Government and Partnerships Lead

Job description

The Government and Partnerships Lead is responsible for building and strengthening relationships with government institutions, development partners, civil society, youth-led and community-based organisations and other strategic stakeholders to strengthen programme implementation, influence, sustainability and impact for the EKN HIV Instrument AGYW-focused programme.

The role serves as the primary focal point for government engagement, partner coordination, Country Advisory Committees and stakeholder collaboration within the country. Working closely with government stakeholders, local organisations, community structures and programme partners, the role promotes effective collaboration, local ownership, systems strengthening and sustainable programme impact.

The Government and Partnerships Lead plays a critical role in building trusted relationships, supporting policy and systems engagement, strengthening local partner capacity and ensuring meaningful community participation within programme implementation and decision-making processes ensuring that programme priorities are aligned with national HIV, AGYW, SRHR, GBV, youth and community health priorities and that relevant stakeholders are meaningfully engaged in programme implementation and learning.

Key Performance Areas

Government Engagement and Policy Support

Purpose

Build and maintain productive relationships with government stakeholders that support AGYWs programme implementation, sustainability and health systems strengthening.

Key Accountabilities

• Build and maintain strong relationships with relevant national, provincial and district government ministries, departments and agencies. Represent the programme within technical working groups and stakeholder forums.
• Support implementation of government engagement strategies.
• Facilitate alignment of programme activities with national HIV, AGYW, SRHR, community health and youth priorities.
• Represent the project in relevant government technical working groups, coordination forums and strategic consultations.
• Facilitate collaboration between programme teams and government stakeholders.
• Support government participation in programme planning, review and learning processes.
• Monitor policy developments and provide strategic insights to programme leadership.
• Coordinate government approvals, stakeholder consultations, and project entry processes.
• Identify opportunities for the project to contribute to policy, systems strengthening and government priorities
• Identify and facilitate opportunities for project evidence dissemination and learning to inform government policy, guidelines or implementation approaches.

Partnerships and Stakeholder Management

Purpose

Strengthen strategic partnerships and stakeholder relationships that contribute to programme success and sustainability.

Key Accountabilities

• Develop and maintain productive relationships with CSOs, NGOs, youth-led organisations, development partners and other relevant stakeholders that contribute to programme outcomes.
• Lead country-level partner coordination and collaboration with the HIV Instrument.
• Support implementation of partnership agreements and commitments.
• Promote trust, transparency and shared ownership among project stakeholders.
• Identify and pursue partnership opportunities for collaboration that strengthen programme reach, quality, sustainability and impact.
• Coordinate stakeholder consultations and engagement activities.
• Monitor stakeholder satisfaction and relationship effectiveness.
• Coordinate in-country stakeholder meetings and partnership meetings.
• Prepare and provide regular partnership updates, briefing notes, presentations, and stakeholder reports to Project lead including opportunities and risks.
• Strengthen strategic engagement with AGYW and youth-led organisations and ensure meaningful participation in programme planning, implementation and review.

Country Advisory Committees and Community Participation

Purpose

Strengthen programme accountability, participation and community ownership through effective stakeholder structures.

Key Accountabilities

• Establish and support effective Country Advisory Committees (CACs) in line with project governance structure.
• Coordinate CAC meetings and follow-up actions.
• Establish and strengthen mechanisms for meaningful AGYW, youth and community participation in programme planning, implementation, feedback and learning.
• Facilitate communication between project leadership, communities and stakeholders.
• Support community-led monitoring and accountability mechanisms.
• Ensure community perspectives inform programme implementation and decision making.
• Ensure meaningful participation of AGYW, community organisations, and other priority populations in decision-making.
• Build partnerships that improve access to HIV, SRHR, GBV and psychosocial services for AGYW.
• Support development of sustainability and transition plans.
• Develop and strengthen partnerships that support programme sustainability and institutionalisation beyond the EKN project period.
• Identify opportunities for government and local partners to take greater ownership of successful programme approaches.
• Identify barriers affecting AGYW access to services and facilitate strategic partnerships or stakeholder action to address these barriers.

External Representation, Relationship Building and Communications

Purpose

Position the programme effectively within the external environment

Key Accountabilities

• Represent the programme at stakeholder meetings, technical working groups, coordination forums and policy dialogues.
• Promote positive visibility and positioning of the programme.
• Build relationships with emerging stakeholders and influencers.
• Identify opportunities that may contribute to programme sustainability and future growth.
• Provide stakeholder intelligence and contextual insights to programme leadership.
• Support country-level contributions to partnership development efforts.
• Support senior leadership in preparation for key government, donor and strategic partner engagements.
• Support development of policy briefs, technical presentations and other products for strategic engagement

Key Deliverables

• Strong government relationships and engagement.
• Effective Country Advisory Committees.
• High-quality stakeholder collaboration and partner coordination.
• Effective and efficient country-level coordination within the HIV Instrument partners.
• Increased community participation and accountability.
• Positive programme positioning and visibility.
• Strong local partnerships and sustainability outcomes.
• Effective management of stakeholder and partnership risks.

Accountability

Owns

• Government engagement and relationship management.
• Stakeholder and partnership coordination.
• Country Advisory Committee functioning.
• Community participation and engagement.
• External representation in stakeholder forums.
• Stakeholder intelligence and opportunity identification.
• Partnership-related risk monitoring.

Does Not Own

• Programme delivery and implementation management.
• Country programme performance.
• Budget management and financial accountability.
• Country operations management.
• Human resource management.
• Strategic Information systems and reporting.
• Regional governance structures.
• Donor stewardship and contractual donor management

Qualifications, Experience and Competencies

Minimum Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in Public Health, International Development, Public Policy, Social Sciences, Governance, International Relations or a related field.

Preferred Qualifications

• Additional training in stakeholder engagement, public policy, governance or partnership management advantageous

Experience

Required

• Minimum 8 years’ experience in stakeholder engagement, partnership building, public health or development programmes.
• Experience working with and evidence of strong relationships with government ministries and public-sector stakeholders.
• Experience engaging civil society organisations and community structures.
• Experience supporting donor-funded programmes.
• Experience facilitating multi-stakeholder collaboration and partnerships.
• Experience supporting capacity strengthening and localisation initiatives.
• Experience within HIV, SRHR, adolescent health or community health programmes.
• Experience working in Mozambique or Zambia
• Portuguese language proficiency

Preferred

• Experience working with community-led organisations and networks.
• Local language proficiency advantageous

Core Competencies

Technical Competencies

• Government Relations
• Partnership Management
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Community Engagement
• Localisation and Capacity Strengthening
• Policy and Systems Engagement
• Facilitation and Coordination
• Risk Management
• Sustainability Planning

Leadership Competencies

• Relationship Building
• Influencing and Negotiation
• Diplomacy and Political Acumen
• Strategic Thinking
• Collaboration
• Problem Solving
• Communication and Facilitation

Personal Competencies

• Integrity
• Accountability
• Cultural Sensitivity
• Initiative
• Adaptability
• Resilience
• Learning Agility

Working Conditions

• Full time role
• Limited travel required
• Working over weekends / overtime maybe required occasionally.

The Package

• Competitive salary and performance-based incentives.
• Comprehensive benefits (health, retirement, leave, etc.).
• Opportunities for growth, leadership, and professional development.