Assistant Director, Outreach & Partnerships at GALVmed

• The position holder will be responsible for cultivating and maintaining relationships with key partners while also developing strategies and approaches for increasing collaboration and driving change in GALVmed’s areas of interest. The position holder will also be required to galvanise key stakeholders and initiate coalitions and collaborations aimed at influencing policy change specifically (i) strengthening systems and processes that facilitate registration of veterinary medicines in Africa and Asia, (ii) promoting private sector driven vaccination for notifiable and endemic livestock diseases and securing public sector support for the principle of preventive vaccination (iii) strengthening national livestock service delivery systems to address weaknesses in livestock extension service provision.

This role will primarily support the creation and execution of a systematic process driven approach to stakeholder outreach, relationship management and advocacy to deliver on GALVmed’s strategy.
Key interfaces

• CEO, GALVmed Leadership Team (GLT), Research & Development, Commercial Development, Communications,
• Monitoring & Evaluation, Finance, GALVmed’s partners including private sector, business leaders, policy makers, consultants and experts at global, continental and national levels

Key activities
Stakeholder engagement and advocacy:

• Collaboration with GALVmed teams and key stakeholders e.g. Board, Members, Animal Health Industry to
• identify stakeholders and appropriate approaches for engagement
• Review/develop and execute partnership related policies which allow partnerships to thrive
• Identify, review and map stakeholders and synergies
• Develop and execute stakeholder engagement and action plans
• Support the development and execution of an advocacy strategy in support of GALVmed’s campaigns on key issues such as creating an enabling environment for private sector operation in GALVmed’s priority countries, recognition and accreditation of veterinary paraprofessionals, and regulatory harmonization of registration of veterinary medicines in Africa and other areas as may be necessary
• Represent GALVmed in strategic and other meetings as may be required
• Develop and maintain a partners’ database and oversee its use across GALVmed

Networking and facilitation:

• Support the design, management, and documentation of GALVmed-convened internal and external meetings such as roundtable meetings, workshops and conferences in support of corporate and project objectives

Assist in delivery of Enabling Environment and Partner Engagement (EE/PE) activities:

• Support the delivery of EE/PE projects and activities in a timely/efficient manner and within budget
• Implement departmental objectives in support of broader GALVmed activities
• Support the development and tracking of departmental KPIs

Trends and alignment with key partners:

• Track policy and business trends relevant to GALVmed’s operations strategy and operations
• Distil and summarise key publications, identifying and communicating the implications for GALVmed

People management:

• Manage people including project teams, staff, service providers and consultants

Qualifications and experience
Essential:

• Degree in a relevant field (development studies, agricultural development, communication, marketing)
• A minimum of 5 years of advocacy/policy/partnership management experience
• A minimum of 3 years people management experience
• Experience working in, and proven understanding of, the not-for-profit sector and of development work in Africa and/or South Asia
• Proven experience in stakeholder engagement and partnership building
• Ability to gain a strong understanding of GALVmed’s work relative to other organisations and share its vision and philosophy
• Experience in and comfortable communicating with high level business and public sector executives, policymakers and thought leaders
• Excellent organisational/project management and time management skills with the ability to juggle competing priorities
• Experience in coalition-building and working in a team environment with disparate functions and teams
• Ability to travel regionally occasionally

Desirable:

• Facilitation training
• Experience working in agriculture in the context of international development
• Experience working in a political environment
• Experience/exposure to commercial/business environment
• Success in this role will require the following general characteristics and behaviours
• Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills
• Networking and relationship building aptitude
• Ability to work with a wide range of personalities, adaptable
• Strong analytical skills and ability to distil complex arguments and communicate options and advice to wide range of actors
• Highly organised and able to work independently and manage tight deadlines
• Confidence and self-awareness
• Cultural sensitivity and attention to nuances and details