Institutional Partnerships Manager

Organisation overview

Tostan is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organisation headquartered in Thies, Senegal, operating in five West African countries and partnering with actors across Africa and around the world through training and mutual learning.

Tostan’s mission is to empower communities to develop and achieve their vision for the future, and inspire large-scale movements leading to dignity for all. Since its founding in 1991, Tostan’s flagship program, the Community Empowerment Program, has supported community-led impacts in education, health, economic empowerment, governance, the environment, and many other areas. Tostan has been particularly proud to play a significant role in the large-scale empowerment of women and girls, the community-led abandonment of harmful practices such as female genital cutting and child marriage, and the expanding partnership between local community leaders and local government in creating sustained change.

Tostan has also built and scaled a platform to share its work with other organisations and has welcomed over 900 development practitioners and local leaders from 49 countries across Africa and around the world to engage in its model. Tostan’s global efforts to champion community leadership, empowering education, and other critical topics have shaped development approaches, policies, and priorities at many levels.

In an increasingly complex, challenging global context, Tostan feels a compelling sense of urgency to build upon this 32-year legacy to support community well-being in new and greater ways. In early 2023 Tostan will launch its Strategy to 2030: In partnership for community well-being. Developed in collaboration with partner communities, local & national government, and supporters from around the globe, this strategy will support breakthroughs in community well-being by engaging new clusters of communities, deepening connections and resources at local level, and catalysing the broader ecosystem of actors that support communities. Partnerships – with communities and with key actors in their ecosystem – are at the heart of realising this potential. For more information, please visit : www.tostan.org

Position Summary

As a hands-on leader and committed collaborator, the Institutional Partnerships Manager will take the initiative to ensure the advancement of Tostan’s work with a range of institutional partners, supporting the development of partnerships in support of strategic scale. This role will also need to reach an ambitious level of donor acquisition, in support of developing a pipeline of donors needed to deliver our new Strategic Engagement Plan, 2023 – 2030.

With knowledge and experience within the institutional giving landscape, this person will bring expertise and enthusiasm to our thriving organisation. They will be able to shape partnerships and build relationships that can advance Tostan’s strategic potential and programmatic excellence.

This role is a member of the Partnerships Team, reporting to the Head of Institutional Giving This role will collaborate closely with partnerships, programs, and finance colleagues, alongside the broader Senior Leadership at Tostan International and National Coordinators.

Role Overview

In this exciting new role, the Institutional Partnerships Manager will support the Head of Institutional Giving to build out Tostan’s portfolio of institutional donors through an ambitious strategy that includes partner acquisition through Tostan’s co-creative and collaborative networks; the stewarding of existing donors including a range of leading global grant making institutions, and ensuring wider synergies are maximised between Tostan’s institutional partnerships and teams across the organisation.

Key responsibilities

Under supervision of the Head of Institutional Giving, the Institutional Partnerships Manager (IPM) will be responsible of:

Development of Institutional Partnerships

• Support the Head of Institutional Giving and the Institutional Partnerships Team in the development and implementation of an institutional resource development strategy to contribute to Tostan’s strategic priorities;
• Responsible for key activities and relationships connected to the raising of institutional funds, to meet the needs of the 2023 – 2030 Strategic Engagement Plan;
• Support a healthy pipeline and pipeline management at Tostan. Support Tostan’s efforts to work closely with the Executive Team, the Senior Leadership team and the Board to attract new institutional funds, diversify income streams, and maintain a vibrant and robust pipeline for institutional growth; ensure this pipeline is monitored effectively;
• Contribute to partnerships and opportunities relevant to Tostan’s strategic objective of increasing resources that go directly to partner communities, including independently of Tostan;
• In close collaboration with Partnerships and Programs teams, maintain a clear understanding of current and potential partners capable of collaborating on institutionally supported projects. In certain instances, nurture and build relationships with potential programmatic and community partners;
• In close collaboration with colleagues working on resource development, and in particular with Philanthropy team members, develop and follow a stewarding plan to ensure the stewarding of assigned relationships with existing institutional partners and advance strategic opportunities for deepening and expanding relationships;
• In close collaboration with colleagues in Programs and Partnerships, and following Tostan’s strategic leadership priorities, maintain a clear understanding of Tostan’s current and upcoming programs and priorities, and ensure that institutional relationships are developed with a clear view towards long-term strategic opportunities and key programmatic priorities;
• As the point person for the Institutional Giving portfolio, lead the development of compelling proposals and outcomes oriented reports in close collaboration with colleagues across Programs,

Operations, MERL, Finance and Partnerships teams;

• In close collaboration with Tostan leadership and key advisors and ambassadors, develop and lead strategies to contact new assigned potential partners in ways that will spark their interest towards resourced partnerships;
• Support the preparation and monitoring of institutional partnerships team work plan and budgets, and manage key aspects of relevant information systems on donor contributions, as well as partnerships;

Leadership, Team Leadership and Operational Systems

• Serve as a core member of the Partnerships Team;
• Serve as a member of the Resource Development Team;
• Contribute to the advancement of opportunities for network development, external partnership, and thought leadership, within the institutional space;
• Ensure that record-keeping and information sharing is done in keeping with Tostan’s systems and practices;
• Line manages the RDT Officer, whilst providing mentorship and capacity development to more junior staff across the department;
• In close collaboration with the Programs teams and Operations teams, support the advancement of efficient, effective systems and processes for engaging partners;
• Support the development and management of processes and systems to support effective management of institutional partnerships in collaboration with other teams;
• Support the engagement and education of other teams to advance a deep organisational understanding of institutional partners, their needs, perspectives, and priorities.

This list is not exhaustive, the IPM will be called upon to perform any other duties that may be assigned to him in connection with his skills or position.

Key relationships

Direct line Manager: Head of Institutional Giving

Peer (within the Partnerships department)

Communications Manager

Senior Philanthropy Officer*

*Currently in recruitment

Direct Reports

Resource Development Team (RDT) Officer

Localisation: Thies, Senegal

Key qualifications required

Education:

• Master’s Degree in relevant field is welcomed and preferred

Language skills:

• Fluency in French (oral and written) required;
• Fluency in English required;
• Knowledge of a local language in which Tostan works is welcome.

Knowledge and Experience:

• At least 5 years with experience in:

○ institutional giving, including a proven track record of producing successful funding bids for $100,000 funding levels with recognized institutional donors; ○ strategic partnership development.

• At least 2 years in a supervisory role;
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, analytical and written communication skills with exceptional ability to communicate complex information in clear simple language;
• Proven experience of securing demonstrable partnerships outcomes, particularly with achieving income and building partnerships with large institutional funders.

Soft skills (characteristics)

• Enjoy working within a small NGO environment that is mission-driven;
• An inspiring professional practitioner, strategic in outlook and pragmatic in operation;
• Ambitious with a sense of urgency and passion, alongside personal credibility;
• Ability to build strong relationships with global partners, with evidence of partnership working to achieve high impact;
• Inspiring, inclusive, resilient, highly self-motivated and detail oriented;
• Relishes the opportunity to transfer knowledge and collaborate, as well as to lead, manage, coach and mentor teams and individuals;
• Ability to build strong working relationships, both in-person and virtually;
• Team player, comfortable in working with multiple deadlines, under pressure and in a multicultural environment;
• Believes strongly in Tostan’s mission to empower communities to develop and achieve their vision for the future and inspire large scale movements leading to dignity for all.

Type of contract: local contract