Strategic Partnership Manager - Africa

Ipas•Chapel Hill, NC

3d•Remote

About The Position

Ipas seeks a Strategic Partnership Manager to strengthen resource mobilization and the partnership portfolio in Africa. The manager will identify, cultivate, and expand a pipeline of institutional donors, foundations, corporate partners, and strategic collaborators whose priorities align with Ipas's mission and values. The role provides targeted business development support for high-value funding opportunities, deepens engagement with priority donors and partners, and contributes to donor-facing materials such as expressions of interest, concept notes, proposals, budgets, presentations, results frameworks, and partnership strategies. The manager will demonstrate a strong commitment to reproductive justice, including human rights, abortion rights, gender equity, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Working across the Ipas Network, the role promotes shared leadership, trust, and inclusive, non-hierarchical approaches to learning and collaboration while supporting effective stewardship of donor resources and adherence to Ipas's mission, values, and standards. This is a remote position. Candidates based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya/Alliance locations, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, or Zambia are eligible to apply. Regular travel within Africa and to strategic hubs is required in accordance with Ipas travel policies. The role involves virtual collaboration across the Ipas Network and time zones, weekly written progress updates, and biweekly virtual check-ins with the Director of Development and relevant staff. Deliverables are submitted electronically in editable formats such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, unless otherwise agreed. Compensation is determined by the prevailing market rate in the employee's country, Ipas's pay philosophy, and factors including experience and expertise.

Requirements

Ten or more years of 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.

Responsibilities

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 reviews, including deadlines, staffing, partnership needs, cost share, and indirect rate constraints.
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 on 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.
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.