Senior Strategic Partnerships Manager EU - Brussels, Belgium

Location: Brussels, Belgium (no flexibility for location base in other EU countries)

Position Status: Full-time, on-going

Office presence: home base

Salary: hiring monthly salary €5,028.74 gross

Closing date: Please submit your application by Monday June 15

*Applicant must hold right to work in Belgium at time of application.

Risk Level: Level 2: Some contact with participants; unplanned non-direct contact with children.

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse, and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have long term impact.

Department Summary

The Institutional Donor Engagement (IDE) team in Europe leads the development and delivery of donor engagement strategies and plans, focusing on priority donors across Europe. EC has been a key partner of Mercy Corps since 1994. Under our global strategy and the European Strategic Plan, we are looking to deepen and expand our relationship with the EC as a donor and policy maker.

As the office in the Hague is the legal representative to the EU, this position will have a close working relationship with the Senior Director of compliance, governance and risk who is the legal representative for Mercy Corps Netherlands.

Position Summary

The Senior Strategic Partnerships Manager – EU plays a pivotal role in deepening and leading Mercy Corps’ institutional engagement with the European Commission and its key entities, including DG ECHO, DG INTPA, and FPI. As the primary Brussels-based representative for EU institutional donor relations, the postholder will contribute to and implement Mercy Corps’ engagement strategy, drive donor positioning, provide support and expertise to country and regional offices on EC programme standards and guidelines and disseminate relevant donor information and data.
Working across humanitarian and development portfolios, the Senior IDE Lead will proactively shape Mercy Corps’ visibility and credibility with EC institutions, ensuring strategic alignment with EU donor priorities, while guiding and supporting regional and country teams in their funding ambitions.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Donor Engagement

- Lead the development of, and implement Mercy Corps’ institutional donor strategy for EU institutions

- Serve as the organization’s principal Brussels-based representative to DG ECHO, DG INTPA, FPI and other relevant EC entities

- Identify and shape new strategic opportunities for engagement and influence with the EC, based on donor trends and internal priorities

- Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with key EU counterparts, particularly desk officers, TAs, and Heads of Unit.

Intelligence & Positioning

- Lead the analysis of EU funding trends and opportunities (HIPs, NDICI-GE, Global Gateway, GAP III, etc.)

- Track EU consultations, funding pipelines, and eligibility updates

- Guide regional and country teams on strategic donor engagement and pre-positioning, including eligibility and viability of funding opportunities

- Promote Mercy Corps’ programme results and innovations to EU audiences

- Actively contribute to Mercy Corps’ thought leadership in Brussels through external representation and policy dialogues

- Participate in fundraising and compliance focused working groups and coordination mechanisms with peer organisations and relevant networks (e.g. Concord, VOICE), and coordinate with Netherlands-based Partos

- Document and disseminate lessons learned and donor insights across teams and identify and support opportunities for joint advocacy and strategic partnerships.

Proposal Review & Technical Guidance

- For proposal development, provide guidance on alignment with EU standards and strategies, and on EC funding modalities and proposal qualities/requirements to country teams and AMTs; in consultation with compliance colleagues, advise on EC-specific compliance, eligibility, and visibility requirements

- When needed, review proposals and advise on criteria or requirements

- Identify opportunities for alignment between Mercy Corps strategy and EU funding priorities, support country and global teams with dialogue and engagement

Country Office & Regional Team Support

- Act as primary liaison for EU funding across Mercy Corps’ regional and country offices

- Coordinate planning for HIPs and NDICI calls, including joint strategic planning and donor dialogues

- Identify and lead coordination of strategic visits by MC leadership or technical experts and coordinate with relevant teams, scheduling, briefing notes and accompany visitors to meetings, where relevant

- Maintain EC pipeline/portfolio overview, in coordination with colleagues from the Award Management Team (AMT)

- Lead regular EC-focused capacity strengthening and orientation for regional teams and promote cross-regional learning and donor engagement consistency.

Donor Compliance & Internal Systems

- Maintain close coordination with the compliance team to ensure alignment with EU regulatory frameworks and to mitigate risk adherence

- In collaboration with compliance colleagues, support with briefings, guidance and/or training for country and support colleagues to ensure awareness of EU donor requirements from proposal through implementation.

Supervisory Responsibility

None

Accountability

Reports Directly To:Senior Representative, Strategic Institutional Partnerships
Works Closely With:IDE colleagues, Regional/Country Teams, Compliance, AMT and Policy & Advocacy (P&A) teams

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

- Master’s degree in international development, humanitarian assistance, or related field

- 6-8 years of experience working with EC funding (ECHO, INTPA, FPI), including donor engagement and proposal development

- Demonstrated leadership in EU donor engagement, with strong networks in Brussels

- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

- Proven ability to build and nurture partnerships, with excellent networking and relationship- building and communication skills

- Fluency in English; French an asset

- Field experience with INGOs or EC-funded operations is a plus

Success Factors

- Strategic and analytical thinker with strong political and policy awareness

- Strong leadership and relationship-building skills

- Highly self-motivated and adaptable to dynamic environments

- Ability to work under pressure and adapt to changing circumstances.

Living Conditions

Based in Brussels, with limited travel to European capitals and field locations.

Ongoing Learning & Development

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development.

Team Engagement and Effectiveness

Achieving our mission starts with how we build our team and collaborate. By bringing together individuals with a variety of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives, we strengthen our ability to solve complex challenges and drive innovation. We foster a culture of trust and respect, where every team member is valued for their contributions, empowered to reach their full potential, and motivated to do their best work.

We recognize that building a strong and effective team is an ongoing process, and we remain committed to learning, improving, and growing together.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristics protected under applicable law.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

As an applicant, if you witness or experience any form of sexual misconduct during the recruitment process, please report this to Mercy Corps Integrity Hotline ([email protected]).