JOB OPPORTUNITY

Business Development and Partnership Manager   – Erbil

World Vision International is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. World Vision - Iraq Office is looking for a highly qualified and motivated person for the position of Business Development and Partnership Manager   – Erbil. 

Employee Contract Type:

Local - Fixed Term Employee (Fixed Term)

Job Description:

JOB PURPOSE 

The Business Development and Partnership Manager holds a strategic leadership role, primarily responsible for leading World Vision Iraq’s fundraising, marketing and partnership initiatives. In addition to resource mobilization, the Business Development and Partnership Manager plays a key role in business strategy development, innovation, and expanding the donor base. This includes engagement with traditional institutional donors, as well as promoting relationships with non-traditional partners, including the private sector and local entities, in alignment with the localization agenda. World Vision is a member of the Resilience and Recovery Pathways for Iraq program (RRPI Program) a collaborative endeavor formed by eight organizations. The position requires a forward-thinking and adaptive leader capable of building strategic partnerships, representing the organization in high-level donor and partner meetings, and effectively positioning World Vision Iraq in coordination forums and other external platforms. Furthermore, the role includes responsibility for building the capacity of staff in business development, fundraising, and partnership management including representing World Vision Iraq on the RRPI business development working group.

KEY RESPONSIBILITES

Business development, Grant Management and Compliance

• Provide strategic oversight, technical direction, and management support to the Business Development and Partnership team.
• Develop and implement effective fundraising strategies aligned with the Our Promise and the World Vision Iraq NEXUS Strategy, ensuring a diversified funding including blending financing models to support long-term operations in Iraq.
• Oversee the preparation of high-quality value for money grant proposals, low-cost high impact budgets, reports, and design documents for submission to World Vision’s support offices, partners and donors.
• Ensure accurate budgeting and close coordination with support departments to determine both project and operational costs, maintaining competitive cost ratios.
• Establish and maintain systems and procedures that ensure grant quality, compliance, and favourable audit outcomes.
• Provide portfolio analysis and funding projections to the Senior Leadership Team, particularly advising the Senior Leadership and Management Team on trends and strategic options for sustaining the Programme.
• Oversee effective grant management through regular after-action reviews and strategic funding reviews and the use of monthly/ periodic reporting tools including the Grants Health Tracker.
• Maintain comprehensive tracking systems for the full grant cycle, including pipeline monitoring, proposal development, awards, implementation, compliance, and close-out in line with World Vision partnership standards.

Donor External Engagement and Networking

• Lead the World Vision Iraq’s external engagement for resource mobilization and partnership development, including the development and implementation of donor engagement office road maps and strategies.
• Oversee and coordinate World Vision Iraq’s involvement in key donor meetings and strategic discussions.
• Conduct continuous review of existing and new donor and country priorities, including key thematic and sectoral areas of interest, to inform the development of targeted strategies for positioning the organization for future funding, innovation and strategic partnerships.
• Collaborate with Senior Leadership and Management Team members to represent World Vision at national-level coordination forums with donors, international NGOs, local partners, and government officials, as appropriate.
• Oversee and coordinate World Vision Iraq’s involvement in key donor meetings and strategic discussions.
• Strengthen World Vision Iraq’s programming by building and maintaining strong relationships with major donors and stakeholders operating across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus. Embassies; Private Sector as well as relevant in-country donor agencies, the NGO community, local partners, and World Vision Support Offices.
• Collaborate with Communications and the regional office to generate strategic communication and prepositioning materials that highlight World Vision Iraq’s strengths and impact, for both internal use and external engagements.

Partnering Implementation, and Capacity Strengthening.

• Support SLT in the socialization and implementation of the POC initiative.
• Develop, contextualize, and maintain office partnering guidelines and procedures across all departments and programmes in collaboration with local stakeholders and the World Vision partnership.
• Facilitate the assessment of partnering capabilities within the office using the appropriate partnership approved tools.
• Support the development of the Partnership Business Plan and support the Senior Leadership Team in coordinating the implementation of partnership action plans.
• Work with senior leadership to strengthen partnership strategies that foster partnership effectiveness, quality, and business value.
• Coordinate periodic reviews of partnering guidance and processes, incorporating feedback from staff and partners to ensure ongoing alignment with policy, strategy, and emerging best practices.
• Provide ongoing support (and coaching where needed) to teams in applying partnering policies and the office guidance.
• Offer technical backstop on partnership matters across the entire partnering cycle for the office.
• Support the development and review of partnership agreements (including MOUs and sub-grant agreements) to ensure alignment with core principles, standards, and procedures.
• Map, update and strategic management of INGO and local partnerships at all levels and across sectors (for all lines of programming).
• Support localization and competence development for partnering in collaboration with stakeholders.
• Ensure Partnering Procedures and associated tools and processes (BPS, due diligence, safeguarding, capacity assessments) are consistently applied in all partnership development.
• Support development of Partnership Agreements including partnership risk management plans; where necessary support implementation and reviews to adjust based on partner performance, evolving context, and emerging risks.
• Develop and manage a partner database and dashboard, ensuring proper electronic filing and storage of all partnership documentation.
• Ensure documentation and sharing of partnering-related materials, success stories, and learnings, in line with office guidelines and data management standards.

