About the Role
The Local Partnership Advisor plays a critical role in leading the development of strong, equitable, and long-term partnerships with local organizations, promoting mutual accountability, trust, and shared learning. This role involves providing strategic oversight to country program portfolios, adapting engagement models to local contexts, and strengthening local partner capacity to promote locally led development principles.
Key Responsibilities
- Partnership Stewardship: Lead the development of strong, equitable, and long-term partnerships with local organisations. Promote mutual accountability, trust, and shared learning, and represent Cordaid in strategic dialogues with key regional partners.
- Portfolio Leadership & Performance: Provide strategic oversight to the countries’ programme portfolios. Monitor portfolio health, quality, and sustainability, ensure alignment with regional strategies, and lead portfolio reviews to drive evidence-informed decisions.
- Country Engagement Models: Lead the implementation and coordination of Country Engagement Models across the region. Adapt engagement approaches to local contexts and partner capacities and manage transitions between different engagement models.
- Partner Capacity & Localisation: Strengthen the organisational capacity of local partners, promote locally led development principles, facilitate peer learning, and support regional innovation and localisation commitments.
- Cross-Domain Leadership: Collaborate closely with the Regional Business Development Manager, Regional Finance & Operations Manager, Regional Humanitarian Manager, and global units (Shared Services, Global Practices) to ensure integrated, responsive support for partners.
- Representation & Strategic Engagement: Represent the Regional Core with partners, regional institutions, and strategic networks. Promote Cordaid’s regional positioning and strengthen collaboration across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus.
- People Leadership & Culture: Create an inclusive, collaborative, and high-performing culture within the Regional Core. Coach staff, promote accountability, and model Cordaid’s values and leadership behaviours.
Qualifications and Experience
- Master’s degree in International Development, Public Administration, Political Science, Social Sciences, or a related discipline.
- At least 10 years of progressively responsible leadership experience in international development or humanitarian organisations.
- Extensive experience working through local partners, managing complex regional or multi-country portfolios, and steering multi-stakeholder partnerships.
- A strong understanding of locally led development, partnership approaches, strategic planning, and organisational development.
- A proven track record in leading organisational change in complex environments and engaging effectively with institutional donors and regional stakeholders.
- Excellent communication, negotiation, and influencing skills, with a demonstrated ability to influence without authority.
- Strong competencies in systems thinking, adaptive leadership, political awareness, and collaborative decision-making.
- Fluency in English (knowledge of additional regional languages is a distinct advantage).
- Alignment with Cordaid’s mission and values.
How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should apply online by visiting the official application link: Cordaid International Application.
