Grants Coordinator

Finance & Economy Donor relations & Fundraising

Job Description

The Syria crisis is often described as the worst humanitarian catastrophe since the end of the Cold War. Today, 13.4 million people in Syria - more than half of the country's population - are in need of humanitarian assistance with needs increasingly being exacerbated by economic decline. Of these, 6.8 million are refugees and asylum-seekers who have fled the country. This is no short-term humanitarian episode. The devastating human consequences to huge numbers of people will endure for decades. The destruction of relationships, communities, livelihoods, homes and infrastructure will take years to repair.

IRC is offering a robust humanitarian response to the Syria crisis a rapidly expanding portfolio, supported by more than 1000+ staff in Syria Country Program. IRC is undertaking programs in Syria and the neighboring countries of Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan in the fields of health, child protection, early childhood development, education, women’s protection and empowerment, non-food items and food distribution, cash assistance, water and sanitation, protection and rule of law, and livelihood programming. Our work in these challenging settings gives rise to some of the most pressing issues facing contemporary humanitarian action, including questions of access, security, funding and coordination.

Job Overview/Summary

The IRC Syria Grants Coordinator will report to and work with the Deputy Director of Programs (DDP) for the Syria country programme to maintain quality grants coordination. Reporting to the DDP, this position will work closely with all departments and staff including program senior coordinators, technical coordinators, finance, and operations on compliance, donor relations, business development and reporting. The Grants Coordinator sitting in Amman will supervise a team of Senior Grants manager, Grants Managers and Officers located in different locations.

The IRC Syria Grants Coordinator will additionally liaise with the Middle East Regional office in Amman, as well as IRC Headquarters colleagues in NY, Germany and the UK.

Responsibilities

1. Grants Management and Compliance

• Lead the grants unit covering whole of Syria in the submission of high-quality, harmonized, timely program reports according to IRC and donor regulations. Ensure all required documents are included, complete, accurate and approved by the respective focal points in Country Management, Programs, Finance, Partnership, and Headquarters.

• Provide technical guidance on IRC and donor regulations to ensure compliance within operations, program implementation, and reporting. Raise compliance issues proactively with program staff and the senior staff in relevant departments. Work closely with HQ compliance staff to resolve issues related to donor rules and regulations.

• Manage and/or support all agreement reviews, revisions, amendments and budget realignments, including relevant internal approvals.

• Keep the DDP, senior management, regional team and technical units at HQ offices informed of projected inabilities to meet contractual obligations, such as report submission, or delayed spend rates/significant budget variances. Be able to proactively mitigate risks by proposing remedial solutions.

• Lead on the organization and follow-up of Project Cycle Meetings (grant opening meetings, monthly grant review meetings, and grant closeout meetings) in collaboration with the Deputy Directors, HR Lead, Finance Controller, and program and partnership staff.

• Ensure quality information management related to grants by overseeing the regular maintenance of grant files, reporting calendars, and updating of internal IRC documentation and Grant Unit tools. Maintain proper records of all Grants and sub-grants.

• Act as focal point in facilitating proposal and donor report reviews and approvals by technical advisors and other relevant persons at HQ (including maintaining Opportunity Tracking Information System--OTIS).

• Coordinate with the partnerships team to obtain information on status of implementation and any necessary donor approvals relating to partnerships.

• Serve as member of the Partnership Working Group, sharing responsibility for delivering the functions of the PWG.

• Assist senior management in donor engagement and communication as requested.

2. Proposal Development

• With leadership from DDP and senior programme coordinators by Syria hubs, coordinate the proposal development process by creating proposal calendars, following up with all relevant staff members to receive timely inputs, consolidating inputs, ensuring coherence with proposed budgets, and submitting to technical advisors for review.

• Interpret donor solicitations and donor-specific rules and regulations to ensure responsive and compliant proposal design.

• Organize and as needed lead program design meetings. Work with the program and operations teams to support the development of new projects and the preparation of superior quality proposals.

• Assist the DDP to align new proposals to the Syria country Strategy Action Plan (SAP), including the SAP partnership strategy.

• Proactively engage partners in program development efforts.

• Liaise with HQ offices (Award Management Unit and Technical Units) to ensure proposals meet internal standards and are donor compliant.

3. Fundraising & Visibility

• In coordination with DDP, cultivate donor relationships in Syria and the Region.

• Track upcoming opportunities by priority sector

• Support the development and management of the BD strategy for Whole of Syria

4. Staff Performance Management, Learning & Development

• Hire, supervise, and build the capacity of team members in relevant technical and management competencies.

• Develop and implement remote management capacity building approaches to build the strengths of supply chain and administrative teams in Syria.

• Coach, train, supervise and mentor direct-report staff, including communicating clear expectations, setting annual performance objectives, providing regular and timely positive and constructive performance feedback, and providing documented semi-annual performance reviews.

