Call for Applications: Resource Mobilization and Partnership Officer (Consultant), ADEA

Deadline for submissions is Sunday, June 10^th, 2018 at midnight (12:00 am) GMT to the following address: adea-applications@afdb.org

Introduction

The Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) is a voice for education reform in Africa and it is hosted by the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.  Its vision is to create “high-quality African education and training geared towards the promotion of critical skills for accelerated and sustainable development in Africa”.  ADEA’s mission therefore is to “serve as an open and flexible pan-African organization that informs and facilitates the transformation of education and training to drive Africa’s accelerated and sustainable development”. It has played a significant role in the education space for the past 30 years as a convener, catalyst, knowledge creator, and forum for policy dialogue. ADEA’s overall goal is to contribute to the development of equitable and high-quality education through concerted efforts by African governments and their partners. It seeks to empower African countries to develop education and training systems that respond to their emergent needs and that drive Africa’s social and economic transformation sustainably.

ADEA’s main organs are its Steering Committee (SC), Executive Committee (EC), the Secretariat, the Working Groups (WGs) the Inter-Country Quality Nodes (ICQNs).  The Secretariat is the administrative arm, which implements ADEA’s work programs and budget on a day-to-day basis by organizing conferences, statutory meetings, Biennales/Triennales; managing communications and knowledge; and coordinating the work of its Working Groups and Inter-Country Quality Nodes. It also implements the decisions and resolutions of ADEA’s governance entities.

The implementation of ADEA’s third 5-year Strategic Plan (2018-2022) began in the first quarter of 2018. The successful implementation of this new Strategic Plan will depend largely on the availability of substantial financial resources. Currently, there is significant decrease in donor resources to ADEA because emerging global priorities in economic and social sectors, such as migration, climate change, States in conflict and/or fragility, as well as peace and security issues are becoming dominant on donor agendas. The competition for financial resources is fierce and demands equally strong and strategic interventions.

The main objective of the Resource Mobilization and Partnership Officer (Consultant) position is to implement a comprehensive and strategic approach for significantly engaging development cooperation partners, private sector organizations, foundations and philanthropies and increasing ADEA’s strategic partnerships with a view to growing the income base for the Association’s effectiveness and sustainability.

The Resource Mobilization and Partnership Officer (Consultant) will perform the following duties and responsibilities:

Strategic Planning for Resource Mobilization Strategy

• Develop and implement an effective resource mobilization strategy which provides a road map for creating strategic partnershipsand mobilizing financial resources from donors, grantors and all individuals and organizations that are interested in contributing financially to the education and training of the African child;
• Implement an approach that generates adequate funding for the implementation of ADEA’s work programs and budgets;
• Design state-of-the-art resource mobilization policies and procedures that represent best practices and in compliance with the host institution’s requirements and are in sync with the values of the Association and the host institution;
• Develop annual resource mobilization plan and work closely with the Secretariat team, Working Groups and ICQN Coordinators to define and agree on specific fundraising targets and events for the year;
• Monitor payment status of country and Steering Committee member annual membership contributions and provide them with any relevant data and documentation they may require to facilitate timely membership payments;
• Develop appropriate tools, materials and approaches related to resource mobilization and strategic partnership; 
• Work with the Secretariat team, ICQN coordinators and experts in developing timely and high quality grant proposals in line with donor criteria and guidelines for requesting for funds from donor agencies, private sector organizations, etc.;
• Provide leadership in developing winning proposals and in building the capacity of the team to write quality proposals;
• Coordinate the preparation of new grant agreements in collaboration with the Executive Secretary and AfDB’s Legal Department.

Partnership and Donor Relations Management

• Develop a comprehensive database on key existing and potential donors: their priorities or areas of interest for financial support; criteria and guidelines for providing grants; and donor policies that may have impact on funding education in Africa presently or in the future;
• Strengthen relationships with existing partners through timely and transparent communication that fosters trust; and identify and build new relationships with other development agencies, bilateral and multi-lateral development institutions, private sector and civil society organizations that are not members of the Association;
• Identify and pursue opportunities for strategic partnerships by organizing targeted partners’ meetings; develop a portfolio of partners and maintainopenchannels for regular dialogue with potential donors and partners;
• Review, and assess regularly, the health of the Association’srelationship with existing partners, provide guidance to ADEA team on relationship management; and work with the team to strengthen partnerships.

Marketing and Outreach

• Develop a business case for financial support to ADEA, supported with relevant documentation of its policy impact and results in the past 30 years in Africa, for dissemination to key existing and potential donors;
• Collaborate with the ADEA Communications team to shape the global image of ADEA as an organization that continuously contributes to the innovative transformation of education for accelerated and sustainable development;
• Market the ADEA “brand” in education development in Africa to existing and prospective partners and donors; project the organization’s image as the authoritative continental voice in education; and showcase its continental impact on education in Africa;
• Set up a “Friends of ADEA” initiative especially among the African Diaspora and all those who may be interested in the education of the African child for fundraising.

Resource Mobilization and Accountability

• Create a fundraising database which could be used to track ADEA’s contacts, record all donations, prepare reports and communicate regularly with partners; develop and set up an online “giving” platform;
• Develop and maintain a tracking system for follow-up on financial commitment made by development agencies, African governments and partners with a view to ensuring that pledges are met;
• Provide the Executive Secretary with regular briefs on resource mobilization status and proposals for new strategic partnerships.

The competencies and qualifications required to effectively perform the duties and responsibilities of this position are:

• A deep and holistic knowledge of emerging development issues that are competing with education for donor’s funding;
• Knowledge of various donor requirements and proven ability to develop and write convincing and winning grants proposals within the required timeframe;
• Demonstrated capability in developing and implementing a resource mobilization strategy; and experience in managing and reporting on grants;
• Dynamic, self-motivated, extroverted, diplomatic and result-oriented and proven ability to build new partnerships with potential donors and partners while at the same time strengthening and managing existing relationships;
• Excellent personality, a positive and optimistic outlook; and a resilient and proactive achiever;
• Strong verbal and written communication skills in English and a working knowledge of French; and proven presentation skills that can influence the target audience to the desired course of action;
• An individual with creative and innovative ideas for fundraising and resource mobilization;
• Integrity and ability to win the trust of donors by walking the talk and meeting their expectations;
• High level skills in negotiation as well as the ability to build mutually beneficial partnerships with a broad range of clients;
• A minimum of a Master’s degree preferably in education, economics, marketingand social sciences coupled with considerable experience in resource mobilization, strategic partnerships and marketing in a development agency, international NGO or multilateral development institution;
• At least 5 years of professional experience and a track record of achievements in resource mobilization. 

The consultant will be employed for a period of 12 months. Renewal of contract will depend on satisfactory performance and results.

Duty Station: Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire

Submission of applications

Applications should be sent to adea-applications@afdb.org no later than Sunday, June 10^th, 2018 at midnight (12:00 am) GMT.