Splash is an international development organization founded in 2007 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, USA. In 15 years, we have reached over 880,000 children in cities around the world. In 2019, we embarked on an exciting initiative, Project WISE (WASH in Schools for Everyone), focused on reaching over 800,000 children in three major growth cities – Addis Ababa and Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, and Kolkata, India – with improved water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure, WASH behavior change programs, and strengthened school-based menstrual health programs. Over the next few years, we aim to expand our impact to new cities across 4-5 countries in Asia and Africa.
Splash supports local leaders, institutions, and partners to drive lasting change on the ground. We believe that local capacity to solve problems at scale exists, and our job is to strategically support and magnify the impact of local governments, non-profit and for-profit actors for the good of children and families across the cities where we work.
Our core values guide everything we do including every hiring decision we make. They are:
- People – People first. People second. People third.
- Quality – Beautiful products that function and last.
- Honesty – No drama, no surprises, no BS.
- Joy – Kids at heart, seeing potential everywhere.
- Mistakes – Make them, don’t repeat them.
Splash values the unique skills and experiences each individual brings to the organization, and we are committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive and accessible environment for everyone. We provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and qualified applicants for employment. Women are strongly encouraged to apply.
To learn more, please visit www.splash.org.
The Job
This is a full-time position based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
POSITION OVERVIEW
Reporting to the Ethiopia Country Director, the Strategic Partnership Director is responsible for spearheading the development of Splash’s strategic partnership engagement with key stakeholders (including local government, donors, the private sector, NGOs, and other local partners) to both grow our programs as well as to ensure their continued success and sustainability.
This includes building relationships with key stakeholders to ensure the successful completion of Project WISE, ensuring a smooth transition to government ownership post-completion, and helping to lead Splash’s expansion into new geographies in Ethiopia.
The position requires strong skills in stakeholder engagement, business development, and verbal and written communications, including the ability to represent Splash Ethiopia in meetings conducted with and by Government officials, NGOs, local donor representatives, and the private sector.
DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
- Represent Splash interests in meetings with government, donors, partners, and multi-stakeholder groups.
- Collaborate with Country Office (CO) senior leadership in developing strategies for partnership and business development; serve as the focal point for these activities.
- Work to replicate the Project WISE model in other cities in Ethiopia by building relationships with city, state, and federal governments in new geographies to ensure buy-in, cooperation, and co-investment.
- Support CO senior leadership in working with the Addis Ababa city government to ensure continued political and financial support for Project WISE in Addis Ababa during the life of the project and post-completion of the project.
- Partner with Splash senior leadership to promote the organization as a leader in urban WASH and a trusted partner of government and NGOs.
- Mobilize resources from donors, government, and the private sector to expand the country office portfolio beyond Project WISE in partnership with CO Senior Leadership and Global Office Business Development.
- Collaborate with other senior managers to constantly be alert to and avoid partnership risks and to ensure clear and meaningful collaborations across the spectrum of partners.
- Develop appropriate tools and systems to enhance coordination, track commitments and opportunities with partners, and strengthen coherence and cohesion of Splash’s overall positioning in the local partnership framework.
- Provide tailored guidance, mentorship, and skills development to team members and other staff as appropriate as a member of the Ethiopia leadership team.
COMPETENCIES
Organizational Competencies
- Demonstrates strong commitment to Splash International’s mission, vision, and values;
- Displays openness to diversity of cultures, gender, religions, race, nationality, and ages; special emphasis will be placed on gender equity and the prevention of sexual harassment;
- Demonstrates ability to function in a team environment and, where required, enhance effective team leadership and contribute to a cohesive team environment.
- Shares knowledge and experience.
Functional Competencies
- Capacity to interact meaningfully and effectively with senior government officials, donors, NGOs, and representatives of private-sector institutions;
- Successful track record of negotiating successful partnership(s) with government partners;
- Outstanding analytical and negotiation skills; ability to present coherent and convincing positions both in writing and orally;
- Strong ability to take the initiative to move complex processes forward to achieve articulated results;
- Demonstrated ability to work on different initiatives simultaneously.
- Demonstrable networking capability and interpersonal skills;
- Strong ability to promote teamwork.
REPORTS TO: Yodit Zenebe, Country Director
About You
Required Skills and Experience
Education
- Advanced university degree, preferably MA or MSc, in business management, marketing, sociology and social administration, psychology, environmental science, international relations, or equivalent required.
Experience
- At least 15 years of experience in a senior leadership position, preferably with a mix of Government offices and other local stakeholders.
Language Requirement
- Proficiency in English and Amharic, both written and spoken; knowledge of one or more major local or international languages is an asset.
CHARACTERISTICS
- You exhibit absolute integrity, honesty, openness, and sound judgment;
- You enjoy collaboration and have a genuine interest in learning from and developing others;
- You are innovative and creative;
- You constantly seek better ways to accomplish objectives;
- You are an excellent communicator, with the ability to listen and build trust with a wide variety of internal and externals constituents;
- You have the ability and willingness to travel throughout Ethiopia and internationally (as required by this role).
- You are a strong writer who enjoys compiling inputs from various team members and helping create a clear and polished final product;
- You demonstrate excellent organizational skills, self-motivation, flexibility, and the ability to work and thrive in a fast-paced, energetic, entrepreneurial environment;
- You think critically and put a high value on offering and receiving constructive feedback;
- You have a deep belief in and passion for Splash’s work and the children we serve.
