Manager - Partnerships Flex-Pool at Tony Blair Institute for Global Change

About Strategy & Partnerships



Strategy & Partnerships (S&P) is one of 3 central business critical departments, alongside Policy & Politics and Global Government Advisory. The S&P department leads and oversees the Institute’s strategic direction and growth, with specific responsibility for future proofing growth, developing scalable partnerships, innovating in tech and securing financial resources to advance the Institute’s operational goals and drive sustainable impact.



Role Summary



We are looking to recruit a Manager, to be based out of our home offices in Accra. You should have the right to work in Accra. Note we will be hiring on a rolling basis and are currently looking for three manager roles in total across London, Accra, Washington DC, Dubai and Singapore, each for a fixed-term contract of 24 months.



In recognition of the growing client interest in solutions delivered with TBI partners, we are looking for talented managers to join a newly formed Partnerships Flex-Pool team. TBI works closely with our government clients and partners to innovate and accelerate delivery of results. We support our clients and partners to develop and activate proof-of-concepts and partner solutions, with an aim of rapid learning and iteration to implement at scale.



The Partnerships Flex-Pool, which this role will form part of, will provide interim, dedicated, in-country support (for deployments of between 3-6 months) to the scoping and delivery of new partnership proof-of-concepts and solutions, helping to pilot, test, deliver and scale. The remaining 6+ months will be spent in the home office, delivering other tasks relating to the activation and scale of partner solutions.



This role is ideal for candidates who have the demonstrated ability to create change through their work with private sector partners and government entities. Candidates must have the ability to operate with clients (together with country teams who hold those relationships) which include Ministers and senior government officials, as well as our tech and non-tech partners. Candidates must also be able to work across TBI with professionalism, confidentiality, integrity and diplomacy.



Candidates should have a significant amount of full-time experience, ideally in operations, project management and delivery, management consulting, tech startup/scaleup, government advisory, and /or the public sector.



Candidates must be willing to travel (up to 50%), as in-country deployments can last anywhere from three to six months in duration. Candidates are expected to do at most two in-country deployments a year. TBI will cover reasonable travel costs in line with policy whilst on deployment. These deployments could be in any of our 40 client governments across the globe. Candidates should be excited by the opportunity to routinely travel to and learn about new countries and their governments.



Key Responsibilities



Partnership Proof-of-Concept/Pilot and Partnership Solution Activation (In-Country Deployment)



Working with our Global Client Services team and Global Partnerships colleagues, support in-country TBI project teams to co-design and deliver partner solutions that leverage TBI's extended capabilities through partnerships, with example tasks below:

Together with the local country team, engage with senior client counterparts to understand initial requirements and translate these back as needed for partners and internal TBI teams.

Develop tools that enable efficient kick-off, management and delivery such as project dashboards, governance frameworks and deliverable trackers.

Define and track success measures and design and implement thorough ways of working for the project team and stakeholder groups involved in delivery.

Working with relevant stakeholders across TBI and the Partner organisation, define and validate the partner offering for our client through discovery workshops, and input into defining the long-term strategy for the partnership.

Support country teams with engagement and onboarding of local implementation partners as required.

During delivery, develop and quality assure research, analysis, written insights, decks, and other deliverables for clients, senior leadership within TBI and partners.

Working with central partner account lead, proactively engage partner stakeholders to manage delivery and risks, problem-solving and innovating for greater impact.

Working closely with the relevant Head of Regional Partnerships, country director and in-country advisory teams, support recruitment and other relevant activity to ensure the continued sustainable delivery of partnership solutions in country after the flex-pool deployment concludes.



Evolving a partnership offer from Proof-of-Concept/Solution Activation to Scale (Home Office Work)



Feed lessons learnt back into future iterations of proof-of-concept/pilot/partner solution activation design and delivery.

Work with Partner, internal TBI teams and the relevant internal partner account lead to understand global client demand, build out relevant policy applications for partner solutions and evolve the offer for scale.

Lead or contribute to playbooks for scale of the partner solution to TBI clients.

Work with Global Client Services team to scope and activate promising proof-of-concepts or scaled application with other Advisory Country Teams:

Assess fit of partner solution in-country;

Support with creation of relevant client materials, pitch the partner solution to the client.



General Partnerships discovery and onboarding (Home Office Work)



Support as required with research and discovery into potential partners that TBI could work to with meet client needs identified by global advisory teams.

Facilitate completion of relevant vetting and due diligence for new partners, working across the relevant internal teams.

Working with TBI’s CRM and related tools, maintain a clear, organised means to track proof-of-concept/pilot partner performance.



Note that the manager may be required, where capacity allows, to support Partnerships and Initiatives leadership on ad-hoc internal strategic initiatives.



Flex-Pool Team Management



Although in-country deployment and associated activities will be highest priority for this role, Flex-Pool managers may also be required to undertake activities such as:

Determination of deployment allocations and schedules for broader team.

Co-ordination with Partnerships and Regional leadership to understand pipeline for new deployment opportunities for managers and associate roles alike.

Line management of associates within the team including individual performance management.

Quality assurance of strategic initiative work related to partnerships.

Support, as required, with other elements of Flex-Pool team management such as recruitment and budgeting.



Person Specification:



Significant experience in a tech startup/scaleup, operations, project management and delivery, management consulting, multilateral institutions, high impact civil society organisations, civil service, and many other previous roles are all considered relevant at TBI.

What is required is a personal passion for project-based work, government innovation, strong political acumen, and a willingness to learn, adapt and get things done.

Experience working with government advantageous but not essential, either in an advisory capacity or as a civil servant.

Demonstrated experience managing projects from start to finish – taking entire ownership of the process and the output.

Skilled at communicating, from executive office level through to ideally technical level, adept at speaking to senior leadership, knowing how to navigate ambiguous environments, comfortable at managing up and beyond hierarchy.

A track record of successful stakeholder management, cultivating and maintaining partnerships and alliances across diverse organisations, managing partner relationships at the highest level.

Demonstrated experience cultivating high performance teams, as well as an ethos of team success and a genuine motivation for colleagues’ performance, growth, and well-being.

The ability to perform in-depth analysis across various topics, generate original insights and produce high-quality deliverables which are fit for delivery to senior government clients, perform challenging analysis and structured problem solving.

Fluency in English is a must, with preference for individuals with additional language skills.

Although this role is tailored towards those with generalist industry experience, experience in Digital Transformation, eGovernment, AI, Digital Skills and/or Education Technology will be considered highly relevant.