British Council is looking for a Partnerships Manager

We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide. We work directly with individuals to help them gain the skills, confidence and connections to transform their lives and shape a better world in partnership with the UK. We support them to build networks and explore creative ideas, to learn English, to get a high-quality education and to gain internationally recognised qualifications. Working with people in over 200 countries and territories, we are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2021–22 we reached 650 million people.

Country: Belgium
Contract type: Indefinite
Duration: Indefinite

Role Purpose & Context:

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and education. We build peace and prosperity through our work in cultural, education, civil society building and youth empowerment. We operate in over 100 countries globally and our EU office in Brussels is responsible for liaising with the EU institutions and other strategic partners to meet our global ambitions. Our work spans both internal & external European policies & we interact with DG INTPA, DG NEAR, DG EAC, FPI, EEAS, the European Parliament, EU Member State agencies, International organisations, etc.

We are looking for an enthusiastic development professional with at least three years experience to join our team. The role reports to the Senior Partnerships Manager and involves engagement and advocacy with the EU institutions and strategic partners; programme development; and advice on contracts being delivery. As well as external partners, the role requires close collaboration with various teams within the British Council, particularly thematic and regional teams.

Challenges & Accountabilities:

Key account advisory

• Gathers insights and intelligence on key strategic partners, following policy and programming developments, attending conferences and events, etc.

• Supports regional, sector and headquarters stakeholders develop and manage key strategic partner relationships.

Strategic partner engagement and positioning

• Develops and maintains excellent relationships and networks with external strategic partners and stakeholders in Brussels, the UK and across relevant regions.

• Supports advocacy efforts in Brussels which target strategic partners and other stakeholders, building respect for British Council’s international development and cultural relations capabilities.

• Participates in key external networks to develop a coordinated position on key areas important to the British Council’s global objectives, such as the Practitioners’ Network.

Programme development

• Generally, supports the development of the British Council’s growth ambitions in terms of impact and financial targets.

• Gathers research and intelligence from a Brussels perspective on key strategic partner trends and opportunities.

• Supports the development of high-quality bids/proposals – contributes to the decision-making process; and; supports technical and commercial quality assurance on project design and tender/proposal submissions.

Commercial and contractual management

• Supports the preparation of financial proposals, project budgets and costing models.

• Supports the preparation of agreements to associate, non-disclosure agreements, pre-bid agreements, contract agreements and partner and consultant agreements. Supports the negotiation with partners, clients, consultants and UK Global Contracts Team.

Programme delivery

• Generally, supports the successful delivery of key strategic partner contracts and ensures learning is embedded into advocacy and the pursuit of new business.

• Contributes to project start up and inception, risk management including but not limited to contracts, tax, status and security risks.

• Participates in contract boards and closure activities, helping to ensure learning is embedded in future policy and project design via advocacy initiatives.

Capacity building

• Builds the capacity of colleagues around the internal network to engage and position, to pursue business and to deliver with key strategic partners, through one to one guidance and contribution to training delivery and communities of practice.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI)

• Actively contributes to an inclusive and anti-racist organisational culture, being aware of own biases, and taking action to mitigate against these. Ensuring people feel valued and are treated equitably, with support for people’s well-being and mental health.

• Understand the British Council’s approach to equality, diversity and inclusion and how it applies to your role, and make time for learning and development relating to EDI and anti-racism.

Other tasks as the situation requires

Requirements

• Right to work live and work in Belgium

• English essential, and French desirable

• Three years’ experience in the international development sector, including the successful implementation of advocacy and business targets with the EU institutions or EU Member State agencies or International organisations or CSOs or consulting.

• Masters’s degree in a related field, i.e. development studies, international affairs, education, culture, etc.

• Strong understanding of the EU institutions decision making, and policy and programming processes in the international development context.

• Experience building partnerships and working with funding from multi-national and/or national bodies, i.e. EU Institutions, European Governments, International organisations.

• Proven record in contributing to successful bids/proposals for institutional donors such as EU institutions and/or EU MS and/or International organisations with ability to provide clear guidance on requirements and procedures.

• Experience in budget preparation.

• Excellent written communication skills, able to convey projects in a clear, engaging way.

• Excellent interpersonal, verbal communication and influencing skills, able to engage and promote dialogue between a range of stakeholders, both internal and external.

• Proven facilitation, skills and ability to build capacity, with aim of contributing to the professional development of staff.

• Excellent organisational awareness and problem-solving skills.

• Ability to think and work proactively, to prioritise own workload under pressure, and to work autonomously.

Benefits include

• starting salary, 4,092 EUR per month gross

• Groups insurance (2nd pillar pension scheme)

• 13th month

• Holiday bonus

• Reimbursement public transport costs up to 34€/month and train season’s tickets following the Employer’s legal reimbursement rules

• Commuting cycling allowance: 0.35€/km

• Mealvouchers of 6€/working day (with personal contribution of 1.09€ per mealvoucher)

• Teleworking allowance 30€/month (captured in a structural teleworking agreement three days/week)

• 25 days annual leave

Additional information:

Occasional domestic and/or international travel and/or non-standard working patterns, such as weekend or evening work, might be necessary according to the activity or to external factors, i.e. a deadline, an event, etc.

Closing Date: Applications will close on 18/08/2024 at 23:59 (Central European Time(CET)

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Statement

The British Council is committed to policies and practices of equality, diversity and inclusion across everything we do. We support all staff to make sure their behaviour is consistent with this commitment. We want to address under representation and encourage applicants from under-represented groups, in particular, but not exclusively, on grounds of ethnicity and disability. All disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria are guaranteed an interview and we have Disability Confident Employer Status. We welcome discussions about specific requirements or adjustments to enable participation and engagement in our work and activities.

The British Council is committed to safeguarding children, young people and adults who we work with. We believe that all children and adults everywhere in the world deserve to live in safe environments and have the right to be protected from all forms of abuse, maltreatment and exploitation as set out in article 19, UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child) 1989. Appointment to positions where there is direct involvement with vulnerable groups will be dependent on thorough checks being completed; these will include qualification checks, reference checks, identity & criminal record checks in line with legal requirements and with the British Council’s Safeguarding policies for Adults and Children.

If you have any problems with your application please email askhr@britishcouncil.org

Please note: Applications to this role can only be considered when made through the Apply section of our careers website. Our ‘ASK HR’ email is only to be used in case of a technical issue encountered when applying through the careers website. Emails with supporting statements and CV/Resumes sent to this email address will not be reviewed and will be deleted.