Head of Partnerships

**Purpose of Role**:
The Head of Partnerships and Advocacy is a leadership role responsible for guiding the Jakes Gerwel Fellowship's (JGF) stakeholder strategy, ensuring cohesive messaging, and advocating for the organization’s mission, goals, and values. This role works closely with senior leadership, external partners, and internal teams to align with broader strategic objectives.

**Objectives of Role**:
**Strategic Communication Planning**:

- In collaboration with the CEO develop, initiate and operationalize JGF's strategic communications and advocacy strategies.
- Ensure consistency in messaging and branding across all platforms.
- Compilation of JGF's annual report.
- Maintain and manage budgets relating to strategic communication and advocacy.

**Advocacy**:

- Lead advocacy efforts to influence policy decisions at local and national levels.
- Build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders, including funders, partners and media.
- Monitor legislative and policy developments that impact the organization, providing strategic insights to senior leadership.
- Develop position papers, briefs, and advocacy campaigns to promote the JGF agenda.

**Media Relations**:

- Prepare media statements, act as key media liaison, manage media inquiries and schedule interviews for the CEO and other strategic roles within JGF.
- Build and maintain relationships with journalists, media outlets, and influencers.
- Oversee media training for key spokespersons within the organization.

**Stakeholder Engagement**:

- Develop and maintain strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, ensuring alignment on communication objectives.
- Support internal leadership in brand positioning, media training and interview skills training.
- Identify opportunities for internal talent to engage with the media in order to promote JGF and its agenda.
- Ensure alignment with group advocacy strategies.
- Engage with PR agencies and other external service providers to co-ordinate and action the strategy and to monitor the return on investment of media/ PR initiatives

**Crisis Communication**:

- Lead the development of crisis communication strategies to manage reputational risks.
- Act as a key player in crisis management, ensuring timely and effective communication during critical situations.

***Measurement and Reporting**:

- Track and report on the effectiveness of communication and advocacy efforts.
- Use data-driven insights to adjust strategies and ensure continuous improvement.

**People Management**:

- Provide guidance, support and structure to assigned team.
- Manage the team through all HR related processes.
- Manage daily performance, set quarterly and annual goals.
- Act as point of escalation with regards to third parties managed by subordinate structures.

**Partnership Management**:

- Engage closely with Group advocacy team to ensure alignment in strategy and opportunities for collaboration.
- Manage related contracts from contracting to price negotiations, with external service providers.
- Manage timeframes around contract periods to ensure cancellations and renewals are effected to ensure business continuity.

**Experience and Qualifications**:
**Education**:

- Post graduate Diploma and Professional Registration / NQF level 8 in Marketing, Public Relations, Communications, Partnerships and Collaboration or related field.

**Experience**:

- Minimum of 10 years of experience in Partnerships and Collaboration, with at least 5-7 years in senior role.
- Leadership experience in branding, marketing, promotions and events
- Consulting/advisory experience in communications/public relations

***Skills**:

- Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
- High-level diplomatic and sensitive communication skills, drafting various types of content, creating strategic proposals or presentations for the board or key stakeholders, and negotiating with customers or suppliers.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite.

**Competencies**:
**Competencies**
- Action-oriented, systematically analyzing and forming opinions, dealing flexibly with paradoxes, making wise and authoritative decisions, using interpersonal skills to influence, and effectively networking
- Strategic focus on long-term organizational vision, collaborative leadership, high-quality decision-making, building effective teams, and coaching and developing team members
- Acquiring information from various sources, demonstrating commercial awareness, effective communication, managing digital content, and advocating for the organization’s vision and values