Senior Partnership Officer

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world's largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you're a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.
CONTEXTUAL BACKGROUND
In 2007, the IRC began providing humanitarian assistance to vulnerable and crisis-affected people in Jordan in response to an influx of Iraqi refugees and the strain on host communities. Following the eruption of the Syrian war in 2011, hundreds of thousands of refugees crossed into Jordan. The ongoing insecurity in Syria and the growing needs of refugees have strained Jordan’s resources and infrastructure and exacerbated pre-existing issues like water scarcity and high unemployment.
As resources become more limited, refugees and host communities have fewer economic opportunities and become more vulnerable. The IRC’s strategy for Jordan shows our commitment to improving the safety, health, education, and economic well-being of people affected by conflict, in camp-based refugees and urban-based refugees as well as vulnerable Jordanian host community, in coordination with the humanitarian community and the Government of Jordan. Simultaneously, IRC in Jordan is pivoting to a more long-term resilience/development programming responding to the context in Jordan and the worsening vulnerabilities faced by refugees and vulnerable Jordanians.
SCOPE OF WORK
The Senior Partnerships Officer supports the growth and quality of partnerships within the IRC Jordan Country Program. The post contributes to identifying, building, and sustaining strategic partnerships with government actors, civil society organizations, women-led and women-focused organizations, community-based organizations, and private sector actors, and coordinates the day-to-day partnership lifecycle, including support to the sub-awards portfolio, so that every partnership is effective, well organized, and compliant with IRC and donor requirements.
The post contributes to the Country Program’s commitment to move progressively from direct service delivery toward partnerships, systems strengthening, and advocacy that improve sustainable access for the most vulnerable. Jordan’s service landscape is actor-rich but pathway-poor, and local organizations remain under-resourced and insufficiently integrated into coordination, referral, and decision-making. The Senior Partnerships Officer helps close that gap by supporting the expansion and diversification of the partnership ecosystem, promoting equitable co-design and co-delivery with local actors, supporting partner capacity strengthening, and contributing to the case across the Country Program for partnership as the route to reach, quality, and sustainability.
The post works under the guidance of the Senior Programs Coordinator and collaborates with program, technical, finance, compliance, and MEAL teams to apply partnership principles consistently, promote positive and respectful ways of working with partners, and contribute to integrated, multi-sectoral service delivery across health, education, safety, and economic recovery and development.
MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES
Strategic partnership development and localization
Maintain and regularly update a partnership ecosystem map and stakeholder analysis covering government, civil society organizations, youth and women-led and women-focused organizations, OPDs, community-based actors, and private sector actors, identifying where partnership can strengthen access, referral pathways, and local reach.
Support the development and maintenance of a prioritized pipeline of prospective strategic partners aligned with the Strategy Action Plan priorities and priority geographies, and provide analysis and recommendations to the Senior Programs Coordinator.
Support targeted outreach, networking, exposure visits, and relationship-building with prospective partners to establish trust, shared priorities, and long-term collaboration.
Support structured relationship management with strategic partners, including coordination with designated relationship managers, preparation for regular senior leadership alignment meetings, and the annual partnership health check to assess performance and strengthen collaboration.
Contribute to equitable co-design and co-delivery by supporting the engagement of community-based organizations, women-led organizations, and other local actors from program design through implementation, so that approaches are community-rooted and locally relevant.
Support business development with partners by identifying joint funding opportunities, coordinating partner inputs to concept notes and proposals, and contributing to engagement strategies for diversified financing, including private sector, CSR, and philanthropic sources.
Advocate internally for a partnership-first approach in program design and proposal development, and contribute to strategic planning discussions, providing teams with analysis, tools, and examples that show how partnership improves reach, quality, cost-efficiency, and sustainability.
Support the capacity-sharing agenda with partners, working with technical and operational teams to identify two-way learning and institutional strengthening opportunities, and to support a greater role for local actors in decision-making, delivery, and representation.
Track and report progress against Country Program partnership commitments, including the share of the Country Program budget channeled to local partners, the number of strategic partnerships developed, and the number of those that are women-led or women-focused, and flag risks and opportunities to the Senior Programs Coordinator.
Capture and share evidence and lessons from partnerships to support IRC Jordan’s learning agenda and to inform future partnership choices.
Partnership lifecycle management
Design phase
Screen the prospective partners list and conduct basic stakeholder analysis and social network analysis.
Schedule and lead meetings with prospective partners and complete the organizational snapshot tool.
Schedule design meetings with selected partners, applying a partnership-first lens that prioritizes local actors, including community-based and women-led organizations, where appropriate.
Collect partners’ documents and file them properly in the system.
Support the development of partners’ scope of work and the government approval cover letter.
Prepare the teaming agreement or Pre-Award Letter (PAL) with partners for review and signature by the authorized IRC signatory.
Organize and conduct the Partner Capacity Analysis (PCA) in coordination with other IRC units, using the findings to identify capacity-sharing opportunities as well as risks.
Consolidate IRC scoring based on the information collected.
Facilitate the development of the Project Support Plan based on findings, with input from relevant teams.
Planning and start-up phase
Draft the Partnership Agreement with all annexes, in collaboration with compliance, programs, and finance, and share it with all relevant teams for comments before initiating the workflow on OTIS.
Program implementation phase
Schedule the opening meeting with partners, develop and deliver the Partners’ Project Opening Meeting (PPOM) presentation, and prepare the minutes of meeting (MoM).
Support the application of the GEDI Marker at the project opening meeting to review safety, inclusion, access barriers, and follow-up actions with partners.
Share all reporting templates with partners.
Schedule, coordinate, and document partner monitoring visits and meetings, using them for joint problem-solving and capacity sharing as well as compliance.
Follow up with partners on regular reports.
Coordinate the review of partners’ financial and technical reports, ensuring full alignment between both, and provide feedback to partners for reflection.
Request, collect, review, and archive supporting documents.
Schedule, conduct, and document reflection meetings with partners when needed.
Learning and closeout phase
Collect partners’ feedback forms.
Schedule and document the closing meeting with partners and programs, and contribute