The Role:
Oxfam Syria is looking for Partnership Coordinator
JOB PURPOSE:
The Partnership Coordinator will provide overall leadership and technical oversight to partnership processes within Oxfam’s Syria programme, particularly in relation to strengthening and managing relationships with partner organisations. The Partnership Coordinator will be responsible for supporting three hub teams in Damascus, Aleppo and Deir-ez-Zor in the effective scoping and building of (new) partnerships, managing and maintaining partnerships and providing support to joint programming and advocacy initiatives. The role will work with hub teams to institutionalize partnership ways of working and processes, and review and revise partnerships as relevant for the country programme. The Partnership Coordinator will support institutional development of civil society actors, through capacity sharing initiatives, technical support and network / alliance building.
In doing so, the role supports civil society actors and Oxfam teams to implement effective and locally-led humanitarian assistance and, where needed, the professionalization of aid led by local actors. In line with Oxfam’s partnership principles, all team members are expected to foster an appropriate working culture build on Oxfam’s values, respectful and cognisant of power imbalances internally and between Oxfam, our partners and the communities we serve.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
Partnership management:
- Explore local actors’ existing responses, roles, capacities and interest to partner with INGOs.
- Support partner mapping and scoping at hub-level, including identifying potential value added of parties (including Oxfam).
- Liaise with Area Manager(s) and Syria CO leadership to identify local actors aligned with Oxfam’s work, mission and (programmatic) priorities in Syria.
- Support or lead the setting-up of partnership building conversations with potential partners.
- Explore ways to extend (informal) partnership relations to diversify Oxfam in Syria’s partnership portfolio by building on previous Oxfam in Syria engagement with less formalised organisations, including non-registered and women/youth-led local groups and charities.
- Lead and coordinate with different departments on partnership assessment processes and tasks (due diligence, capacity assessments) and provide guidance to involved Oxfam in Syria staff.
- Ensure appropriate documentation of a transparent partnership assessment process.
- Support financial and other colleagues on documentation, contracting and compliance of legal partner contracts, conditions and amendments.
- Ensure that partner organisations receive adequate support on finance, logistics, HR, reporting, communications and other organisational requirements.
- Based on Oxfam’s partnership principles, set up a monitoring agreement with each partner, with a dual emphasis on compliance and risk management for funds and goods, as well as a monitoring plan to measure the impact of capacity strengthening agreements/actions on organisational capacity and ability to implement good quality programmes.
- Support partner-led advocacy, influencing and communication activities, in collaboration with the advocacy and policy leads in the Syria programme.
- In collaboration with each partner, develop clear action plans for capacity strengthening of partners outlining necessary resources and including the required type of support (training, coaching, development of policy / tools, field trips, shadowing, exchange visits, Oxfam staff seconded into partner), to overcome capacity gaps, if any.
- Coordinate with relevant senior staff to plan for appropriate technical support and mentoring, including in the fields of finance, procurement, MEAL and HR.
- Regularly review partnership relations, milestones and ways of working to shape and evaluate the health of the relationship through open dialogue and the monitoring of progress.
Strengthen internal partnership ways of working:
- Ensure country and hub teams are familiar with Oxfam’s partnership principles and policies, including commitments to the Charter for Change, Grand Bargain etc.
- Provide coaching to Oxfam in Syria staff on equitable partnering, principles and behaviours.
- Facilitate cross-hub learning on partnership lessons learned and good practices.
- Enable and facilitate meaningful participation and engagement of partner staff in the full project cycle and Oxfam in Syria’s programmatic planning processes.
- In collaboration with the DCD-P, Advisors and Ams, implement the Oxfam in Syria partnership strategy (2024-2026) and ensure socialisation amongst Oxfam in Syria teams.
Other:
- Represent the Syria programme in partnership- and localisation-focused coordination meetings where and when relevant.
- Encourage and enable civil society actors to meaningfully engage in formal coordination activities and cluster meetings.
- Ensure the work of, and leadership by, local actors is visible and promoted in media and donor visits.
- Support in regular and joint learning exercises with partners in various stages of the partnership, and promote learning across.
- Capture partnership-related lessons learned and good practices, and promote learning across countries and by creating spaces for sharing, innovation and peer-to-peer learning within the Oxfam confederation and, where appropriate, with external networks and allies.
What we are looking for:
We’re looking for a candidate who cares about Oxfam’s mission to end poverty and is personally aligned to our feminist principles and values of empowerment, accountability and inclusion in all you do.
An ideal candidate for the role will also be / have:
Essential:
- Graduate qualification in relevant field related to humanitarian and/or development programming and strategies.
- 3-5+ years of relevant experience in an local, national or international NGO.
- Experience and proven ability of working with national and/or local partner organisations, and an understanding of the challenges they face.
- Firm commitment and belief in the principle of working with partners on humanitarian and early recovery needs.
- A proven understanding of humanitarian principles and the ability to put them into practice.
- Ability to build strong, credible relationships with international and local NGOs, government entities and communities.
- Excellent leadership and people skills with the ability to work with a wide range of different stakeholders, with varying levels of ability and understanding of humanitarian work.
- Ability to work with others to develop vision into strategy and concrete longer-term plans, and to communicate and influence.
- Excellent personal communication skills, in writing and verbal communication (Arabic and English).
- Flexible in style, with the ability to think of creative and pragmatic solutions to complex problems and adjusting to constantly-changing situations while maintaining focus on delivery and goals
- Ability to travel around Syria, including for overnight stays.
Desirable
- Knowledge of the sectors in which Oxfam works in Syria.
- Knowledge of and demonstrated commitment to Oxfam’s values, mission and work, including feminist approach to humanitarian responses and Oxfam’s partnership principles.
- Ability to travel to Beirut.
- Experience working as part of the humanitarian response in Syria would be advantageous.
How to apply:
As part of your online application, please upload your up to date CV and Cover Letter explaining your suitability against the essential criteria in the job profile.