD

10 Mar 2006

Human Resources

recruit@acordnairobi.org

Title of Position: Partnership and External Relations Adviser

Location: London (with some travelling to Africa)

BACKGROUND
ACORD (Agency for Cooperation and Research in Development) is an independent international development organisation founded in 1976. It is working for social justice and development in Africa, through a combination of practical interventions on the ground and policy advocacy. Currently ACORD has operations in 18 African countries along the themes of livelihood, conflict, gender and HIV and AIDS. ACORD is also delivering a Pan-Africa programme on food sovereignty centred on grassroots driven advocacy for fair trade and international framework agreements that take the unequal conditions into account.

ACORD seeks to go beyond addressing the consequences of poverty by understanding, challenging and changing the conditions that cause poverty and exclusion. ACORD believes that people have a right to a just and equal society and are committed to making that right a reality for people on the margins of African societies. We work in common cause with people who are poor and have been denied their rights to understand, challenge and change these conditions. We work in alliance with organizations worldwide to achieve these aims.

JOB SUMMARY
Historically, ACORD was created as a consortium of non-governmental development organisations in Europe and Canada. ACORD's founding member organisations still provide the financial backbone of ACORD. Other major donors are the European Union and DFID. To enable a more effective response to the development challenges in Africa, an organisational change process was undertaken a few years ago. As a result, the strategic leadership was relocated to Africa and ACORD is today profiling itself as a key player in Africa. To support its renewed mandate, ACORD seeks to profile itself more broadly, expand its institutional base of partners and further develop strategic long-term partnerships.

The partnership and external relations adviser will play a critical role in profiling ACORD to existing and potential new partners in Europe, identifying new opportunities for collaboration, raising funds and brokering strategic partnership agreements.

Given the nature of the job, the partnership and external relations adviser will collaborate extensively with colleagues across the organisation. The role of the partnership and external relations advisor falls within ACORD's partnership and fund raising strategy. He/she is part of the Partnership Development Unit and will report to the Partnership Development Manager, based in Nairobi. He/she will also work closely with the ACORD London director.

RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Identify and pro-actively approach potential partners to explore opportunities for partnership and to broaden ACORD's donor base in Europe. Communicate with relevant ACORD departments and ensure timely and quality follow-up on contacts made.
2. In close interaction with ACORD's communication department, help develop external relations material and promote their utilisation across the organisation in order to profile ACORD to an external donor/partner audience.
3. In close interaction with the partnership development team and the programming directorate, support ACORD's Pan-Africa programme in terms of:
4. a. Helping to conceptualise thematic and overall strategic fund raising proposals and adapt them to the required donor formats
5. b. Identifying potential new partner organisations and networks for research and advocacy among the European public
6. Serve as the contact person for ACORD's existing institutional donors and foundations in the UK, ensuring adequate grant management and reporting as per the agreed contracts.
7. Represent ACORD in BOND NGO Funding Meetings and other relevant networks and meetings and prepare regular briefs back to colleagues across the organisation.
8. Actively promote organisation wide learning in partnership building, fund raising and external relations, through collaboration, team work and support, and through developing tool kits and resources for ACORD secretariat and field staff.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

1. Masters degree in international relations, management, communications, marketing or similar field.
2. Three to five years working experience in development, fund raising for NGOs, communications, external relations, marketing or partnership building.
3. Bilingual in English and French

SKILLS

1. Creativity, innovation and ability to take initiative
2. Excellent collaboration and team work
3. Excellent communication skills
4. Ability to work well in a multicultural and diverse organisational environment
5. Ability to handle change and unpredictability
6. Ability to deliver under pressure and to multi-task
7. Excellent partnership building and negotiation skills
8. Excellent fund raising skills
9. Excellent writing skills
10. Good analytical and strategic skills
11. Fully conversant with ICT and office applications. Experience with fund raising soft ware would be an advantage
12. Good at conceptualising and presenting ideas in a clear and convincing manner
13. Good understanding of the development challenges in Africa and trends in the aid environment for NGOs

TIME FRAME
- Applications should be submitted by 10 March 2006 to recruit@acordnairobi.org
- The post is to be filled immediately (from April 2006) or as soon as possible
- The contract will be for two years with possibility for extension. There is a six months probation period.