Grants & Finance Officer

Job Description

BACKGROUND

Over the past 80 years, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has developed unparalleled expertise in responding to emergencies and helping uprooted communities to rebuild. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster.

The International Rescue Committee UK is part of the IRC global network, which has its offices in New York, London, Berlin, Bonn, Brussels, Stockholm, Geneva, Nairobi, Bangkok and Amman. The IRC is on the ground in more than 40 countries, providing emergency relief, relocating refugees and rebuilding lives in the wake of disaster. Through over 20 regional offices in cities across the United States, the IRC also helps refugees resettle in the US and become self-sufficient.

The IRC is committed to a culture of bold leadership, innovation in all aspects of our work, creative partnerships and, most crucially, accountability to those we serve. The IRC is a tireless advocate for the most vulnerable.

Technical Excellence and Grant Operations & Analytics Team

At the IRC, we define and measure our success as positive changes in people’s lives in relation to five outcome areas: health, education, economic well-being, safety and power, while helping to narrow the gender gap. To achieve these outcomes – to drive our impact – our programs must be based on the best available evidence and aligned with our theories of change; adapted to context; responsive to client needs and preferences; and continuously improved by generating evidence, measuring what we do, and acting on what we learn. The Technical Excellence team supports the delivery of this.

Established in April 2021, the Grant Operations & Analytics Team (GOAT) brought together grants, business development, finance, and analytics functions and staff from each Technical Excellence Unit to one centralized team to increase efficiency, effectiveness and quality control across Technical Excellence grants and business operations. The primary purpose of this new team is to harmonize capacity and capabilities and drive efficiencies by establishing consistent, high quality standards and best practices to the service of improved budgeting, grants & contracts management, business development, and data collection and analytics.

Job Overview:

The Grants and Finance Officer is responsible for providing grants and budget leadership, coordination, and support across the project in HQ, Somalia, DRC, Chad, Niger, and Burkina Faso. They will provide overall financial management, overseeing budget forecasts, accounting and financial reporting. They will maintain internal controls and compliance with IRC and donor requirements, and maintains oversight of project implementation by IRC country offices. They will play a critical role in ensuring transparency, accountability, effective grant management and compliance in all aspects of the project and will be the focal point for donor reporting, information management, grants management and capacity-building efforts. The role will also provide key support to the Project Lead and Cost Efficiency Specialist in budgetary monitoring, financial data, compliance with donor and internal IRC rules and regulations, maintaining cost analytics (to inform estimates of cost of service delivery) and other key functions as required.

Key Working Relationships

· Reports to Senior Grants & Finance Coordinator, Grant Operations & Analytics Team

· Works as part of the wider Grants, Operations and Analytics (GOAT) team in Technical Excellence with close coordination with:

o Project Team

o Airbel

o Health Unit

o Country Grants and Finance staff (Niger, Burkina Faso, Somalia, Chad, DRC)

o International Philanthropy and Partnerships (IPP)

Major Responsibilities

Budget Management

· Review, track, and analyze expenditures for the project from HQ, while supporting country programs’ budget queries

· Ensure project expenses are reasonable, allocable, and prudent and spent in accordance with the donor’s rules and regulations

· Create accurate forecasts and manage expenses according to spending plans

· In close collaboration with the Specialist, liaise with country programs regarding any deviations or concerns in spending

· Work closely with regional/global team to ensure all IRC project budget monitoring, payments and booking of expenses by providing monthly budget versus actual reports to budget holders and in country programs

· Work with relevant country finance managers, health technical unit, Research and Innovation staff, and headquarters-based finance staff to ensure accuracy of the financial reports and promptly identify and advise the Specialist and applicable country program grant leads on areas of concern

· Coordinate approval of agreements, amendments, cost extensions and no-cost extensions, alongside relevant IPP colleagues

· Manage contract and subcontract revisions

· Identify and manage all financial and operational risks in collaboration with relevant country and technical unit staff

· Review financial controls and liaise with relevant country program leads to update policies and procedures as needed

· Build capacity of local partners in budget management, including travel to locations of implementation to provide trainings and on-going support

Donor Reporting and Compliance

· Hold knowledge base of donor contract rules and regulations and advise other team members on compliance, and work closely with relevant IPP colleagues holding the donor relationships

· Develop guidance, templates, and toolkits to ensure timely submission of narrative and financial donor reports

· Liaise with country programs to prepare and submit high quality programmatic and financial reports by IRC countries and IRC global

· Manage OTIS (Opportunity Tracking Information System) workflow for project agreements, amendments, and reporting

· Assist in donor relations, participate in calls with select donors, and represent the IRC project team at donor meetings supporting the IPP team as required

· Ensure quality information management through regular maintenance of grant files, including coordination and preparation of documents and files for internal and external audits

· Monitor and facilitate compliance of programs with donor and IRC requirements and raise issues affecting external/internal compliance

· Build capacity of local partners in donor reporting and compliance, including travel to locations of implementation to provide trainings and on-going support

· With support of the Cost Effectiveness Specialist, produce cost-efficiency analyses as required by the donor

Other duties

· Contribute to meeting GOAT’s priorities and delivery of specific projects, as assigned.

· Liaise with other IRC departments and teams.

· Proactively disseminate the services provided by GOAT.

Job Requirements:

Minimum Requirements

· Bachelor’s degree International Affairs, Public Administration, Economics, Business Studies, Accounting, Commerce, or other related fields

· At least 3-5 years of related work experience, preferably for an International Non-Governmental Organization

· Experience managing budget and finance components of complex projects throughout implementation, including compliance, monitoring and reporting processes

· Excellent organizational skills: the ability to work independently and productively in a fast-paced environment

· Excellent interpersonal and communication skills: the ability to successfully and effectively liaise with a variety of people in a multi-cultural environment and work on a virtual team

· Flexible work attitude, proactive and demonstrated creativity: the ability to work productively in a team environment and the ability to problem solve creatively with minimal guidance

· English fluency

Preferred Requirements

· Experience with donor-funded multi-country projects

· Prior experience working in a country office or regional office

· Experience of producing cost efficiency and cost effectiveness analyses

· French fluency

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Equality, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

IRC et les employés de IRC doivent adhérer aux valeurs et principes contenus dans le IRC WAY (normes de conduite professionnelle). Ce sont l’Intégrité, Egalite, le Service, et la Responsabilité. En conformité avec ces valeurs, IRC opère et fait respecter les politiques sur la protection des bénéficiaires contre l’exploitation et les abus, la protection de l’enfant, le harcèlement sur les lieux de travail, l’intégrité financière, et les représailles.

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