The Programme Development Team exists to support the building, funding, maintenance and growth of ambitious programmes to alleviate poverty and meet basic humanitarian needs globally. We do this by facilitating creativity, flexibility and focus; seeking to design effective programmes, increase income, expand
Tearfund’s collaborations, and build stronger programme delivery capabilities. The Team has three subteams: (1) the Programme Design Team; (2) the Donor Relations Team; and (3) The Programme Quality Team:
● The Programme Design Team’s purpose is to support country teams to turn their strategies into coherent integrated programming, which can ultimately attract funding from institutional sources.
● The Donor Relations Team’s purpose is to ensure that globally we have effective relationships with key donors. Such donors include the bilateral development agencies (e.g. USAID/BHA, FCDO, etc), multilateral agencies (the UN system, ECHO, etc).
● The Programme Quality Team’s purpose is to provide all of the support necessary to help Tearfund
manage large-scale and/or complex projects well, to learn from delivery and disseminate lessons to
continually improve our performance.
As well as facilitating effective programme design, ensuring excellent relationship management and providing grant support, the Programme Development Team also maintains an overview of all bids to institutional funders and all secured funding for these projects.
2. Main purpose of the job
The Programme Development Team is one of the sub teams within the Policy and Programme Development Unit (PPDU). The PPDU supports Tearfund’s institutionally funded country programmes globally to translate their country strategies into coherent integrated programmes, and then design and develop relevant proposals that are likely to win awards. The Africa Partnerships Manager position sits within the Programme Development
Team and works closely with other parts of the PPDU.
The Africa Partnerships Manager is responsible for building and maintaining strategic relationships with development stakeholders in Africa, including host governments, bilateral and multilateral donor organisations, UN system organisations, INGOs, and the private sector, to facilitate resource mobilisation efforts and enhance programme impact. She/he will proactively identify and support funding opportunities in collaboration with Tearfund country teams, ensuring alignment with the organization’s mission and regional priorities. This will involve supporting wider efforts to build effective consortia, where Tearfund is either as lead or participant organisation. As part of this work the successful candidate will conduct competitor/collaborator analyses both proactively and reactively, and support country teams to identify potential consortium partners and build relationships with them in-country, facilitating negotiations where necessary. The Africa Partnerships Manager
will provide subject matter expertise and knowledge on consortium working and will maintain and continually improve Tearfund’s partnership strategy across Africa. It is anticipated that this role will also actively support programme design and bid development activities, particularly on complex consortia bids. The postholder will be based in the African region and will as required, provide direct face-to-face support to country teams.
3. Position in organisation
● Reports to Programme Development Team Lead
● Works closely with country/regional teams to build and maintain networks, partnerships
and consortia
● Works closely with the regional Programme Funding Managers for East and Central Africa, West Africa and South East Africa
● Participates in the standing working group on private sector partnerships.
● Represents Tearfund externally in consortium discussions/negotiation.
4. Tearfund’s Christian culture
We believe that prayer and discernment is fundamental to Tearfund achieving its mission of restoring
relationships, ending extreme poverty and transforming lives. As a Tearfund staff member you are expected to:-
● Engage with weekly Tearfund Prayers, quarterly Sabbath days and the Prayer & Spiritual Life hub
● Lead or participate in spiritual sessions of prayer and biblical reflection within your group
● Be committed to Tearfund’s Mission, Values and Beliefs statement and to be actively working and living in accordance with Tearfund’s Christian beliefs and theology of mission
● Maintain your own spiritual development, discover your gifts/callings and grow in discipleship
5. Organisational requirements
● All staff are expected to live out Tearfund’s values as they represent Tearfund externally
● All post-holders are expected to fulfill their personal objectives set by their line manager, contribute to their team’s overall objectives, take responsibility for reviewing their ongoing personal development and maintain an awareness of Tearfund’s strategy.
● All Tearfund staff share responsibility to promote and maintain a strong safeguarding culture, including identifying the key actions they should take given their role and responsibilities.
6. Scope of job
● Development and maintenance of an Africa partnership strategy
● Relationship building and management
● Support country teams in developing partnerships with Africa-based private sector entities
● Consortium formation and maintenance
● Support the design and bid development for complex bids
7. Duties and key responsibilities
● Development and maintenance of an Africa partnership strategy
○ Conduct an annual strategic competitor/collaborator analysis.
○ In conjunction with relevant Africa country and regional teams, articulate a strategy for
identifying, forming and maintaining partnerships.
○ Identify support requirements necessary for country teams to engage in consortia.
○ Support country teams in the process to secure due diligence.
● Relationship building and management
○ Understand the interests, geographic footprint and strengths and weaknesses of potential
collaborators.
○ Support country teams to proactively identify entry points with donors and other
development stakeholders to build partnerships and shape proposals that can lead to
securing funding. In this context help country teams to develop resource mobilisation
roadmaps that take programmes from pilot demonstrator initiatives to scale.
○ Help country teams to pre-position Tearfund in support of anticipated competitive funding
opportunities.
○ Seek to develop intelligence on competing consortia ahead of bids.
○ Develop and maintain sufficient knowledge of Tearfund’s work to be able to represent Tearfund
effectively in early consortium discussions.
● Support country teams in developing partnerships with Africa-based private sector entities
○ Conduct market research to identify potential private sector partners across Africa, focusing on
areas relevant to Tearfund’s objectives and country-level needs.
○ Establish and maintain strategic relationships with leading African corporations and foreign
businesses with an African market interest, ensuring alignment with local country teams’
objectives and broader regional goals.
○ Support country teams in the negotiation and structuring of partnerships, including drafting
proposals, managing stakeholder engagement, and aligning partnership objectives with both
business and social impact outcomes.
○ Provide technical assistance and capacity-building support to country teams to enhance their
ability to engage and manage relationships with private sector partners effectively.
○ Provide hands-on support to country teams in developing, monitoring and implementing
annual pipeline management plans.
● Consortium formation and maintenance
○ Externally represent Tearfund in the process of forming consortia and/or support the PDT
lead (or other similar leaders) to do this.
○ Own and continuously improve Tearfund’s approach to consortium formation.
○ Undertake all relevant processes (e.g. Due Diligence, Teaming Agreements, Subaward
Agreements, etc) to form consortia as necessary.
○ Ensure appropriate governance arrangements are in place to manage consortia.
○ Facilitate/support the design of projects and/or the development of bids for consortium
opportunities.
○ Seek opportunities to develop innovative programming in consortia and design small-scale pilots
to test novel approaches in partnership.
● Support on design and bid development for complex bids
○ Surge support to the programme design Team and bid development activities

Qualifications

Degree or equivalent level of knowledge/experience

Experience 

Experience (7+ years) working as a senior specialist on development projects aligned to one or more of Tearfund’s thematic areas.
● Extensive lived experience of building partnerships and managing networks and consortia in the African context.
● Demonstrable specialist knowledge of partnership building in at least one of the African regions where Tearfund operates.
● Experience of working with or managing relationships with leading African-based corporations.
● Extensive experience of representing an INGO externally.
● Experience of programme/project budgeting and management process across consortia.
● Significant experience of leading multi-organisation teams to design£1m+ projects for institutional funding.
● Experience of securing funding from a range of institutional and private sources as part of a consortium.
● Experience working in an internal consultancy role.
● Experience of building other staff’s capacity