Partnership Specialist

Job description

Date: 9 Oct 2026

Location: Lusaka, Zambia

Company: Plan International

Date:  9 October 2026

Location: Country Office, Lusaka

Reports to

Grade: Hay Level 16

Closing Date: Friday 16th October, 2026. Please note that applications will be reviewed throughout the advertising period and we reserve the right to close the advert early. 

The Organisation

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We believe in the power and potential of every child but know this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it is girls who are most affected.

Working together with children, young people, supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges girls and vulnerable children face. We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood and we enable children to prepare for and respond to crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.

For over 85 years, we have rallied other determined optimists to transform the lives of all children in more than 80 countries.

We won’t stop until we are all equal.

Working in Zambia since 1996, Plan International Zambia’s development and humanitarian programmes focus primarily on Inclusive Quality Education, Skills and Opportunities for Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship, Reproductive Health and Rights, Early Childhood Development and Gender Responsive Child Protection. Child protection is key in all that we do. Plan International Zambia has Programme Areas (PAs) in; Central, Luapula, and Eastern Provinces including in Lusaka, where the Country Office is located.

The Opportunity

Pian International Zambia’s project activities are often delivered by and with partners – with a strong emphasis on engagement of youth-led, and women-led organisations.  Therefore, the selection of partners with the competence to design and deliver projects and the influence to support advocacy initiatives is critical to success.  The Partnership Specialist, therefore, contributes strategically and significantly to the successful implementation of the Country Strategy.

Role Purpose

The Partnership Specialist is responsible for developing and implementing Plan International Zambia’s Partnership Strategy; ensuring the effective selection and on-boarding of partners, coordinating the team’s initial engagement with each partner, and ensuring that capacity-building plans are developed and implemented.  The Partnership Specialist takes the lead in ensuring that Plan International Zambia’s procedures for partner engagement and due diligence are followed, and that these are impactful.

Essential Requirements

• A degree in Social Sciences, Social Work, Communication or any other related field.
• At least 5 years’ experience working with a variety of partners in a development or humanitarian context.
• Demonstrated expertise in designing and leading the impactful implementation of significant projects; utilising good practice in Monitoring, Evaluation Research and Learning to set targets and adaptively managing to ensure achievement of results.
• Excellent partnership management and team leadership skills.
• Experience in developing partnership strategies, manuals and tools for capacity building of partners.

Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the very heart of everything that Plan International stands for.

We want Plan International to reflect the diversity of the communities we work with, offering equal opportunities to everyone regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

Plan International is based on a culture of inclusivity and we strive to create a workplace environment that ensures every team, in every office, in every country, is rich in diverse people, thoughts, and ideas.

We foster an organisational culture that embraces our commitment to racial justice, gender equality, girls’ rights and inclusion.

Plan International believes that in a world where children face so many threats of harm, it is our duty to ensure that we, as an organisation, do everything we can to keep children safe. This means that we have particular responsibilities to children that we come into contact with and we must not contribute in any way to harming or placing children at risk.

A range of pre-employment checks will be undertaken in conformity with Plan International’s Safeguarding Children and Young People policy. Plan International also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this scheme we will request information from applicants previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms their understanding of these recruitment procedures.

Please note that Plan International will never send unsolicited emails requesting payment from candidates.