Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF)
Director, Partnerships - SRHR
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Director, SRHR Partnerships
The SRHR sector is facing acute funding pressure and political volatility. This role will help CIFF build the partnerships needed to protect hard-won gains and expand access to sexual and reproductive health and rights for women and girls.
The Director, SRHR Partnerships will lead CIFF's approach to building high-value partnerships that advance our SRHR priorities globally. The role will identify and shape opportunities with bilateral donors, multilaterals, philanthropies, and other strategic actors, helping to unlock additional capital, align agendas, and increase the scale and sustainability of CIFF's impact.
SRHR is a team of 20+ people managing a portfolio of over USD 1 billion, with the Executive Director and the 5 directors holding deep partnership relationships. This role is intended to complement, not replace, the partnership responsibilities held by SRHR Programme Directors. Directors will continue to lead the strategic direction, technical content, and delivery relationships within their portfolios, while the Director, SRHR Partnerships will provide dedicated senior capacity to identify cross-portfolio opportunities, strengthen donor and funder engagement, structure co-funding opportunities, and ensure CIFF presents a coordinated external proposition. The role should make it easier for Directors to pursue ambitious partnerships by bringing clearer partner intelligence, stronger internal coordination, and additional capacity around high-value external relationships.
The primary accountability of this role is cultivating strategic partnerships; with enabling responsibilities around internal coordination, communications strategy, and grant oversight, where relevant.
Key success metrics in the first 12 months would include having a prioritised SRHR partnerships strategy in place, stronger relationships with priority donors and philanthropic partners, co-funding targets for the 2027-2028 business plan on track, and evidence that CIFF is visibly shaping partner agendas in priority SRHR areas.
This role would suit someone who is equally comfortable building trusted senior relationships externally, shaping strategy internally, and turning complex funding opportunities into practical partnerships. You will need to be entrepreneurial, highly collaborative, politically astute, and comfortable working with ambiguity.
Requirements
Strategy & Planning
- Define and lead CIFF's global SRHR partnerships strategy, aligned with portfolio priorities and organisational objectives, in partnership with the SRHR Leadership Team, and aligning with the Partnerships Team, Ecosystem Development Team, and External Affairs, and prioritise high-impact partnership pathways (e.g. co-funding, technical collaboration, policy influence, delivery partnerships)
- Shape how CIFF uses partnerships to unlock scale, sustainability, and systems change
- Advise senior leadership on partnership opportunities, risks, and strategic positioning
Resource Mobilisation and Co-Funding
- Design and execute a co-funding and capital mobilisation strategy to complement CIFF's investments
- Monitor the external landscape for partnership and co-funding opportunities, maintaining a prospect pipeline and brokering relevant opportunities to Programme Directors
- Support programme directors to structure and negotiate high-value partnerships, including use of innovative funding models, with:
- Bilateral donors (e.g. GIZ/BMZ, Canada, FCDO)
- Multilaterals (e.g. GFF, World Bank, WHO)
- Foundations and philanthropic collaboratives
- Translate SRHR portfolio priorities into compelling, investment-ready opportunities for potential funders and partners
- Support the development and operation of funder collaboratives in SRHR
- Ensure CIFF presents a coordinated approach to priority partners, working across SRHR, Partnerships, Ecosystem Development, sectoral, and regional teams
- Where strategically relevant, support partners to identify and pursue additional funding opportunities aligned with CIFF's SRHR objectives
- Establish clear processes and reporting for CIFF's SRHR co-funding pipeline, working closely with the Business Lead and programme teams
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Stakeholder Engagement
- Support LT engagement with priority governments, philanthropies, corporate partners, and regional/global institutions to advance SRHR objectives
- Develop structured engagement plans for priority partners, ensuring relationships are purposeful, well-coordinated, and linked to clear partnership objectives
- Support CIFF leadership's external engagement by curating high-value strategic opportunities
- Position CIFF as a trusted strategic partner in national and global SRHR agendas
- Identify and shape policy windows and system-level entry points in collaboration with programme teams
- Represent CIFF in key global partnership platforms, funder collaboratives, and alliances