Technical Quality and Support

• Collaborate with Technical Managers and REALM to develop HDP NEXUS high-quality project designs across all funding streams. Designs must align with prioritized Our Impact Our Story (OIOS) child well-being outcomes, donor objectives, context-specific evidence-based practices, and sustainability indicators, while addressing the unique fragility of targeted communities.
• Adapt with flexibility and responsiveness to organizational needs, collaborate with Technical Program to achieve quality through grant proposals with coherence with assessments, responses, M&E frameworks, ITTs, work plans, budgets, donor liaison, documentation, and reporting.
• Oversee the effective external representation of Technical Managers at both national and international levels, in alignment with organizational engagement priorities. This includes strategic interaction with donors, private sector, partners (including local partners), government stakeholders, academia, and other relevant humanitarian actors.
• Ensure World Vision Iraq’s technical expertise is clearly articulated through the development of technical briefs and capacity statements to support donor and private sector engagement and external positioning.

Strategic Leadership and Staff Management

• Collaborate across departments to ensure integration of learning from field operations into grant acquisition business processes.
• Actively participate in Senior Management Team meetings, contributing to strategic discussions and action planning.
• Provide leadership and support to direct reports, ensuring alignment with performance objectives and professional development goals.
• Oversee timely completion of performance plans and reviews for all team members, promoting accountability and continuous improvement.
• Grow staff skills with relevant skills fit for the context and for external engagements and prepositioning.

Perform other duties as required

• In collaboration with the Programme Director, ensure that World Vision’s policies and protocols are implemented and monitored on a regular basis.
• Ensure stewardship of the financial resources and people.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Line Manager including acting as Programme Director

KNOWLEDGE, SKILL AND EXPERIENCE:

• At least seven years of experience in Business and Resource Development roles or equivalent including at a senior level with international NGOs, including proven experience in project design and submission of winning proposals.
• Experience in humanitarian aid/emergency relief and development work.
• Understanding of both humanitarian assistance/emergency relief and development work, especially of child-focused concepts, approaches and processes.
• Clear understanding and experience of the workings with major donor (traditional, non-traditional, contractors and private sector entities) their perspectives, requirements and standards.
• Knowledge of major donor and private sector engagements and funding sources.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills in English, including report writing and proposal writing.
• Ability to engage with representatives of government, NGOs, UN agencies and donors and private sector.
• Excellent relationship building and people management skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and relational skills, especially in a cross-cultural environment, and ability to analyse and solve problems, persuade, network and negotiate.
• Good understanding of applicable standards, especially the Core Humanitarian Standard, and Inter-Agency standing Committee guidelines.
• Exemplary knowledge of tools and methods used for developing log frames.
• Significant experience with a wide range of institutional donors and funding agencies, such as the European Union (including ECHO), UN Agencies- UNDP, WFP, UNICEF, Global Affairs Canada, USG, WB, Corporations, WB, Embassies and private donors etc.
• Knowledge and experience of working with commercial contracts

Required Education, training, license, registration, and certification:

• Graduate Degree or master’s degree in humanitarian aid, international development, economics, rural development, social sciences or related field.

Preferred Experience, Knowledge and/or other Qualifications:

• Good knowledge and understanding of key aspect of humanitarian aid/emergency relief and development work including Education, Child Protection, Health Livelihood, WASH, GESI and Social Cohesion and private sector engagements.
• A full commitment to World Vision’s core values and humanitarian mandate.
• Adherence to World Vision Child Protection, Code of Conduct, and Conflict of Interest policies.
• Full adherence to security protocols
• Understanding of WV operations and strong field acumen.

Required Language(s):

• English required,
• Arabic and/or Kurdish preferred

Required travel and/or work environment accommodations:

• 50 % travel required within the country and internationally.

Applicant Types Accepted:

Local Applicants Only

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Mode of Application:

If you are interested in this position, to apply, please register at: https://worldvision.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/WorldVisionInternational/details/Business-Development-and-Partnership-Manager_JR45900

No information inquiries will be handled over the phone. Only short-listed candidates will be notified for the interview. The deadline for application is November 6, 2025.

As a Child focused organization, World Vision is committed to the protection of children and does not employ staff whose background is not suitable for working with children. All employment is conditioned upon the successful completion of all applicable background checks