Partnerships Officer

Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is an international non-governmental organization dedicated to providing assistance to refugees and internally displaced people globally. DRC Kenya, established in 2005, operates from Nairobi, focusing on humanitarian aid and development.

The Partnerships Officer will be responsible for implementing and strengthening the Danish Refugee Council's strategic partnerships framework and systems at the country level in Kenya. This involves fostering collaborations with national NGOs, community-based organizations, civil society, the private sector, and research institutes. Key duties include identifying new partnership opportunities, conducting capacity assessments, facilitating capacity-building support, ensuring donor compliance, and providing continuous management and coordination support to partner organizations throughout project implementation. The role is based in the DRC Country Office in Nairobi and requires in-country travel to support partners across Kenya, including areas where DRC does not have a physical presence.

1. Support DRC program and support staff in understanding and adhering to donor compliance for national partnerships across DRC’s portfolio in Kenya.
2. Assist in clarifying roles and responsibilities for partner communication, engagement, program delivery, financial management, procurement, reporting, and compliance.
3. Collaborate with program teams to identify partnership-related risks and compliance issues early and agree on proportionate mitigation measures.
4. Help review and contextualize existing partnership resources at country level and identify additional needs to support capacity assessment, monitoring, compliance, and project cycle management.
5. Coordinate across teams to support in carrying out partner organizational capacity assessments and analyze assessments to identify partners aligned to DRC’s strategy and ambition.
6. Identify specific capacity strengthening and organizational development needs and provide and/or coordinate training and targeted capacity strengthening support to partners on Grants, Finance and Compliance.
7. Provide technical partnerships support for partnerships with the support of Area Office teams, Technical Coordinators, Finance, and Grants Management.
8. Work with program teams and Grants Management to track ongoing partnerships, monitor workplan, achievements, and results on the ground.
9. Participate in initiatives to improve partnership practices by periodically assessing DRC Kenya’s partnership approach, considering both DRC and partners’ perspectives, capture lessons learned and best practices, and make recommendations for improvement.
10. Regularly update the partnership tracker for the assigned portfolio.
11. Coordinate with Project Managers and relevant support-function focal points to monitor partner compliance with internal and external requirements, including procurement, HR, finance, safeguarding, reporting, and documentation.
12. Follow up on partner reporting schedules, supporting documents, financial liquidations, and payment-related requirements with Finance, Grants Management, and Programme teams to help ensure timely and complete submissions and processing.
13. Prepare Sub-award contracts, working with Grants Management and Finance to ensure partnership agreements, tools, budgets, and financial standards are consistent with donor requirements and DRC procedures; flag gaps and support corrective action.
14. Maintain complete and accessible partnership files, including due diligence documentation, assessment reports, capacity-development plans, agreements, monitoring records, risk registers, action trackers, and compliance follow-up.
15. Provide support on the organizational audit on partnerships and follow-up audit findings, compliance gaps, and agreed corrective actions relating to partners, coordinating with the relevant teams and tracking actions through to closure.
16. Ensure partner payments and financial liquidations are done on time.
17. Support in partner identification, vetting, and due diligence procedures.
18. Maintain and follow-up on the partnership risk registers for the organization.

1. Minimum of 3 years of practical experience working with the UN or an INGO in a partnerships role, focusing on programming compliance and capacity-strengthening.
2. Demonstrated experience in providing capacity-strengthening support to national partners and a strong understanding of partnership principles.
3. Experience in donor compliance and procedures across the project cycle.
4. Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Bachelor of Commerce in Finance, Economics, or another relevant field is preferred.
5. Practical training or courses in partnership principles, capacity-strengthening, or Project Management.
6. Excellent spoken and written English.