Lead Convenor – PARTISIPASI Program

Project Context

KEMITRAAN is currently anticipating a funding opportunity from DFAT Australia called the PARTISIPASI Program, which focuses on democracy. This program is expected to launch in April 2026 with a budget of AUD 22.2 Million.

PARTISIPASI is an initiative designed as a continuation of the Democratic Resilience Pilot Program, aligned with the development priorities of both Indonesia and Australia. The program aims to strengthen democratic resilience and inclusive participation in Indonesia, with alignment to national development goals and long-term governance strategies.

To achieve these objectives, PARTISIPASI will engage strategic partners and stakeholders at both the national level (Jakarta) and across key subnational areas, including Aceh Province, South Sulawesi Province, and the Special Region of Yogyakarta. Program activities will focus on addressing challenges to democratic participation and enhancing the capacity of local actors to foster accountable, participatory governance.

KEMITRAAN – The Partnership for Governance Reform – with its proven experience in promoting good governance, transparency, and democratic strengthening across Indonesia, will play an active role in supporting PARTISIPASI. Through targeted capacity building, technical assistance, and stakeholder engagement, KEMITRAAN will contribute to achieving the program’s intended outcomes at both policy and community levels.

The Lead Convenor provides strategic leadership; serves as the interface with DFAT, GoI, and the Program Advisory Board; oversees MEL hub, ensures pluralism and inclusive governance within the Steering Committee.

Within this construct, the Lead Convenor provides strategic leadership over the environment, economic, and private sector governance portfolio, directing design, planning, execution, monitoring and evaluation, reporting, and oversight of financial and grant management.

Under the guidance of the Program Manager and in coordination with other KEMITRAAN Directorates, the Lead Convenor sets portfolio strategy, governs delivery quality and risk, leads resource mobilization and partnerships, ensures prudent financial and grant stewardship, builds high-performing teams, and promotes knowledge sharing and learning across programs.

Key Functions and Tasks

 Convening and Coordination 

• Convene and support the Core Group Partners, fostering collaboration and coherence of Component 2 within the PARTISIPASI program
• Foster collaboration and networking across Core Group Partners, their Collaboration Partners and other relevant donor programs, including INKLUSI, AIPJ3 and SKALA.
• Organize regular coordination meetings among CSP Partners
• Facilitate regular Core Group Steering Committee meetings and other coordination mechanisms, supporting deliberation, joint decision-making, and consensus-building.
• During the inception period, facilitate the co-design of a four-year Civil Society Partnership Strategy and associated Work Plan for Component 2, which will be collated by the PSU into a single PARTISIPASI workplan. The Convenor will facilitate inputs from the CSP, PSU and DFAT into the Strategy and Workplan
• Facilitate annual discussions and updates to the CSP Strategy and Workplan, ensuring these reflect a joined-up approach to achievement of PARTISIPASI outcomes, respond to DFAT input, and are appropriate and useful in the evolving political and civic landscape.
• Organize cross-provincial learning exchanges, ensuring that diverse voices from across Indonesia contribute to shared learning
• Participate in agreed PARTISIPASI management and governance arrangements, including the six-monthly joint reflection workshops, the annual Program Advisory Board, and the DFAT Civil Society Strategic Coordination meeting, Ways of Working workshops, among others

 Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning  

• During the inception period, develop program guidelines including for grants, SOPs and a Code of Conduct
• The Convenor will host the MEL Hub at its office where possible and will ensure the MEL Hub submits its agreed outputs to DFAT on time and to the agreed standard.
• Strengthen CSP individual and collective capacity, ensuring their work is strategic, networked, and informed by evidence.
• Problem solving and risk management: identify emerging issues and risks; lead corrective actions and ensure safeguards and accountability mechanisms, including FGRM, are functional.
• MEL oversight and use of evidence: oversee monitoring, evaluations, and learning so insights inform decisions and are translated into portfolio adaptations.

 Strategic Engagement, Risk Management and Safeguards 

• Maintain strong working relationships and regular communication with DFAT, the PSU and MEL Hub to promote alignment on priorities and a shared understanding regarding activity implementation.
• Provide relevant information that is requested about PARTISIPASI to DFAT, the MEL Hub, the PSU and the PAB. This includes providing annual updates on the CSP workplan and quarterly risk updates to the PSU for collation into consolidated whole-of-program documents for PARTISIPASI. In addition, the Convenor is to provide risks updates to DFAT on an ad hoc basis as required
• Promote activities amongst the CSP that are politically informed, strategically positioned, and aligned with the overall PARTISIPASI design and broader reform efforts.
• Support the CSP to engage effectively with GoI counterparts to build legitimacy for civil society contributions and support the CSP to manage risks.
• Support the CSP in activity implementation that will, in turn, strengthen the capacity, voice, and legitimacy of civil society in shaping democratic participation and resilience at both national and subnational levels
• Ensure that agreed risk mitigations for PARTISIPASI are implemented by all CSP partners and that risk updates are informing program decision making and MEL, and that Component 2 complies with DFAT standards for risk management.
• External relations: cultivate confidence with donors, government, civil society, and private sector partners and develop regional collaborations informed by Indonesian governance reform lessons.

