Director, Partnerships Support at Tony Blair Institute for Global Change

Director, Partnerships Support at Tony Blair Institute for Global Change

The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) is a not-for-profit organisation which supports governments on strategy, policy and delivery through its advisory practice and policy work. As the Institute grows, partnerships are a strategic path to deliver greater impact at greater scale by bringing expertise, resources and technologies that will accelerate economic and social development and secure lasting change for countries.

Job Introduction

The Director, Partnerships Support, is a senior leadership role at TBI which will build the backbone for us to achieve our ambition: the culture, the team and the enabling of systems.  The role holder will be a dot connector across TBI who can ensure that our whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

The Director will build and manage a global team with representation in TBI’s geographic hubs and with the skills and experience to guide our teams as they establish strategic partnerships.  The Director and their team will support TBI’s business units to manage and delivery partnerships effectively, in line with the strategic priorities and partnerships that are identified by TBI teams.   These partnerships will enable our teams to go farther faster and be the ‘go to’ organisation for progressive leaders and governments for whom we deliver: Policy, Strategy Delivery, with Tech as a horizontal.

The Partnerships Support Unit, led by the Director, will support teams with prioritisation, quality assurance, ensuring dual value for partners and our clients, and expanded impact.  Teams themselves will be responsible for identification and strategy behind these partnerships.  Success will be measured by expansion of strategic partnerships engaged by TBI’s divisions and their contribution to TBI’s expanded impact and value to political leaders and governments.

The Director will work in a highly matrixed organisation and the ability to collaborate and deliver with colleagues across structures will be crucial.  This role requires a leader who is highly collaborative and motivated by the success of the organisation’s mission.

Relocation assistance will be provided for the successful candidate if required.

Key Responsibilities

Reporting to and working closely with the Executive Director, Strategic Partnerships and Initiatives, the Director of Partnerships Support will set the strategy, design and execute the systems, and manage a team for a functioning internal Partnerships Support Unit in TBI.  Specific responsibilities, many to be executed through the unit, include:

• Firstly, Lead and manage the Partnerships Support Unit – a diverse and globally distributed team of at least six high performing individuals
• Secondly, Develop internal systems for TBI teams to set their partnership strategies, build pipelines, develop and execute highly impactful partnerships
• Thirdly, Develop a simple and effective system of tracking the evolution of our partnership portfolio and its impact across the whole of TBI
• Moreover, Develop partnership marketing tools and collateral to support teams
• Additionally, Develop guides and tools for TBI teams to execute and scale their partnerships
• Then, Support teams to evolve and scale strategic partnerships
• Also, Host internal specialised expertise on coalition-building, alliances, and campaigning
• More so, Work closely with TBI teams and partners to troubleshoot implementation challenges when they arise and lead teams toward solutions to deliver greater impact
• Thereafter, Advise Executive Director on overall health and strategic nature of TBI’s partnership portfolio; provide recommendations related to diversity, reach, and impact
• Besides that, Set and deliver annual OKRs for division
• Most importantly, Represent TBI at external events
• Afterwards, Serve as a strong leader for TBI’s culture and values
• Finally, Thoughtfully manage your team and grow talent

Key internal relationships: S&P department leaders; Exec Director, Global Client Solutions and subject-matter Directors; Regional Directors and Country Directors, Global Advisory; Executive Directors and Directors Policy & Politics; key country teams; Legal department.

Person Specification

This is a senior leadership role requiring an exceptional candidate who is looking to expand their experience across a growing portfolio:

• Extensive experience as a lead for partnerships and/or high-level relationship management and working with contracts
• Bachelor’s or postgraduate degree or equivalent practical experience
• Demonstrated leadership of teams, preferably across multiple geographies
• Demonstrated experience building and leading internal systems in a streamlined and effective way
• Strategic thinker who  can challenge the status-quo and develop plans for successful delivery of challenging objectives
• The ability to operate in rapidly changing and growth business environment
• Proven ability to oversee numerous projects and initiatives, delegating and performance managing the details
• A track record of cultivating and maintaining partnerships and alliances across diverse organisations
• A natural networker and convener who can manage a multitude of relationships navigating a matrixed internal organisation
• Then, Experience in the mechanics of partnerships, related financial models and can ensure the partnerships cultivated  function operationally across the portfolio
• Impact focused, you will have a background of delivering operationally with a positive impact
• Demonstrated ability in problem analysis and problem resolution at both strategic and functional level
• Also, Proven experience of providing creative and innovative approaches in developing new initiatives/systems that contribute towards set goals
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• A proven self-starter and is entrepreneurial in spirit
• Open to travel and curious to learn from colleagues across our global team (10% – 20%)
• Keenly interested in the work of TBI and share in our mission and values