• Maintain open and professional relations with team members, promoting a strong team spirit and providing oversight and guidance to enable staff to successfully perform in their positions.

• Approve and manage time, attendance and leave requests to ensure adequate departmental coverage; ensure monthly, accurate timesheet submission and carry out probationary reviews.

• Hold high-quality meetings with each direct report on a regular and predictable basis, minimally on a monthly basis.

• Provide a measurable development plan including on-the-job learning with the aim of strengthening technical capacity, exchanging knowledge within the team and providing guidance on career paths.

• As required, identify staff performance issues and work with Human Resources to document and address these in accordance with the National Staff Employment Policies.

• Maintain open and professional relations with team members, promoting a strong team spirit and providing oversight and guidance to enable staff to successfully perform in their positions.

• Promote and monitor staff care and well-being. Model healthy work-life balance practices. Support appropriate interventions in response to identified staff care needs of both national and international staff.

• Look for opportunities to support staff in their career growth, where appropriate. As part of succession plan and nationalization goals, identify, train and develop capability and capacity of national staff to successfully transition role and responsibilities, by the end of assignment.

Required Experience

• At least 6 years of demonstrated field-based experience with humanitarian grants management, possibly including experience working with sub-grantee partners to build their capacity to access and account for resources. Experience working in relief and development contexts a plus.

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

• Excellent writing skills and experience in writing proposals/concept notes.

• Strong understanding and knowledge of USAID, PRM, FCDO, UNHCR, UNICEF, SIDA, SV, EU/ECHO and other donor rules and regulations.

• Proven competency with program design, M&E, proposal writing (including logical frameworks) and building budgets.

• Excellent management and coordination skills.

• Solid ability to provide team-building, coaching, and development for staff as well as encourage cross-functional collaboration and cooperation.

• Superior understanding of the challenges facing partner organizations in access to and management of sub-grants, incorporating robust capacity-building in all sub-award programs.

• Ability to work independently while being a strong team player.

• Excellent relationship-building, interpersonal skills and the ability to effectively represent IRC at forums and with donors.

• Full professional competency in Microsoft Office Suite, especially Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.

• A commitment to IRC’s mission, vision, values and IRC Way – Professional Code of Conduct.

• Credible written, presentation and verbal communication skills; ability to convey information effectively and solid experience providing training and staff development

• Validated sense of professional discretion, integrity, and ability to handle complex situations diplomatically and to effective resolution.

• Excellent management and interpersonal skills and a solid ability to promote harmonious/cohesive teamwork, in a cross-cultural context.

• Validated ability to plan long-term, organize priorities and work under administrative and programmatic pressures with detail orientation and professional patience.

• Highly collaborative and resourceful; ability to establish positive working relationships with senior level management and all other partners to maximize cooperation and productivity.

• Curiosity, a desire to continually learn and develop and a sense of humor is a must.

• Analytical ability in creating effective solutions to complex matters while adhering to labor laws and internal policies.

Language/Travel:

• Professional fluency in spoken and written English.

• Familiarity with Arabic is an advantage

• Up to 30% throughout region and to HQ and other regions for workshops, conferences or other meetings.

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to: Deputy Director of Programs

Position directly supervises: Sn Grants Managers

External:

International and National NGOs

Donor Agencies

UN Agencies

Other Internal:

Country Director, Finance Unit, Deputy Director of Operations, Senior Programme Coordinator, Amal Program Chief of Party, Area Coordinators, Technical Coordinators, Partnership Unit, Regional Office staff and IRC colleagues in London, New York, and Germany.

Professional Standards: IRC staff must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Global Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability and Equality. In accordance with these values, IRC operates and carries out policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti-Workplace Harassment, Respect at Work Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

Returning National Candidates: We strongly encourage national or returning national candidates to apply for this position. If you are a citizen of the Country in which this position is based and are currently located outside of your home country and possess over two years of international work experience, the Middle East Region has introduced an attractive remuneration package. The package includes competitive compensation, return flight to post, shipping allowance, temporary housing and a relocation allowance. Certain restrictions may apply. IRC strives to attract, motivate and retain qualified national staff in our programs.

Accountability to Clients: IRC staff must adhere to the commitment of contributing to the sustainability and development of its (CR) Client Responsiveness Mechanisms, preserving the culture of prioritizing the needs of our clients and affected communities by systematically listening to their perspectives and using their feedback to make programmatic decisions and give them greater influence over program design and delivery.

Gender Equality: IRC is committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols and other supportive benefits and allowances.

Diversity and Inclusion: at IRC MENA, we are passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. Organizations that are diverse in age, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, ethnicity, nationality, and perspective are validated to be better organizations. More importantly, creating a safe workspace environment where everyone, from any background, can do their best is the right thing to do. So, bring your whole self to work.

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Qualifications

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Added 2 years ago - Updated 11 months ago - Source: rescue.org