Grants Manager - Ukraine

Description

About Mercy Corps Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have long term impact.

Program / Department Summary Mercy Corps’ Ukraine response meets the humanitarian needs of people affected by the war in Ukraine. Since the escalation of the war in 2022, Mercy Corps has supported more than 750,000 conflict-affected people in Ukraine and neighboring countries. We have provided cash assistance, food and hygiene kits, and psychosocial support for people in emergency situations; grants for micro, small and medium businesses, as well as small to medium farming enterprises; and conducted large-scale information campaigns. Notably, nearly all our programming is delivered in partnership with Ukrainian, Polish, and Moldovan civil society organizations matching humanitarian action with capacity strengthening and a real commitment to localization. The humanitarian portfolio addresses the needs of conflict-affected people in the Eastern and Southern regions of Ukraine through multi-purpose cash assistance (MPCA), in-kind food and non-food assistance, and protection and psychosocial support.

General Position Summary The Grants Manager will support the Programs department as the point person for communicating Mercy Corps’ humanitarian activities through donor reports. This includes the collation of information from each operational department into concise and clear narratives, supported by statistical evidence and case studies. The Grants Manager must have an understanding of compliance and reporting requirements for each donor and communicate those to program teams as needed. S/he will also serve as the focal point to ensure compliance with Mercy Corps internal systems of PM@MC and must possess a basic understanding of internal standards in monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) and accountability. S/he is an integral part of the Ukraine Response team and is expected to have a strong operational understanding of all activities and strategy. S/he will also be the point person for drafting new proposals and developing the initial narrative and budget requirements, in close collaboration with Programs, MEL, and Finance. As such, the Grants Manager is expected to liaise across all departments. Finally, s/he works closely with the Communications team to share key program activities, success stories and other useful updates for the broader Mercy Corps audience.

The Grants Manager will work under the direct supervision of the Director of Programs, and work with Finance, Program Performance and Quality (PaQ), Program Managers, Security and all other field and HQ departments in coordinating all grants/reporting-related tasks.

Essential Job Responsibilities

Reporting & Grants Management

• Coordinate the preparation of timely program and donor reports on project activities in compliance with internal requirements and any relevant donor requirements.
• Lead on the production of internal reports, including sitreps, ensuring timely inputs from program, finance and operations teams, and ensure review and signoff processes are adhered to.
• Work with Program Managers to ensure that the filing structure meets minimum PM@MC standards and folders are populated and archived accordingly.
• Support coordination and document all Program Kick-off and Close-out meetings, track action points for follow-up and record/document all lessons learned.
• In close collaboration with the DoP, provide draft answers to donor questions and requests, while ensuring compliance with donor regulations.
• Maintain and update internal portfolio management tools, including funding trackers, grant trackers and dashboards.
• Work closely with the MEL team to consolidate and file information on program monitoring, progress and quality to support ongoing reporting, proposals and other operational management tools.

Proposal Development

• Lead on the development of concept notes and funding proposals (including log frames and budgets), coordinating the development process with all departments under the guidance of the DoP. The portfolio includes a variety of donors, including major institutional donors, corporate organizations, trusts, and private donors.
• Ensure proposals and concept notes are developed in a timely manner and with realistic deadlines, and that these are communicated and understood by stakeholders both internal to the office as well as the region and HQ. Serve as in-country focal point when coordinating proposal development with regional and HQ teams.
• Ensure proposals are developed in coordination and consultation with program technical advisers, finance, HR, and operations teams, and that necessary support is adequately budgeted.
• Coordinate both internally and externally, to ensure that prior to submission all proposals are reviewed and approved by the relevant parties as appropriate.
• Ensure that concept notes and funding proposals align closely with response strategies, sector program plans, master budgets and M&E frameworks.
• Support the DoP to track and position MC for funding opportunities, including calls for funding progress of proposals, submission deadlines, financing available.
• Support the PaQ team with the planning and implementation of program review exercises, incorporating learning into new proposals.
• Support the Partnership Team and Program Managers with the development and review of partner proposals and reports as necessary.

Finance & Compliance Management

• In support of the PaQ team, act as the focal point for compliance with PM@MC minimum standards for program management, particularly those pertaining to information management and filing.
• In coordination with Finance, support BVAs and lead donor reporting meetings presenting up to date information.

• Support the finance team with initial budget development and ensure consistency with program planning.

  Other tasks

• Produce other information and communications products for both internal and external audiences as required.

• As delegated, act as focal point for queries and information requests from Mercy Corps and donors.

• Represent Mercy Corps to donors and other key stakeholders.

  Security

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.

• Contribute to creating a secure environment for team members.

Supervisory Responsibility None

Accountability Reports Directly To: Director of Programs Works Directly With: Program Teams, PaQ, Finance, Operations, Security, Ukraine Crisis Analysis Team (UACAT), and relevant regional and HQ counterparts (including Regional Program Team, Regional and Global New Initiatives Teams, Global Awards Management Team, and Global Compliance Team).

Knowledge and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in related field. MA/S preferred.
• 3-5 years of experience related to humanitarian or developmental work, including:
• Preparing writing and analysis on programmatic activities;
• Basic budget development and management experience;
• Managing work plans;
• Representing programs with donors and external stakeholders.
• Excellent English writing and communication skills required.
• Ability to produce and edit documents under deadline pressure.
• Ability and willingness to learn and follow donor reporting and compliance requirements.
• Ability to coordinate funding proposals and progress reports from key institutional donors (FCDO, ECHO, SDC, BHA, USAID, EC). Previous experience with funding from these donors is strongly preferred.
• Experience with monitoring and evaluation and other learning efforts.
• Strong understanding of key humanitarian principles and good practices.
• Demonstrated flexibility and creativity in planning and problem solving.
• Ability to efficiently deal with competing priorities.
• Willingness and ability to travel frequently to Mercy Corps project sites and field locations, including traveling to insecure environments, is required.
• Experience of working in a multicultural setting.
• Experience working in conflict or hardship locations preferred.
• Excellent oral and written English skills required; proficiency in Russian or Ukrainian is desirable.
• Prior experience working with SharePoint is desirable.

Success Factors The successful candidate will combine exceptional organizational abilities and writing skills with good humor under pressure. S/he will learn and move between all departments to consolidate essential information for accurately reporting Mercy Corps activities in Ukraine. S/he will be able to capture strategy and planning into concise and clear documents in new proposal development. The candidate will be organized and maintain a clear electronic and paper filing system. S/he will take the time to learn and understand donor compliance and help ensure best practices are upheld throughout the entire grants management process. The successful candidate will be able to ultimately be able to provide constructive input to large relief programs and therefore, must be willing to learn from others. S/he must have strong program support and information management skills.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions The position is based in Kyiv, Ukraine, and requires travel to MC field offices in Dnipro, Odesa, Mykolaiv, and Lviv; it may occasionally require travel to program sites in insecure locations where freedom of movement and amenities are limited. Housing for this role is in shared housing and staff will have access to good medical services and the living situation is of a high standard.

Ongoing Learning In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

As a safeguarding measure, Mercy Corps screens all potential US-Based employees. This is done following the conclusion of recruitment and prior to assuming full employment. Our screening process is designed to be transparent and completed in partnership with new Team Members. You will have the opportunity to disclose any prior convictions at the conclusion of the recruitment process before the check is initiated. We ask that you do not disclose any prior convictions in your application materials or during the recruitment process.