Senior Strategic Advisor

Focus of the Role

We don’t just talk, we do. Lead the change with us.

At the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, we work with political leaders around the world to drive change. We help governments turn bold ideas into reality so they can deliver for their people. We do it by advising on strategy, policy and delivery, unlocking the power of technology across all three. And by sharing what we learn on the ground, so everyone can benefit. We do it to build more open, inclusive and prosperous countries for people everywhere. 

We are a global team of nearly 800 changemakers, operating in more than 30 countries, across five continents. We are political strategists, policy experts, delivery practitioners, technology specialists and more. We speak more than 45 languages. We are working on over 100 projects, tackling some of the world’s biggest challenges. We’re all here at TBI to make a difference. 

In a world of ever more complex challenges, we believe diversity of background and perspective is a strength. We pride ourselves on a culture that values and nurtures difference. We are dedicated to unlocking potential, not only for the countries we work in but also for each of our team members. No matter where you’re from or who you are, if you’re passionate about the transformative power of progressive politics, we invite you to build a better future with us.

We encourage early application as we reserve the right, if required, to close this role ahead of the date advertised.

Job Introduction

The Advisory practice within the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) advises reforming political leaders and governments on strategy, policy and delivery and achieve significant and positive impact for citizens around the world.  

The Senior Strategic Advisor role is a new role within the Zambia team, and we believe it is central to achieving our mission of equipping political leaders because politics done well has the power to transform lives. The role provides political leadership, insight and guidance to the country team; builds and maintains trusted relations with senior counterparts in the governments.

Key Responsibilities

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­The successful candidate must work with the Country Director, Zambia and others to:

• Core Responsibility
  • Overall strategic guidance for the country leadership to ensure delivery of integrated and high impact offers to the Government of Zambia
  • Responsible for providing support on the design and execution of the Country Program Governance Framework – to ensure strategic linkage and execution of programs
  • Responsible for enhancing synergy and cross-project pollination across delivery and tech projects
  • Accountable to Country Director for delivering on OKRs, working alongside Senior Managers

• Build and maintain trusted relationships with principal stakeholders

• Support the Country Director build and maintain trusted relationships at the highest political levels and other senior stakeholders
• Build a clear understanding of the role and influence of the different key stakeholders in Zambia and support the Country Director and Senior Managers to build strategic relationships, including development partners, private sector, geopolitical partners and multilateral organisations

• Bring political insight to inform the strategic direction of the project and enable the delivery of project goals

• Act as a thought partner to the Country Director and Senior Managers to develop the strategic direction for the country programme, with specific responsibility for bringing the right political strategy to enable the implementation of TBI’s world leading ideas and solutions within Zambia’s country context
• Learn from and apply new and innovative approaches to policy reform in Africa and the globe, support Senior Managers in applying the same across projects
• Responsible for providing strategic approach to Country Director and Senior Managers to ensure convergence of all our country programmes to deliver on Presidential priorities
• Input to a planning and evaluation cycle led by the Country Director that assesses whether the strategy is ‘working’ and propose adaptations rapidly in response to new challenges and opportunities
• Responsible for continuous analysis of the countries socio-economic and political context to provide insights to Country Director and Senior Managers on country’s priorities and opportunities to achieve the Government of Zambia and TBI shared goals
• Leverage country’s context understanding to analyse Zambia’s political and economic positionality, identify opportunities for delivery goals across country projects

• Contribute to TBI business development, fundraising and thought leadership
• Help convert opportunities for TBI work in Zambia, including enhancing the value of existing projects by supporting the Country Director and team to learn from other country projects
• Support the Country Director to build and maintain intelligence and relationships to inform partnership and fundraising strategies and ultimately to secure partnership for TBI from a wider group of stakeholders – including Government of Zambia, foundation offices, bilateral and multilateral donor agencies
• Contribute to periodic resource planning exercise to effectively carryout Country Strategy
• Input to the development of marketing materials, presentations and bids as required

Person Specification

The Senior Strategic Advisor will be an experienced and successful leader: 

• With a proven track-record in government advising at Head of State or Senior Minster-level in political advisory roles, public policy, or related fields. Experience working in Zambian and non-Zambian contexts is advantageous
• With extensive proven experience in government, government relations and ability to navigate complex political landscapes
• Who is strategic, entrepreneurial, can challenge the status-quo and develop plans for successful delivery of challenging objectives
• With strong leadership and team management skills, with the ability to mentor and guide junior staff
• With established track record of building and maintaining relationships with political stakeholders and industry partners
• With experience in managing crises and sensitive issues, and ability to maintain composure under pressure
• With flexibility to navigate evolving political environments and ability to change strategies accordingly

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