Senior Partnerships Advisor - FCDO and UK Foundations

The Global Foundations & Institutional Donors team is comprised of 12 colleagues working with either Institutional Donors or Foundations based in Copenhagen, Berlin, Brussels, Geneva and Kyiv. DRC funds come from a variety of sources - institutional donors such as the European Commission, UN agencies, and bilateral humanitarian and development funding envelopes from major donor countries, but increasingly also foundations - both Danish and International. Together with the rest of the department, the GFID team is working to increase DRC’s capacity and ambition to scope, expand, deepen, and strengthen partnerships and fundraising activities.

As Senior Partnership Advisor you will be part of the Global Foundation and Institutional Donors section (GFID) working directly with the Head of Global Foundation and Institutional Donors, colleagues based in HQ, DRC Representations in Geneva, Brussels and Berlin, and regionally with the Regional Business Development Coordinators. Your overall responsibility will be to support DRC’s capacity strengthening to maintain and improve donor relationships and fundraising efforts. The Senior Partnership Advisor oversees the engagement and fundraising efforts focusing primarily on FCDO and the UK-based foundations, potentially there would also be some coverage of non-core donors like Irish Aid, Jersey Aid etc. You are tasked with undertaking analyses, elaborating donor intelligence, to inform and advise senior management and colleagues about partnership development as well as fundraising opportunities.

Your main duties and responsibilities will be:

• Strategy: Support design and advancement of the global donor engagement strategy based on the FCDOs’ donor trends and priorities, (and relevant non-core donors). Mapping and scoping of UK-based foundations with the support of the wider GFID team. Lead the development of donor-specific engagement action plans for the FCDO and relevant foundations and steer their implementation.
• Partnership Engagement: Lead on a strong and strategic partnership between DRC and FCDO at capital level and UK-based Foundations and engage proactively with FCDO (and relevant non-core donors) to address challenges and opportunities related to DRC’s partnership at global level and inform/advise ROs/COs accordingly. Develop tools and guidance to support engagement with FCDO. Provide support and expertise to DRC country and regional operations on the partnership. Represent DRC in dialogues with core donors on regulatory frameworks and actively participate in relevant events and coordination mechanisms with peer organisations or other networks and platforms.
• Donor intelligence and knowledge management: Monitor and analyse relevant trends and donor intelligence and provide strategic advice on possible impact and ways to adapt across all levels of the organization for FCDO, relevant UK foundations and /or non-core donors. Develop qualitative and quantitative analyses to feed into donor trends and global donor analyses, lessons learned, and other dissemination documents.
• Partnership Management – externally and internally: For FCDO funding, develop tools, platforms, and internal workflows for efficient strategic donor compliance (this includes maintaining DRC Insite donor pages, updating and publishing internal guidance tools such as Donorpedias, fact sheets etc.). Strengthen capacities of Grants Management Unit staff on FCDO policies and guidelines. Occasional travel will be expected to DRC HQ, DRC representations or DRC country offices.

To excel in this role, you will have natural communication and social skills, including networking and the ability to influence. You are comfortable navigating internal stakeholders horizontally and vertically, and representing DRC externally with donors, peer organisations and in other forums. You have strong knowledge of FCDO’s structure and funding priorities, including regulatory frameworks and contracting. This role calls for someone who is both a “thinker” and a “doer” - an ability to work on strategic-level analyses while being detailed as well as being results and service-oriented. Moreover, we also expect the following:

• Required: Documented extensive experience with institutional donors and donor engagement, and in particular, FCDO. Experience in engaging with philanthropic and private sector foundations. Understanding of the links between compliance and building the image of a go-to organisation for donors. Strong relationship building skills and proactive approach to partnership building and nurturing. Experience with networking and representation at all levels. Strong verbal and written communication skills with an ability to identify, address and communicate the core of an issue, even if very complex. Experience in working in an international, multicultural work environment, experience at country or regional level. Master’s degree in relevant field of study or equivalent in experience. The position is based in London. If the candidate is not already in London, you will need to be open to relocating.
• Desirable: Network among UK-based Foundations or experience working for or leading partnerships with UK-based Foundations. Professional proficiency in languages other than English is an asset.

We offer:

• Contract length: Initially 12 months, with a possibility of extension.
• Work location: London.
• Salary and conditions will be in accordance with Danish Refugee Council’s Terms of Employment for national staff.

For questions regarding the vacancy please contact Karen Faarbæk de Andrade Lima.

Application process: All applicants must upload a cover letter and an updated CV (no longer than four pages) in English. Applications sent by email will not be considered. Closing date for applications: August 10th, 2025. We expect to conduct the interviews in the week starting August 18th. Danish Refugee Council is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive and positive work environment based on mutual respect for all employees. All applicants are considered for employment regardless of personal characteristics or attributes.