Communications & Events:
- Partner with External Affairs to shape high-value communications, convenings, and external moments that strengthen CIFF's SRHR positioning
- Equip senior leaders with clear, compelling briefings and materials for high-value partner meetings, events, and external communications
Programme Development, Delivery & Performance
- Oversee a portfolio of investments of :USD 10-20M, covering donor mobilisation and global policy reform (e.g. WHO, FP2030, Global Fund Reform)
- Apply agreed due diligence and risk management protocols appropriately throughout the development and delivery of proposals and programmes, to ensure the interests and reputation of the Foundation are protected
- Contribute to high-quality reporting and decision materials for senior leaders and governance forums, drawing on portfolio insight and partner intelligence
- Coordinate the development of grant agreements, to forecast and process grant payments, and to enable effective grant management and reporting within the organisation
- Identify and embed appropriate monitoring and evaluation processes to all proposals and programmes
- Conduct regular reviews of the progress and performance of programmes under delivery to identify problems and delays, and work with partners to develop effective solutions (escalating for support and intervention, where required)
Membership and Leadership of the Team
- Act as a senior leader within SRHR, contributing to overall portfolio strategy and organisational direction
- Build internal capability in partnership development, including tools, playbooks, and best practices
- Adopt a coaching approach with colleagues - particularly on partnership building - which instils a culture of openness and trust, embraces diverse thinking, and encourages continuous improvement and learning
- Lead or manage relevant partnership staff, consultants, or advisors, as required
- Actively participate in cross-organisational working groups related to philanthropy and partnerships
- Work effectively in a matrixed environment, influencing across SRHR, Partnerships, Ecosystem Development, External Affairs, and regional teams
- Contribute to corporate initiatives, as required by the ED and Director of Programme Excellence
- This role may have future line management responsibility
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Requirements Of The Job Holder
Skills & Experience
- Extensive senior-level experience in partnership development and external engagement
- Proven track record of structuring and delivering high-value partnerships
- Strong experience in resource mobilisation and co-funding strategies
- Deep understanding of the global health or SRHR ecosystem
- Strong influencing and negotiation skills with senior stakeholders
- Strategic thinker with strong judgement and ability to operate in complex environments
- Ability to translate complex portfolio, funding, and partner information into clear recommendations for senior audiences
- Ability to operate effectively across cultures and time zones
- English is CIFF's business language - we expect all of our people to display outstanding verbal and written communication skills across all aspects of their role
- A proven self-starter, who works with pace and resilience
Key working relationships
- Director, Programme Excellence - SRHR
- SRHR Programme Directors and teams
- Partnership leads across CIFF
- External partners and grantees
Management Dimensions
- Manage a USD 10-20m portfolio of SRHR partnership and policy investments and contribute to CIFF's wider ambition to mobilise co-funding at a 3:1 ratio against new SRHR investments.
Benefits
CIFF operates a hybrid work policy across all locations, which means employees work in the office and are able to also spend some of the time working from home. We are happy to provide more information on this as part of the recruitment process.
Alongside a competitive salary, we offer a generous benefits package here at CIFF that includes, but is not limited to the following.
- Annual leave - 25 days per annum. Increasing by 1 day after each year of service to a maximum of 30 days
- Bonus - CIFF currently operates a discretionary bonus scheme
- Training allowance
- Wellbeing allowance
- Life insurance
- Medical insurance
Please submit your application on or before Wednesday 5 August 2026. CIFF reserves the right to close the job advert early if we receive a high number of suitable applications.
Building and harnessing diversity of perspective and experience within CIFF is critical to us achieving our bold goals. We strive to deliver a work environment which is diverse, equitable, and inclusive, respecting and embracing individual differences and needs, and enabling all members of the CIFF family to be at their best. We consistently work to enhance our policies and practices, ensuring that they actively support this intent. Our flexible, hybrid model of working seeks to accommodate the individual needs of our people and enhance employee wellbeing.
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