Countries: Ethiopia, Kenya

Organization: BBC Media Action

Closing date: 9 Jan 2022

[Job Description follows Job Advert]

Regional Partnerships Director (East Africa)

Job Introduction

BBC Media Action is the BBC’s international charity. We support the independent media essential to democracy and development; and support people facing insecurity, inequality and poverty with information they can trust – to protect health, bridge divides and challenge prejudice. With our partners, we reach millions through creative communication and trusted media, helping people have their say, understand their rights, responsibilities and each other, and take action to transform their own lives.

We are now looking for an experienced development professional to lead regional partnership and project development in East Africa.

Role Responsibility

This role leads our relationship building and project development activity at regional level in East Africa. Working closely with our regional director and country teams across the region, you’ll broker new partnerships and lead the design and development of new regional-level projects. You’ll also use your significant expertise and experience to support country teams in the region as they develop creative and innovative new projects; and contribute to global strategy as part of our growing team of partnership specialists across the world.

The Ideal Candidate

You’ll have strong experience in international development in a project design or delivery role, preferably with direct experience of projects involving both media and international development. You will have excellent relationship-building skills; be a fluent and persuasive writer in English; and be comfortable working with and supporting a wide range of colleagues, including remotely in different countries. Your regional knowledge will be excellent and you’ll have significant experience in designing and developing large and complex development projects, with a proven track record in raising funds from institutional donors.

Package Description

Salary: Competitive, on local BBC salary scale

Contract type: Fixed team for 24 months, with potential for extension

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title : Regional Partnerships Director

Duty Station : East Africa (Nairobi or Addis Ababa)

Reports To : Regional Director

Context:

BBC Media Action is the BBC’s international charity. We support the independent media essential to democracy and development; and support people facing insecurity, inequality and poverty with information they can trust – to protect health, bridge divides and challenge prejudice. With our partners, we reach millions through creative communication and trusted media, helping people have their say, understand their rights, responsibilities and each other, and take action to transform their own lives.

Job purpose:

This senior role supports and strengthens the partnership brokering and programme development capacity of country-based programmes in East Africa, with the ultimate aim of increasing the number, range and impact of BBC Media Action’s projects. The post-holder will particularly focus on forming and maintaining relationships with institutional donors, implementers and other stakeholders, and leading on securing new projects including regional multi-country projects, in East Africa. The role also contributes to strategy development and profile raising, working closely with country directors, the regional director and the central partnerships team.

Key responsibilities and accountabilities:

• Secure new projects by identifying opportunities, negotiating with potential partners and leading on project design and proposal writing.
• Form and maintain relationships with key external stakeholders, including donors, consortium leads, and implementing organizations, representing BBC Media Action appropriately and proficiently.
• Support country directors in BBC Media Action’s offices in East Africa to respond to and secure emerging project opportunities and build relationships with new institutional donors.
• Raise the profile and visibility of BBC Media Action’s work and capabilities in the region, especially among institutional donors and implementers of development projects.
• Support organizational understanding of funding trends and challenges in East Africa.
• Contribute to efficient and coordinated partnership management and program development by sharing contacts and intelligence with country-based and central teams.
• Work closely with colleagues in other parts of BBC Media Action to manage relevant global relationships with donors and implementers, and produce intelligence and tools to support partnership and project development across the organization.

Knowledge, skills, training and experience requirements:

• Proven ability to raise funds and secure projects from institutional donors
• Significant experience of working constructively with consortium leads and other implementers to develop and secure donor-funded programs
• Proven track record of building and managing external relationships as well as working at a high level in a representative role
• Excellent communication skills both oral and written, with the ability to write well and persuasively in English and fluency as a public speaker
• Thematic expertise in at least one of the themes in which BBC Media Action works
• Excellent understanding (or the ability to quickly develop understanding) of BBC Media Action editorial values, its methodologies and approaches
• Dynamism, proactivity, personal resilience and demonstrable ability to adapt to changing and uncertain circumstances

Desirable

• Strong technical understanding of the communications for development sector, including media development and communications for behavior and social change.
• Experience of developing complex budgets.
• Understanding of compliance requirements of a range of donors (including USAID, FCDO, SIDA, GAC and UN agencies).
• Experience of working in media, media development or communications.
• Experience of monitoring and evaluation.

Safeguarding considerations

• This role involves designing projects that involve regular staff contact with children and vulnerable adults as program contributors, research participants, and/or partner trainees.
• The role involves being resident in and/or regularly visiting a country where poverty, police corruption and criminal impunity may be significant risk factors. Informal and unsupervised contact with children and vulnerable adults is likely to be frequent, including when not at work.
• In view of the risk areas identified above, an enhanced plus barred DBS check or the equivalent criminal record check for those resident outside England and Wales is required.

How to apply

Send your CV and a short covering letter, setting out how you meet the knowledge, skills, training and experience requirements listed in the job description, to: apply-africa@bbcmediaaction.org by 2359 (Nairobi time) on Sunday 9 January 2022.

NB: Applications are welcome from individuals with the existing right to work in Ethiopia or Kenya. BBC Media Action will not sponsor visas or provide relocation packages for these roles. The successful applicant will be employed and based in their home country, with salary set according to BBC Media Action’s pay scales in that country. The role may involve working with groups of vulnerable children and adults. For the successful candidate, mandatory training will be provided on BBC Media Action’s safeguarding policy and staff code of conduct. A DBS or other appropriate background check (depending on the country of residence) will form part of the recruitment process. BBC Media Action operates a zero-tolerance policy concerning all forms of abuse and exploitation of vulnerable people.