Team leadership and talent development

• People and culture: create a conducive working environment, set up KPIs for units and managers, and run performance routines that reinforce collaboration and accountability.
• Coaching and supervision: provide direction and coaching to managers and teams; address complex programmatic issues and enable cross-program synergy.

 Grant Management

• Be responsible for ensuring transparent and accountable management of DFAT funds.
• Develop and apply funding allocation methodologies, agreed with the Steering Committee and DFAT, to ensure fairness and strategic alignment.
• Budget governance and reporting: partner with Finance to align budgets to strategy, monitor burn rates and forecasts, and ensure timely, accurate donor reporting.
• Grants and fiduciary oversight: guide due diligence and supervision of grantees; uphold financial controls and audit readiness across the portfolio.
• Grantee Selection and Procurement Coordination
• Transparent grantee selection: approve and oversee CfPs, evaluation criteria, panels, and decision processes to ensure strategic fit, value for money, and accountability.
• Procurement alignment: coordinate with Procurement to secure timely, compliant acquisitions linked to work plans and deliverables.

Knowledge building and management

Synthesis and sharing analyze and synthesize best practices, success models, and lessons learned; promote knowledge-sharing and capacity building across programs and with external stakeholders.

Reporting

The Convenor Director will be responsible for submitting the following reports in the agreed timeframes to DFAT:

• Inception report (including as attachments: CSP risk matrix, SOPs, safeguard and capacity building plan, CSP Steering Committee ToRs);
• Civil Society Partnership Strategy, including relevant annexes (e.g. Cross-cutting issues strategy, localisation and sustainability plan);
• Through the MEL Hub, the PARTISIPASI MEL Framework and agreed PARTISIPASI performance reports;
• Four-Year CSP Workplan (updated annually);
• Relevant audits and compliance reports;
• Final report.

Deliverables

• Core Group Steering Committee meetings
• Consortium Meeting
• Participate in the G2G Meetings
• Ensuring DFAT strategy reflected in the project implementation
• Program strategy and annual portfolio plan: approved strategy, annual work plan, and procurement plan that align projects, budgets, and targets for the directorate.
• Quarterly portfolio performance pack: integrated dashboard with KPI results, variance analyses, risks and mitigations, safeguards and FGRM updates, and management actions.
• Governance, compliance, and audit dossier: portfolio-level documentation showing compliance with policies and donor rules, with audit-ready files and closed corrective actions.
• Knowledge and learning products: synthesis notes and briefs on best practices and innovations, and a learning agenda implemented with staff and partners.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) – proposed

• Strategy and planning: directorate strategy and annual plan approved by the end of Month 1; 100% projects aligned to results and budget frameworks.
• Funding and partnerships: ≥4 quality proposals submitted (or equivalent value) with ≥1 award; donor engagement briefs delivered monthly.
• Delivery and results: ≥85% milestones on time; burn rate within ±10% of plan; zero material non-compliance findings.
• Quality, risk, and safeguards: quarterly performance packs delivered; risk register maintained; 100% relevant activities meet safeguards and FGRM requirements.
• People and team health: 100% managers with KPIs and quarterly reviews; at least one capacity activity per quarter; staff engagement actions implemented.

Competency

Core competencies

• Integrity and values: model organizational values and ethical standards; promote vision, mission, and strategic goals; treats all people fairly.
• Strategic leadership: demonstrates systems of thinking, stakeholder diplomacy, and decision-making under uncertainty.
• Results orientation: lead strategic planning and results-based management; drive problem-solving and continuous improvement.
• Collaboration and communication: build strong relations with government, civil society, donors, and the private sector; communicate with clarity and influence.
• Change and learning: champion knowledge sharing, capacity building, and adaptive management across programs.

Technical competencies

• Program formulation and quality assurance: portfolio design, MEL integration, performance criteria, and oversight of complex, multi-project delivery.
• Resource mobilization and donor relations: donor analysis, proposal leadership, negotiations, and presentation to boards and partners.
• Financial and grants governance: budget strategy, burn-rate and forecast control, grantee supervision, and audit readiness.
• Grantee selection and procurement oversight: transparent CfP governance, evaluation standards, and procurement coordination in line with SOPs.
• Knowledge and policy influence: synthesis of best practices into replicable models and policy advisory for governance agendas.

Qualifications

Experience

• Minimum eight (8) years of relevant experience in program leadership at the national or international level, including design, monitoring, evaluation, and resource mobilization; at least five (5) years in governance reform programs.
• Eight (8) or more years at a senior management level overseeing a portfolio of comparable complexity and size.

Education

Master’s degree or equivalent in environmental management, applied environmental sciences, social sciences, development economics, or related field.

Languages

Full professional proficiency in English and Bahasa Indonesia (written and spoken) is required.

How to Apply

Interested candidates are invited to submit their application, including a CV and cover letter outlining relevant experience, to the button below before April 7, 2026. Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted for further selection processes.

Lamar Sekarang