Stakeholder Engagement Lead-IRD, Port Shepstone, South Africa

By Integrated Research and Development (IRD), Singapore                Qualification:

• Master’s degree in public health, education, public policy, international development, or a related field.  .             

Experience:

• Minimum 4-5 years of relevant experience, including at least 3 years of working with national or provincial government stakeholders. Demonstrated experience engaging with senior-level representatives in the DBE, DoH, or similar departments.
• Strong knowledge of South Africa’s policy and institutional landscape related to early childhood development, mental health, public health, maternal and child health, and/or community systems strengthening. Skills: Deep understanding of relevant policy frameworks and government planning cycles.

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Strategic Stakeholder Engagement: Cultivate and sustain trusted relationships with representatives of the Department of Basic Education (DBE), Department of Health (DoH), Department of Social Development (DSD), other government and municipal representatives, technical experts, local funders, and potential multi-sectoral collaborators.
• Lead stakeholder mapping exercises and develop influence strategies to align programmatic goals with national and provincial development agendas.
• Represent IRD SA programs at national policy forums, technical working groups, strategic roundtables, and inter-sectoral platforms to enhance visibility and engagement. 
• Partnership Development & Management: Identify, assess, and engage key institutional partners including academic institutions, funders, multilateral bodies, and NGOs aligned with IRD’s vision. Develop and maintain formal partnership mechanisms including MoUs, partnership agreements, and joint work plans and data-sharing agreements where applicable. Support the formalization and operationalization of multi-sectoral partnerships across health, education, and social services.
• Policy Alignment & Government Collaboration: Facilitate ongoing alignment of the program’s implementation framework with relevant government policy, planning, and delivery mechanisms (e.g., for Kuyakhanya = Nurturing Care Framework, Thrive by Five Index, ECD 2030 Strategy).
• Support the integration of programmatic tools, data, and learnings into government systems and planning cycles as and when appropriate. Co-develop policy briefs, presentations, and knowledge products to share insights and influence decision-makers. Program Representation & Advocacy: Represent the program at high-level engagements, local donor meetings, technical convening, and advocacy events as required. Build recognition of the program as a model for community-driven, integrated service delivery across relevant stakeholders.
• Monitoring, Learning, and Reporting: Contribute to the development of stakeholder engagement plans, reflection processes, and partnership reviews.
• Provide strategic input to MEL frameworks to ensure stakeholder outcomes are tracked and reported.