Grants Manager for Caracas, Venezuela

Contract

This is a Professional contract (NRC) contract. More about Professional contract (NRC) contracts.

Duty station: Caracas****, Venezuela.

Please note fluency in both Spanish and English is required for this position. Candidates who do not command either of the languages will not be able to be considered.

1. Background/Context

NRC has delivered humanitarian and protection assistance to vulnerable populations in Latin America for the past two decades. NRC has been active in Venezuela since 2005 and in 2019 became an independent country office in light of the deteriorating humanitarian crisis. NRC is one of the largest NGOs operating in Venezuela. NRC has teams in Venezuela in the areas of education, information, counselling and legal assistance (ICLA), livelihoods and food security (LFS), and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). NRC provides services and assistance to vulnerable populations affected by the crisis in Venezuela especially in Hard-to-Reach Areas (H2R). In addition to direct implementation and capacity building of local communities, NRC also plays a critical role in coordination at multiple levels.

NRC is currently leading one consortium with two INGO partners. In addition, NRC has 18 other partners we sign MoUs with, some of whom also receive funding and/or in-kind support from us.

The Grants Manager will contribute to achieving quality programming by leading effective grants management processes across Venezuela's operations. The Grants Manager is responsible for ensuring donor compliance of the portfolio, lead on development of high quality and timely donor reports and other external products, support project revision processes and grant agreement negotiations. The Grants Manager will support the fundraising strategy and support responsible growth of the grants portfolio by providing insight on funding trends, leading on proposal development processes and supporting donor engagement as delegated by the Head of Programme. The Grants Manager will be accountable for the completion of key mandatory activities under NRC’s Project Cycle Management (PCM) framework and will contribute to supporting a culture of accountability and high performance. Finally, the Grants Manager will have direct line management of a Grants Coordinator and a Grant Officer and will provide capacity building opportunities to the programme and support staff on relevant topics (PCM framework, donor reporting and proposal development, etc.). S/He will lead on organization assessments of partners and draft partner agreements and MoUs in coordination with the Head of Programme and Head of Support.

The Grants Manager will provide technical support to implementing team.

The following is a brief description of the role.

2. Generic responsibilities

1. Compliance and adherence to NRC policies, CC tools, handbooks and guidelines
2. Maintain an overview of all grants, donor requirements, rules and regulations, and deadlines, including filing of grant documents.
3. Contribute to the development of the CO fundraising / business development strategy in support to the Head of Programme and Country Director.
4. Lead the process of developing concept notes, proposals and reports in close collaboration with programme and support teams across the country and area offices to ensure timely and high quality submission.
5. Responsible to set up and continuously improve internal grant management systems and processes; analyse, and share learning from proposal and reporting processes, and compliance with donor rules and regulations.
6. Provide an internal help-desk on donor compliance and PCM framework.
7. Represent NRC with relevant partners, donors, and other external stakeholders, as delegated by the HoP.
8. Ensure compliance of the Country Office with NRC PCM Framework and facilitate PCM activities, including inclusion of cross-cutting programme elements and M&E structures throughout all stages of the PCM.
9. Line management and capacity building of staff within the Grants unit, as well as capacity building of programme and support staff on PCM and donors rules and regulation.
10. Promote the rights of Displacement affected People in line with NRC Response Policy and CO Advocacy Strategy.
11. Any other tasks as delegated by the Head of Programme.
12. Support the Head of Programme to identify local partners, assess their capacity and develop internal tools related to partnership.
13. Capacity building of staff in the area offices on PCM and donor regulations.
14. Promote the rights of IDPs/returnees in line with the advocacy strategy.

3. Specific responsibilities

• Accountable for the maintenance of the grants tracker, keeping the teams informed about priorities, and tracking the deliverables as per the established deadlines.
• Responsible for the development of high-quality proposals using relevant NRC tools (Go/ No-go checklist, proposal development meeting, internal calendar, proposal formats and instructions, internal budgeting tool). Assess and foster the inclusion of partnerships into proposals in a strategic manner.
• Responsible to ensure consistency between budget and other proposal documents, as well as compatibility with donor compliance requirements.
• Responsible for coordinating review donor contracts, flag any points that might challenge NRC’s procedures, and support contract negotiations.
• Supervise the drafting of donor reports ensuring consistency between narrative and financial reports and that they meet quality standards.
• Organize and facililtate all mandatory (Grants Opening Meeting, Project Review Meetings and Grants Closure meetings) as relevant.
• Work on improving Grants Management processes across the operation, notably by updating the Grants Management SOP and organizing Grants Workshops and trainings.
• Together with the Head of Programme, develop a donor mapping exercise to foster more strategic decisions in proposal submission.
• Responsible for providing or organizing training and capacity building of programme and support staff on NRC grants management, proposal and report writing, donor rules and regulations, and Project Cycle Management (PCM).
• Support the Head of Programme to identify new funding opportunities and contribute to developing the funding strategy.
• Contribute to the development of country factsheets and other relevant information pieces for donor visits/meetings.
• Mapping the partnership options in Venezuela.
• Develop a partnership strategy/framework for the Country Office.
• Update and develop relevant Partnership SOP’s and tools.
• Train and guide all departments (including Area Office, Support, Programme Unit, etc.) in engaging with and applying NRC Venezuela's partnership SOP and tools throughout the project cycle.

4. What We Are Looking For

• Minimum 5 years of experience from a grants management position in a humanitarian/recovery context.
• Experience working with humanitarian and development donor relations and grants management (e.g. with institutional humanitarian and development donors).
• Experience working in complex environments and with displaced populations.
• Documented skills in formulation of project proposals and reports.
• Good knowledge of humanitarian donor guidelines and procedures.
• Detail oriented and strong organizational skills.
• Strong communication, coordination and interpersonal skills.
• Experience working with implementing partners is a strong asset.
• Knowledge of the NGO operations and the dynamics of the humanitarian sector.
• Above average computer skills, particularly in Microsoft Windows Word and Excel.
• Knowledge of the context in Latin America is a strong asset.
• Good cultural awareness and sensitivity.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and Spanish.
• Willingness to travel to area offices and work in difficult environment according to travel requirements.
• Good understanding of donor rules and regulations, particularly ECHO and BHA.

Find more details about the role HERE with the Job Description (JD) of the position.

5. What We Offer

• Type of contract: 24 months.
• Salary/benefits: According to NRC salary scale, terms and conditions.
• Duty station: Caracas, Venezuela.
• Travel: Up to 20 %.

Internal candidates are encouraged to apply but we are also open to external applicants who can show a commitment to NRC and being part of a challenging, but important mission to make a difference.

NRC might review applications before the adverted deadline, therefore interested candidates are encouraged to apply early.

Please note fluency in both Spanish and English is required for this position. Candidates who do not command either of the languages will not be able to be considered.