Director of Awards, Partnerships and Localization

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
ROLE PROFILE
TITLE: Director of Awards, Partnerships and Localization (FOR MYANMAR NATIONAL ONLY)
TEAM/PROGRAMME: Awards Management
LOCATION: Yangon, Myanmar
Number of Position: 1
GRADE: Executive
CONTRACT LENGTH: Fixed Term, 1 year with possibility of extension
CHILD SAFEGUARDING:
Level 2: either the post holder will have access to personal data about children and/or young people as part of their work; or the post holder will be working  in a ‘regulated’ position (accountant, barrister, solicitor, legal executive); therefore a criminal record self-declaration  will be required(at ‘standard’ level in the UK or equivalent in other countries).
ROLE PURPOSE:
As a member of the Senior Management Team (SMT) of the Myanmar Country Office, the Director of Awards, Partnerships, and Localization provides strategic leadership and oversight of award management, partnership quality, and the Country Office’s localization agenda. The role ensures that all awards and partnership portfolios meet Save the Children’s global standards for quality, accountability, and donor compliance, while supporting effective, timely, and compliant programme delivery in a complex, high risk environment. The postholder will represent donor, compliance, partnership, and localization perspectives across SMT decision-making.
The Director leads and mentors the Awards and Partnerships teams; strengthens internal systems; and builds Country Office capacity to manage awards and partnerships effectively across both humanitarian and development portfolios. The role also contributes to organisational learning and continuous improvement of award and partnership processes at Country Office level.
A core responsibility of this role is to advance Save the Children’s global localization ambition, ensuring that Myanmar becomes a country office enhance local actors lead, influence, and drive sustainable change for children. This includes embedding the seven dimensions of localization across all aspects of the programming and at organizational level. The postholder will champion locally led approaches, promote equitable and principled partnerships, expand the role of local organisations in programmes and decision-making, and ensure that localization is central to how Save the Children designs, delivers, and evaluates its work.
SCOPE OF ROLE:
Reports to: Country Director
Staff Direct Reports: Award and Partnership Senior Manager and Managers,  Partnership Advisor
External Representation: Donors and members, Other networks
Travel: Minimum
KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY :
1.    Award Management
Strategic Leadership & Portfolio Oversight
•    Provide strategic leadership within the SMT on all aspects of Award and Partnership Management across the full Award Management Cycle.
•    Ensure accurate, up to date information on the entire award portfolio is available to SMT, Save the Children members, and other internal stakeholders.
•    Support the development and implementation of the Country Office funding strategy, flagging risks, opportunities, and strategic issues in coordination with DSPQI and HNBD.
•    Ensure proactive risk identification and mitigation across all awards and partnership related processes.
Systems Strengthening & AMS Management
•    Ensure the Award Management System (AMS) is effectively maintained, consistently updated, and accurately reflects the full audit trail for all awards and sub awards.
•    Strengthen internal reporting assurance mechanisms by improving reconciliation processes across all relevant functions to ensure accountable and donor compliant reporting.
Budget management
•    In collaboration with the FSSD and DPO, ensure a robust framework for master budget development, cost allocation, budget monitoring, phasing, forecasting, and alignment with the funding tracker.
•    Ensure financial risks and variances are addressed in partnership with Budget Holders and Finance teams, promoting sound financial stewardship across the portfolio.
Team Leadership
•    Recruit, train, develop, and manage award and partnership management staff, ensuring a high performing team and clear professional development pathways.
•    Foster strong internal and external relationships with award management peers and networks across Myanmar.
2. Donor & Save the Children Compliance
Donor Compliance Integration
•    Ensure all program, award, finance, MEAL, and support staff understand donor requirements throughout the award lifecycle (proposal, agreement, kick off, implementation, amendments, reporting, closeout, audit).
•    Ensure proposal development, donor reports, M&E products, and quality assurance systems meet donor and SCI compliance standards.
Compliance Risk Management
•    Provide guidance to Finance on cost allocation strategies that minimise compliance burdens where possible (timesheets, co financing).
•    Flag issues and amendment requests promptly via the relevant Save the Children member and support development of business cases for donor negotiations (waivers/derogations).
Capacity-Building & Quality Assurance
•    Ensure new staff in key roles receive onboarding to SCI award management systems, tools, policies, and donor requirements.
•    Ensure Global KPIs and Right First Time (RFT) Indicators under Award Management responsibility are consistently met.
•    Coordinate with internal and external auditors and ensure timely resolution of audit actions.
3. Localisation & Partnerships
Strategic Localisation Leadership
•    Lead the Country Office’s localisation agenda, embedding localisation as a core organisational priority across programmes, operations, partnerships, and award management.
•    Drive organisational change processes that shift power, resources, and decision making to national partners, aligned with SCI’s global localisation commitments and Myanmar’s context.
Localisation Roadmap & Organisational Readiness
•    Lead the development, implementation, and periodic review of the Localisation Roadmap, ensuring milestones, performance indicators, and accountability mechanisms are in place.
•    Ensure all departments contribute meaningfully to localisation goals and support staff readiness through mindset shifts, learning initiatives, and capacity building.
Equitable Partnership Models
•    Champion a locally led response model where national partners shape assessments, programme design, delivery, monitoring, learning, and strategic decision making.
•    Promote equitable partnership principles, mutual accountability, and long term institutional strengthening across all partnerships.
