Strategic Partnership Manager.

Job Description

Primary Responsibilities:

1. Opportunity Pipeline Development and Donor/Partner Intelligence

• Map priority foundations, institutional funders, corporate partners, and strategic implementing partners aligned with Ipas’s mission and work.
• Analyze funder priorities, eligibility, timelines, typical award size, indirect cost expectations, compliance considerations, and relationship pathways.
• Identify and track requests for proposals, calls for proposals, invitations, and relationship-led opportunities, and maintain an up-to-date pipeline tracker.
• Support go/no-go decisions through fit assessments, competitiveness analysis, and risk and feasibility review, including deadlines, staffing, partnership needs, cost share, and indirect rate constraints.

2. External Relations and Resource Mobilization Support

Malawi job board

• Develop donor and partner engagement plans for priority prospects, including objectives, messages, decision-makers, and follow-up actions.
• Draft and refine positioning materials, including capability statements, one-pagers, brief slide decks, project summaries, and boilerplate language.
• Build Ipas Network intelligence on key trends and opportunities in Africa.
• Work with the Communications Service Node to contribute to external communications through the Ipas website, newsletters, and social media.
• Prepare talking points, briefing notes, and agendas for external meetings; when requested, participate in meetings, capture next steps, and support follow-up.
• Advise on partnership strategy, including lead versus sub-award roles, consortium roles, negotiation points, partner mapping, and outreach.
• Work with the Development Service Node to report quarterly and annually on fundraising efforts and results and participate in annual management cycle activities.

3. Proposal Development, Review, and Quality Assurance

• Support donor-facing submissions, including expressions of interest, concept notes, and full proposals, in coordination with internal teams and partners.
• Develop and review technical narratives for compliance, clarity, and responsiveness to donor evaluation criteria.
• Support required annexes, including results frameworks or log frames, workplans, monitoring, evaluation and learning plans, risk matrices, and staffing plans.
• Coordinate with finance counterparts to develop and quality-check budgets and budget narratives for alignment with the technical approach and donor cost rules.
• Provide structured written feedback through tracked comments or review memos and participate in review meetings to agree on revisions and next steps.

Minimum Requirements:

• Ten or more years’ work experience managing programs and projects with increasing complexity and responsibility
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field
• Demonstrated experience in business development, fundraising, and/or proposal development for NGOs, social enterprises, or mission-driven organizations.
• Strong understanding of institutional donor environments, including bilateral and multilateral agencies, foundations, and partnership or consortium approaches.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and French.
• Ability to manage multiple deadlines, coordinate across teams, and deliver high-quality products with minimal supervision.
• Proven record of developing competitive proposals and donor-facing products, including complex budgets and results frameworks or log frames.
• Subject-matter expertise in sexual and reproductive health and rights and reproductive justice, and/or experience working internationally.
• Deep commitment to reproductive justice, human rights, abortion rights, gender equity, diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Commitment to shared leadership, trust, and inclusive, non-hierarchical ways of working.

Travel & Work Environment

• Regular travel within Africa and to strategic hubs, in accordance with Ipas travel policies.
• Virtual collaboration with colleagues across the Ipas Network and across time zones.
• Weekly written progress updates and biweekly virtual check-ins with the Director of Development and relevant staff.
• Deliverables submitted electronically in editable formats, such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, unless otherwise agreed.

Applications will be received until this position is filled.

Application deadline:23/November/2026

To apply for this job please visit www.devex.com.