23302 Head of Partnership and Programme Support Unit (P)new

Under the direct supervision of the Chief of Mission (COM) and in close coordination with the Head of Programmes (HOP) and relevant units at country, regional and headquarters levels, the Head of Partnership and Programme Support Unit will be responsible for managing the Unit, which encompasses Programme Development and Reporting, Strategic Communications, Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL), and Information and Knowledge Management.

The Head of Partnership and Programme Support Unit will support the COM and HOP in strengthening mission-wide programme quality, portfolio coherence, strategic planning, resource mobilisation, donor engagement and internal coordination. This includes oversight of the project pipeline, proposal development, donor and institutional reporting, partnership intelligence, evidence generation, quality assurance, compliance-sensitive documentation, and contributions to UN, government, and inter-agency frameworks, in line with IOM standards and the One UN approach.

Responsibilities and Accountabilities

1. Support the Chief of Mission (COM) and Head of Programmes (HOP) on the Country Office’s (CO) strategic planning and positioning, including the development of strategies, appeals and other strategic submissions aligned with IOM global and regional priorities, the Strategic Results Framework, Rwanda’s national priorities and relevant UN frameworks.
2. Support the CO's resource mobilisation efforts by analysing migration trends, donor and country policies and priorities, funding opportunities and partnership entry points, and defining and implementing proactive fundraising strategies in coordination with Programme Managers and relevant units.
3. Lead the development and implementation of the CO’s donor and partner outreach approach, maintaining strategic dialogue with existing and prospective partners and positioning the Mission’s priorities.
4. Coordinate and oversee development of MEAL systems in line with IOM’s Strategic Results Framework (SRF) to put forth mission-level results-based management, ensuring that results, deliverables, risks and performance trends are assessed, and that evidence and lessons inform programme quality, strategic planning and adaptive management.
5. Support policy, government liaison and external engagement functions, ensuring consistency of institutional messaging, adherence to reporting and escalation protocols, and alignment with the CO's strategic priorities.
6. Coordinate CO contributions to UN, government and inter-agency planning, programming and reporting processes, including the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework and other relevant national, regional and institutional frameworks.
7. Lead programme and project development, including concept notes, proposals, results matrices, budgets, appeals and Project Information and Management Application (PRIMA) submission packages, ensuring a results-based approach and compliance with IOM standards, donor requirements and internal clearance processes.
8. Maintain strategic oversight of the CO’s project portfolio and pipeline, including reporting obligations, revisions, extensions, closures, expenditure trends, delivery constraints and key risks; maintain mission-level project information, management dashboards, institutional records and lessons learned; and ensure timely analysis, escalation and follow-up with the HOP, Resources Management Unit (RMU) and Programme Managers.
9. Oversee donor and institutional reporting and quality assurance processes, ensuring that proposals, reports, strategic documents and visibility products are accurate, evidence-based and compliant with IOM standards, donor obligations, data protection requirements and institutional clearance procedures.
10. Manage the Partnership and Programme Support Unit and provide strategic oversight of its Programme Development and Reporting, Strategic Communications, Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning, and Information and Knowledge Management functions, ensuring coherent work planning, supervision and timely support to programme teams.
11. Perform such other duties as may be assigned.

Required Qualifications and Experience

Education

• Master’s degree in Political or Social Science, International Relations, International Development, or a related field from an accredited academic institution with five years of relevant professional experience; or,
• University degree in the above fields with seven years of relevant professional experience.

Accredited Universities are those listed in the UNESCO World Higher Education Database.

Experience

• Experience in programme development, donor reporting, strategic planning, results-based management, resource mobilisation and project cycle management in humanitarian, development or migration-related contexts;
• Experience supervising staff and coordinating cross-functional teams, including reporting, MEAL, communications, donor relations or knowledge management functions; and,
• Experience liaising with donors, government counterparts, United Nations agencies and internal institutional stakeholders, including Regional Office (RO) and Headquarters (HQ), is required.

Skills

• Strong knowledge of programme quality, proposal development, donor reporting, portfolio monitoring, compliance and results-based management;
• Advanced research, writing, outreach and communications skills;
• Good understanding of MEAL concepts, results frameworks, indicators, evaluation planning, data quality assurance and learning processes; and,
• Demonstrable knowledge of Rwanda’s political, development, migration and humanitarian context.

Languages

For this position, fluency in English is required (oral and written).

Working knowledge of another official UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish) is an advantage.

Proficiency of language(s) required will be specifically evaluated during the selection process, which may include written and/or oral assessments.