Partner Governance, Compliance & Capacity Strengthening
•    Provide leadership in the scoping, identification, assessment, and selection of partners, ensuring compliance with SCI’s Partnership approach.
•    Ensure all partners undergo legal vetting, safeguarding checks, due diligence, and organisational capacity assessments prior to engagement.
•    Oversee partnership agreements, monitoring systems, joint reviews, and adaptive management processes to ensure high quality delivery and donor compliance.
•    Ensure all relevant donor requirements and SCI standards are clearly communicated to partners and integrated into their work.
•    Provide strategic oversight to partner capacity strengthening, ensuring tools, resources, and multi departmental support systems are in place and consistently used.
•    Embed safeguarding, PSEA, child protection, and ethical accountability within all partnership arrangements in collaboration with CSG, PSEA focal points, and technical leads.
Representation & External Engagement
•    Represent SCI in national partnership forums, networks, coalitions, and coordination groups, supporting sector wide learning on equitable partnerships and localisation.
4. Internal & External Coordination
•    Participate in partnership review meetings, consortia, networks, and coalitions, ensuring strong relationship management and solution oriented collaboration.
•    Provide guidance on partnership issues to internal stakeholders across departments.
•    Ensure civil society partners meaningfully participate in Country Strategy development, annual planning, and proposal development processes.
5. Contribution to SCI Global & National Initiatives
•    Monitor developments from SCI’s Global Partnership Working Group and ensure timely adoption of updated global policies and guidance at the Country Office level.
•    Monitor sector trends and innovations related to INGO local partner collaborations; identify and pursue new partnership opportunities for SCI Myanmar.
6. Child Safeguarding and counter fraud responsibility
•    Ensure the managerial environment and operational systems fully support the implementation of the Child Safeguarding Policy and safeguarding framework including PSEA across award and partnership work.
•    Promote practical approaches to strengthen staff and partner awareness, compliance, and commitment to child safeguarding within Awards and Partnership teams.
•    Take all necessary and appropriate steps to prevent fraud, bribery, and corruption within their areas of responsibility, report and respond to all incidents and concerns and comply with the Counter-Fraud, Bribery and Corruption Policy and Procedure. All types of fraud, bribery, and corruption must be prevented, including where it benefits the organisation (SCI).
•    Collaborate with safeguarding and counter fraud teams to follow up on donor queries.
•    Understand and implement safeguarding and counter fraud related donor requirements.
BEHAVIOURS (Values in Practice)
Accountability:
•    Holds self accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values
•    Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities – giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved.
Ambition:
•    Sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team, takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages their team to do the same
•    Widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
•    Future orientated, thinks strategically and on a global scale.
Collaboration:
•    Builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, Members and external partners and supporters
•    Values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength
•    Approachable, good listener, easy to talk to.
Creativity:
•    Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
•    Willing to take disciplined risks.
Integrity:
•    Honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrity
•    Always acts in the best interests of children
QUALIFICATIONS
Desirable
•    Master degree in relevant field
EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS
•    A minimum of 10 years’ experience in senior management role out of which 5 years INGO experience with excellent grasp of operational issues.
•    Sound knowledge of the requirements of major institutional donors including budgeting, eligibility issues, compliance management, and reporting.
•    Proven track record of active contribution to a senior management team, and providing strategic support across multiple sectors and/or regions.
•    Proven experience of establishing and running the award management and partnerhsip funcations at large potfilios.
•    Ability to present complex information in a succinct and compelling manner.
•    Action-oriented analytical skills; demonstrated experience in setting up and maintaining quality assurance /compliance systems
•    Excellent planning, management and coordination skills, with the ability to organise a demanding workload comprised of diverse and challenging tasks and responsibilities.
•    Experience of engaging with donors at country strategy levels.
•    Experience of and well-developed skills in staff management and supervision with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures. Proven strong coaching and capacity-building skills.
•    Experience of Project Management, M&E Management or Funding Coordination
•    Strong communication (written and spoken), and interpersonal skills in English, with experience in managing multicultural teams
•    Computer literate (i.e. WORD, advanced Excel, Outlook, Internet Explorer, financial systems).
•    Patient, adaptable, flexible, culturally aware and able to improvise and remain responsive and communicate clearly and effectively under pressure
•    Commitment to Save the Children values
Additional job responsibilities
The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience.
Equal Opportunities
The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI Equal Opportunities and Diversity policies and procedures.
Child Safeguarding:
We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.
All staff has an obligation and a responsibility to:
•    Ensure they fully understand the provisions of the Child Safeguarding Policy, the Code of Conduct and Local/Country Procedures.
•    Conduct themselves in accordance with the rules of the Child Safeguarding Policy, in their personal and professional lives – which includes reporting suspicions of child abuse.
•    Ensure the way they are carrying out their work is not putting children at risk (or further risk) – this means constantly scrutinizing their work through a child safeguarding lens and talking to children about possible design/implementation “flaws”.
•    Promote the message of child safeguarding to colleagues in other organizations and government ministries, children in their own and beneficiary families, and community members in general.
•    Be vigilant about observing possible child abuse/harm in their personal and professional lives.
All managers have the above responsibilities as well as ensuring
•    Their staff are doing the above.
•    That child safeguarding is integrated and given a “voice” in all management processes including recruitment, induction, performance management, team meetings, annual planning processes, field level monitoring, etc.
Safeguarding our Staff:
The post holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI anti-harassment policy.
Health and Safety
The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI Health and Safety policies and procedures.