Role purpose

Reporting to the Director General (DG), the Global Director, Strategic Partnerships and Engagement provides strategic and technical leadership to the Partnerships & Stakeholder Engagement, Business Development, Proposal and Pipeline Development, and Global Communications units. In close collaboration with DG, ADG, Research leaders and Regional Managing Directors, the Director plays a key role in cultivating, building, securing, and stewarding relationships with funders, investors, and institutional partners, towards shared research for impact outcomes. The role ensures coherence and alignment with the Alliance Vision and Strategy, as well as with CGIAR’s Engagement Framework, enabling the design, implementation, and monitoring of integrated approaches to partnerships, stakeholder engagement, resource mobilization, and external communications across the organization.

The Director is central to amplifying the Alliance’s impact through the establishment of common engagement strategies and approaches across the organization, the stewardship of global partnerships, the generation and cultivation of new funding opportunities across diverse donor modalities, and the strategic use of partnerships intelligence and communications to elevate the Alliance’s visibility and influence as a thought leader at global and local levels. Managing a global team, the Director fosters a service-oriented culture and provides guidance and support to partnership and communications efforts across regions and research areas, while supporting related change management initiatives.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

PURPOSE

What is the focus of the job encompassing the scope, depth, and difficulty of the work. It includes the geographical scope of the work (Country, Region, Global).

• Lead the strategic direction and operational integration of the four units to advance Alliance’s engagement strategy to support institutional objectives.
• Oversee the development and institutionalization of policies, frameworks, and processes to streamline partnerships, fundraising, and communications.
• Cultivate an enabling ecosystem for innovative partnerships, effective resource mobilization, and impactful global engagement by fostering institutional capacities, incentive structures, and knowledge exchange mechanisms that support collaboration, learning, and adaptive management across the organization and with partners and stakeholders.
• Lead and facilitate a dynamic resource mobilization action plan across the organization that is informed by, and responsive to, key trends and emerging developments in the funding environment, and that supports the diversification of the Alliance’s sources of revenue and new business models.
• Guide the Alliance’s partnerships Intelligence systems and efforts to provide actionable insights supporting informed strategic decisions.

ENGAGEMENT

Responsibilities related to internal and external interaction with different parties (employees, colleagues, supervisors, donors, organizations, stakeholders, beneficiaries, etc.), according to the scope of the position.

• Support the engagement efforts of the DG, ADG, Regional MDs, and Research and Regional teams, and represent the Alliance in high-level external forums, reinforcing the organization's mission and impact.
• Collaborate with Scientists and Regional Groups to coordinate and align partnership and communication efforts across regions and programs.
• Collaborate closely with Business Operations and Finance and Research teams to ensure alignment and support to the review of the pipeline and associated likelihood assessments, and participation in relevant stages of the Project Development Process (PDP).
• Advise senior leadership on effective engagement approaches and opportunities for strategic positioning.
• Help build and sustain collaborative relationships across the organization with national, regional, and international partners including funders, policy actors, and knowledge institutions.
• Engage with the CGIAR on Partnerships, Communications, and Resource Mobilization to ensure alignment and system coherence.
• Lead and develop teams, building capabilities and fostering a culture of continuous learning, growth, and high performance. Provide coaching, feedback, and career development support to strengthen individual and team delivery.

DELIVERY

What the role needs to deliver to fulfill its purpose.

• Ensure the timely delivery of goals and KPIs across the managed units.
• Set and monitor corporate standards and quality metrics related to engagement, partnerships innovation, and global communications.
• In collaboration with research, expand Alliance’s visibility and influence through strategic messaging, sound scientific knowledge and evidence, and proactive communications.
• Enhance the performance of resource mobilization efforts to diversify and grow funding and promote innovative financing models.
• Build organizational capacity and tools to be fit for partnering, for partner intelligence and effective partner management, and for proposal development support to research.

Profile

Education and Experience

• Advanced university degree (master’s or PhD preferred) in a relevant field such as International Development, Public Policy, Business Administration, Strategic Communications, or related areas.
• At least 15 years of progressive leadership experience in international organizations, including significant experience in managing partnerships, business development, and resource mobilization.
• Proven ability to design and execute strategies aligned with institutional priorities and external trends.
• Track record of managing diverse and geographically distributed teams.
• Demonstrated fund-raising track record with donors that complement traditional funding streams for the Alliance Experience in leading and building strong engagement strategies to influence global forums and key decision makers and be active participants in key multi- stakeholder processes.

Technical Competencies

• Deep knowledge of global development and research-for-development systems, especially in agriculture, food, land, and water systems.
• Strong strategic thinking and analytical capabilities, including market and donor intelligence and partnership innovation.
• Exceptional communication, negotiation, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Expertise in institutional fundraising, donor engagement, and knowledge management.
• Familiarity with modern communication tools, metrics, and strategic branding approaches.
• Demonstrated capacities for effective team management in research for development or related organizations.

Role Location

The position is based in Rome, Italy

How to Apply

To apply for this position, please ensure you complete the Application Form provided below by 02 July 2025 (23:59 hrs, GMT +2). It is essential that you submit your CV in English, specifically in Microsoft Word format (.doc/.docx), not exceeding 10MB.

Applications in other languages or formats will not be considered.

Rest assured, all information will be handled with the utmost confidentiality.

SRI Executive is exclusively retained by The Alliance of Bioversity – CIAT to undertake this assignment.