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AGA KHAN FOUNDATION (Pakistan)

The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF), an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), is a private, non-denominational, international development agency established in 1967. It seeks sustainable solutions to long-term problems of poverty, hunger, illiteracy and ill-health with special emphasis on the needs of rural communities in mountainous and other resource poor regions, primarily in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Its main areas of focus are education, health, rural development, environment and strengthening civil society.

The Aga Khan Foundation (Pakistan) [AKF(P)] is seeking high calibre professional for the following position to be based in Islamabad:

“Director/Head of Partnerships”

The incumbent will report to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and will play a key role within the Partnerships portfolio of AKF(P), as well as representing the Partnerships department on AKF(P)’s Senior Management Team.

Overall Objective:

The Director/Head of Partnerships is responsible for contributing to the strategic direction and sustainability of the organisation, accountable for providing strategic oversight in donor cultivation, resource mobilisation, management of external partnerships and promoting awareness and sharing best practices internally and externally from AKDN activities.  

He/she will ensure coherence and synergy among the partnerships, gender, and communication strategies and the programmes of AKF(P), and those of the implementing partners of AKDN agencies in Pakistan, with a focus on significant stakeholder relationship building and engagement.

He/she will provide overall strategic leadership to the Partnerships Department and will be responsible for: providing advice, strategic direction, problem resolution, setting milestones, recommending course corrections and ensuring effective human resource development to ensure the long term viability of partnerships and communications expertise.

Main Duties & Responsibilities:

Stakeholder Engagement and Management of External Partnerships (35%)

  • Lead on strategic engagement with donors, multilateral agencies, and other international and national civil society organisations and contractors in consultation with the CEO.
  • Assist the CEO in building and managing relationships with the key stakeholders in civil society, media and relevant government agencies to ensure appropriate resource mobilisation and execution of the programmes.
  • Coordinate with AKF Donor Country Units and AKDN agencies globally to develop a prioritised and approved pipeline of grants, as well as investments in and for AKDN projects.
  • Fulfil a key role in cultivation, solicitation and maintenance of the relationships with funders and investment partners, technical and policy partners, and internal partners (mainly, but not exclusively, AKDN agencies).
  • In coordination with the CEO, represent AKF in various key development forums and external meetings, including policy fora, roundtables and working group meetings, and coordinate external relations across the Network.

Resource Mobilisation (35%)

  • Lead AKF(P)’s resource mobilisation efforts and support resource mobilisation on behalf of other AKDN agencies.
  • Lead development of high-quality concept papers and proposals for national and international donors, in collaboration with the Programme and Finance teams, AKDN agencies, other AKF units and the AKF Global Programme Team, and external partners.
  • Work with AKF and AKDN partners to explore and develop new financing instruments, approaches and platforms to support institutional needs (e.g. blended finance, GDAs, etc.).
  • Ensure that pipeline management and grant management are in line with AKF global Award Information Management System.

Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL) (10%)

  • Oversee the work of the MERL Manager and the MERL team to monitor and evaluate all external grants and investments, as well as AKF(P) funded grants and mission-related investments to evaluate progress, analyse and measure impact and success, and identify lessons learned.
  • Collaborate closely with AKDN agencies, where appropriate, to identify any risks and find solutions.
  • Work closely with the CEO and Senior Management Team to ensure the implementation of recommendations from evaluations in order to improve operations and delivery of results.
  • Ensure that activities and accomplishments of different interventions are documented and disseminated in the form of reports and oral presentations to be delivered internally and, if required, at the national and international level.

Communications (10%)

  • Oversee AKF(P) communications functions and align communications products with policy messaging and programming needs, in collaboration with the AKF Global Programme Team, other AKF units, and other AKDN agencies.

Strategy and Policy (10%)

  • Work closely with the AKDN agencies and AKF(P) colleagues to promote synergies within AKDN to meet strategic goals.
  • Develop, update, or refine as appropriate AKF(P)’s strategies and policies related to resource mobilisation, communications, gender, safeguarding, etc., in collaboration with other members of AKF(P) Senior Management Team.
  • Work with Programmes colleagues and the CEO to develop and promote government policies that are conducive to AKDN’s goals in Pakistan.
  • Prepare annual, quarterly and monthly reviews on the quality of unit activities for the National Committee and global AKF leadership in Geneva.
  • Oversee AKF(P)’s internal gender advisory role, with the support of the gender team, ensuring that policy messaging, communications products, and resource mobilisation are gender responsive.

Cross-cutting

  • Ensure Partnerships Department activities are consistent with AKDN ethics and values and compliant with all applicable laws.
  • Supervise the Partnerships Department, including direct and indirect management of staff working on partnerships and resource mobilisation, MERL, gender, and communications.

REquired Qualifications

Academic Background

  • The incumbent should have a Master’s degree (or higher) in rural development, education, health, business administration, finance, international development/relations, economics or related field from an internationally recognised and reputable university.

Experience

  • A minimum of nine (9) years relevant experience, preferably combining private sector experience with a large international development organisation, donor or philanthropic organisation, with at least seven (7) years in a senior manager role.
  • Strong relationship management experience with the ability to effectively engage with a diverse range of stakeholders at the highest level.
  • Experience in leading the development of proposals and programme designs
  • Hands on experience in developing and implementing strategic plans with multiple stakeholders including assessing and analysing the political, social, economic, and environmental climates and projections in order to assist in formulating initiatives.
  • Experience of working in multi-cultural environments.
  • Experience of administering, managing and implementing donor-funded programmes is desirable.
  • Experience with international development agencies highly preferred.

Candidates with excellent written & spoken English, excellent interpersonal skills & knowledge of MS Office, flexibility to travel and ability to work in a diversified team environment are encouraged to apply.

AKF(P) offers a competitive remuneration package and conducive working environment. We are an equal opportunity employer. Women are encouraged to apply.

The deadline for applications is June 12, 2019. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

For more information about AKDN, please visit www.akdn.org