TBI’s Centre of Government and Delivery (CoGD) Practice is a central function that provides technical leadership and support to TBI’s work supporting the centres of governments in Africa and on the application of our delivery methodology. Our mission is to be a centre of excellence for learning and innovation on centre of government (CoG) effectiveness in low income and emerging countries. The team supports TBI’s embedded advisory work in 22 countries across the world. The practice team supports:

1. quality assurance and training;
2. the mainstreaming of context-appropriate tech and non-tech;
3. the development of productive partnerships to impact; and
4. our engagement in the global debate on effective government in low income and emerging countries.

TBI is hiring a Senior Delivery Adviser – Programmes who is an expert in delivery and policy implementation and has experience of working and delivering results in a partnership context. The candidate will work to develop, review and strengthen our strategic partnerships with research institutions, institutional partners, the private sector, as well as our collaborations with different levels of government institutions.

This is a senior role requiring an exceptional candidate with relevant expertise, deep networks with governments, development and technical partners around the world.

For this role you can be located in Accra, Nairobi or Dakar.

All candidates are required to have the right to work in each country.

Key Responsibilities

Key responsibilities for the role include:

Partnership and project planning

• Lead in developing a comprehensive partnership and project development plan in partnership with TBI’s Business Development and Fundraising team. Examine risks and opportunities presented by the strategic positioning of TBI in its partnerships and propose appropriate responses
• Identify future potential partners and co-create joint projects on common areas of interest

Develop partnership opportunities

• Monitor and evaluate geopolitical and development trends and development needs globally to identify areas of collaboration within COG/D mandate and existing capacity
• Contribute to the identification, design, formulation, and negotiation of new projects and programs and draft concept notes and project briefs for discussion with partners
• Coordinate technical and financial requirements for new project opportunities
• Establish working relationships with key potential partners and attend relevant meetings to position TBI as a partner of choice

Thought Leadership

• Develop a robust and targeted thought leadership and policy influencing agenda, maintaining strong link to TBI’s communications team
• Establish a social media profile around the practice’s work in supporting political leaders to deliver on their vision, participate on panels, write blogs and articles in collaboration with country teams and relevant external partners

Contribution to wider TBI

• Quickly become a valued and supportive member of the Africa Advisory team on matters of centre of government and delivery
• Work with T4D team, other sector practices and TBI country teams to develop relevant projects in the centre of government and delivery space
• Work closely with TBI’s Director of Philanthropy and Business Development in partnership development and project operationalisation

Perform other duties as may be reasonably required and in line with the incumbent’s scope of services above.

Person Specification

This is a role in a fast-paced virtual team working out of different geographies and in complex policy areas. We are looking for someone with a proven track record of actioning and tracking/reporting progress of partnership planning, who can demonstrate the following:

• Hands-on experience at fostering proactive partnerships and healthy relationships with a strong aptitude to influence people
• Extensive experience in public service delivery and policy implementation
• Ability to work and interact at the highest levels of political decision-making structures in Governments and multilateral institutions
• The ability to work in the face of a range of competing views and priorities, possessing highly-developed negotiation skills and removing bottlenecks where necessary
• Highly developed analytical skills, communication, drafting and presentation skills
• Be a strong team player with excellent interpersonal skills
• An ability to work independently, think strategically and translate strategies into concrete and implementable plans
• Willingness to travel extensively, sometimes at short notice
• Strong sense of ethics, discretion and perseverance required
• Experience of living and working in developing countries is desirable
• Fluency in English is required. Fluency in French is desirable

About The Institute

The Tony Blair Institute (TBI) is a mission-driven not for profit organisation. We exist to equip political leaders and governments to build open, inclusive and prosperous societies. We work hard, every day, to make a difference. When governments work well they are able to create economic and social change in a way that promotes fairness, social justice and opportunity. We work relentlessly to support leader and governments with the challenges they face. Giving them practical solutions and actionable insights, that once implemented, can be transformative for their people.

We do this within two connected divisions:

Government Advisory

Our Government Advisory teams work directly with political leaders and governments around the world to implement reforms that improve the lives of their citizens. It has both non-profit partners and a client base, and its outputs cover a range of disciplines and projects across countries in Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and South Asia.

Policy Futures

Our Policy Futures work encompasses three broad areas:

• Renewing the Centre: developing a bold and innovative domestic policy programme to help renew the centre ground of British politics;
• Tech and Public Policy: exploring the policy challenges and opportunities presented by the technological revolution; and
• Extremism Policy Unit: creating solutions designed to tackle the threat of extremist ideologies in the UK and around the world.

As an organisation the core beliefs we all embrace are:

• Open and Progressive: you’ll believe in the value of teamwork
• Bold and Pragmatic: you’ll approach everything you do with integrity and authenticity
• Optimistic Changemakers: you’ll be focused on results