ACTED is a French humanitarian NGO, founded in 1993, which supports vulnerable populations, affected by humanitarian crises worldwide. ACTED provides continued support to vulnerable communities by ensuring the sustainability of post-crisis interventions and engaging long-term challenges facing our target populations, in order to break the poverty cycle, foster development and reduce vulnerability to disasters. Their interventions seek to cover the multiple aspects of humanitarian and development crises through a multidisciplinary approach which is both global and local, and adapted to each context.

ACTED is looking for professionally confident, self-motivated, experienced and committed team player to fill the Country Partnership Senior Officer position based in Addis Abeba,

 “ACTED has a zero-tolerance approach to sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH). Please note that any candidate offered a job will sign the Code of Conduct, and related policies, as part of their work contract. Misconduct can lead to dismissal.”

External Coordination and Relations

External Relations (e.g., authorities and government entities, non-state actors):

Develop and maintain relationships: Establish, maintain, and enhance active and regular working relationships with local authorities and, where necessary, non-state actors. Secure required authorizations and ensure buy-in for Acted’s activities.

High-level representation: Act as the direct delegate of the Country Director to represent Acted in high-level meetings with partners, authorities, and/or private entities, when requested.

Foster trust with government entities: Maintain mutual trust relationships with government entities, particularly the Environmental Protection Agency, to collaborate on the development of green programs. Engage with other public or private agencies as requested by the Country Director.

Active Participation in Established NGO Networks and coordination platform:

Engage in Alliance2015 sub-working groups: Participate in various Alliance2015 network sub-working groups such as the Localization Working Group and the Emergency Working Group, among others.

Cluster coordination & representation: Actively represent Acted in relevant clusters and working groups at national and regional levels (e.g., WASH, CCCM, Food Security, Agriculture, Cash Working Group, among others), ensuring effective coordination, communication of Acted’s priorities and activities, participation in meetings to align interventions with cluster objectives and strategic response plans

Attend additional network meetings: Join other network meetings as requested by the Country Director.

Support the Development of New Projects and Partnerships

Explore & develop new partnerships: Identify and establish collaborations with a diverse range of partners at local, national, and international levels, particularly to identify complementary partners for Acted’s activities within the country.

Liaison role: Facilitate connections between Acted Project Development Department and each partner, if any, to facilitate project proposals, budget planning and elaboration, project extensions, and the development of new project ideas.

Maintain and Strengthening Current Relations with Implementing Partners

Maintain partner relations: Promote and maintain ongoing relationships with various partners through coordination meetings and information exchanges.

Support partnership reviews: Assist Consortium Coordinators and Project Managers in regularly reviewing partnerships with implementing partners, ensuring timely resolution of any issues or disputes.

Lead review meetings: Conduct review meetings with partners, with particular attention on the collaborative aspects of partnership relationships.

Project Implementation Follow-up with Partners, including Administrative and Operational Management

Project Implementation Follow-up of Partners:

Project implementation support: Provide support and guidance to partners to ensure timely and high-quality project implementation in line with Acted and donor requirements.

Support in organizing key meetings: Ensure the timely organization of project kick-off and close-out meetings with new projects’ respective partners.

Liaison role: Facilitate connection and communication between Acted and the partner’s program team.

Project oversight: Oversee the implementation of projects, ensuring that the partner’s technical requirements and quality standards are considered and respected during project implementation.

Risk management: Anticipate and mitigate risks and implementation delays, providing ad-hoc support to resolve issues and eliminate blocking points during project implementation.

Contractual compliance: Ensure that all contractual obligations are met in terms of project deliverables for each partner.

Policy adherence: Assist partners in ensuring adherence to standard policies and procedures (Code of Conduct, PSEAH, procurement process, etc) organizing and facilitating training sessions and inductions as required.

Capacity building framework: Oversee the development of capacity building frameworks and action plans, ensuring full participation from partners.

Document submission: Ensure that partners submit all required project documents to Acted, as requested.

Finance Support:

Budget forecasting and expense planning: Ensure accurate budget forecasting and expense planning for each partner Acted collaborate with, along with prompt sharing of all relevant supporting documents.

Monitor payments and deadlines: Track due payments to the partners, donor deadlines and other requirements in terms of eligibility and reporting.

Address budgetary issues: Ensure that all budgetary concerns between Acted and partners are resolved promptly, with mutually beneficial solutions agreed upon in a timely manner.

Transparency/Compliance Support:

Due diligence: Ensure continuous and up-to-date due diligence for each partner and ensure due diligence are renewed with each partner on time.

Potential new partners: Conduct due diligence for potential new partners, in anticipation of proposals and new projects.

Collaboration with the Compliance Department and Support team: Work closely with the Compliance department and Support team to develop and complete due diligence processes with new partners and to review existing due diligence of partners.

Capacity building: Collaborate with the Transparency & Compliance Department on provide capacity building for partners in terms of processes.

Security:

Liaison role: Liaise between the partner’s security advisor and Acted’s Security Department as needed to share information, advice, and recommendations security wise.

About You

Required qualifications and experience:

Experience: 2 to 5 years in project coordination and multi-stakeholder engagement, with a proven track record in similar roles. Experience in the field is highly desirable.

Education: Master’s degree in social work or related field

Language: Fluent in English, proficiency in additional languages is a plus

Strong understanding of partnership processes and framework

Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to convey information clearly and persuasively.

Appreciated skills:

Strategic thinking: Ability to think critically and strategically about partnership development and project implementation.

Negotiation skills: Proficient in negotiation and conflict resolution to foster positive outcomes in partnerships.

Technical proficiency: Familiarity with project management tools.

Networking skills: Demonstrated ability to build, maintain, and enhance relationships with partners and stakeholders.

Interpersonal skills: Highly sociable, with the ability to connect easily with diverse individuals across various sectors with proven capacity and empathetic approach to engaging with diverse communities and stakeholders.

Teamwork: Strong team spirit and ability to work effectively within a team.

Commitment: A dedicated and proactive approach to work responsibilities.

Adaptability: Capacity to work in a dynamic, fast-paced environment and manage changing priorities.

Problem-solving: Proven analytical skills with a keen attention to detail and the ability to develop effective solutions.

Multitasking: Ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously while prioritizing effectively.