Grants & Project Manager (Playmatters)

Job Description

Background/IRC Summary The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. 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. At work today in over 40 countries and 28 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.

Job Overview IRC is seeking a Grants and Project Manager (PlayMatters) for a five-year project, “PlayMatters”, funded by the LEGO Foundation. The Play Matters - Sparking Lifelong Learning through Play aims to improve holistic learning and wellbeing outcomes for 800,000 school going children (aged 3-12+) in in refugee settlements and host communities in East Africa (Uganda, Ethiopia, and Tanzania). This project aims to build children’s social, emotional, cognitive, physical and creative skills by influencing and changing behaviors of adults (parents, caregivers, teachers, community members and policy makers) surrounding children to incorporate Learning through Play methodologies into regular interactions with children at school, home and in the community. The project is implemented in consortium partnership with War Child Holland, Plan International, Behavioral Insights Team and Innovations for Poverty Action.

The Grants and Project Manager will provide grant management, partnerships management, reporting, and business development support as part of the IRC Uganda PlayMatters team. The Grants and Project Manager will work closely with program, M&E, finance, operations, headquarters, regional, and senior management staff as well as colleagues from organizations across the Uganda-based PlayMatters consortium to ensure quality management of both pre- and post-award grants functions. The Grants and Project Manager will support donor compliance, timely reporting, high quality proposal development, project document filing, and project management. The position holder will be supervised by the Grants Coordinator and will work closely with other grants and partnerships staff.

Duties and Responsibilities Grant management •Manage the scheduling of project cycle meetings and budget vs. actual meetings in collaboration with project leads, distribute guidance to relevant team members, monitor the development of materials in advance of those meetings, and follow-up on actions resulting from those meetings with a focus on tracking progress against the budget and key project indicators. •Manage preparation, implementation, and follow-up for routine technical and financial compliance monitoring exercises undertaken by the PlayMatters regional team. •Manage and communicate all reporting deadlines in a way that is timely, well understood by other colleagues, and planned well to ensure timely submission of report inputs. •Coordinate, consolidate, review, and revise as necessary project reports to ensure documents are of the highest possible quality, in line with donor requirements, submitted in a timely way for internal review, and escalated as needed for troubleshooting issues with the Grants Coordinator and Deputy Project Coordinator - Grants and Project Management. •Support the Grants Coordinator to develop, review, and amend donor, partnership, service, and collaboration agreements/amendments. •Ensure reporting deadlines are distributed well in advance to relevant colleagues with correct templates including finance, programs, and M&E. •Provide technical guidance on IRC and donor regulations to ensure compliance across the IRC Uganda PlayMatters team, proactively raising and resolving issues. •Support compliant management of partners under IRC’s system for partnership management called the Partnership Excellence for Equality and Results System (PEERS). •Perform other duties as may be assigned by the Grants Coordinator, IRC Uganda PlayMatters Deputy Project Coordinator - Grants and Project Management, and IRC Uganda Senior Management Team.

Project Management •Support in tracking progress against the IRC Uganda PlayMatters workplan. •Support direction and communication of project planning and management across the Uganda consortium to help ensure efficient, timely, and high-quality project deliverables. •Monitor and support the development of internal planning tools including but not limited to M&E plans, workplans, technical narratives, budgets, and spending plans. •Help with documentation and communication of achievements, lessons learned, challenges, and changes needed. •Support the development of program updates/communications for circulation externally and to the PlayMatters regional team. •Support the management of documentation and institutional knowledge in coordination with staff across the IRC Uganda PlayMatters team as well as the PlayMatters regional team. •Support the maintenance of comprehensive electronic files for programs and ensure IRC colleagues and have access to relevant records and information.

Compliance •Maintain up to date comprehensive knowledge of donor guidelines relevant to the PlayMatters project as well as project management systems managed by the PlayMatters regional team. •Ensure the IRC Uganda PlayMatters team and other members of the Uganda PlayMatters consortium are aware of relevant donor guidelines as well as project management systems managed by the PlayMatters regional team. •Ensure immediate reporting of suspected compliance issues through appropriate reporting mechanisms. •Support preparations for audits in collaboration with finance, Awards Management Unit and General Counsel departments.

Donor relations and communications •Ensure that relevant staff members are aware of all donor communications, changes in regulations, and meetings. •Liaise with the PlayMatters regional team, donors, potential donors, and other operational partners, including through attendance at meetings, and representing IRC and IRC’s interests by maintaining positive and constructive relations. •In coordination with relevant colleagues, respond to requests from the PlayMatters regional team and donors for compliance information and respond to requests by the PlayMatters regional team and donor compliance questions as needed.

Business development •Support the Grants Coordinator as needed in the development of quality proposals, liaising with HQ units (Regional Unit, Awards Management Unit, Technical Units) to ensure proposals meet internal standards and are responsive to donor requirements. •In case of an amendment under the PlayMatters project, lead the development of a workplan for the development of necessary documents, communicate planning and updates across the IRC Uganda and Uganda consortium teams, follow-up on progress among relevant colleagues, liaise with the PlayMatters regional team in planning, and support the development of relevant technical narratives, budgets, workplans, log-frames, and other supplementary documents.

Partnerships •Co-design (with Partnership Lead) and lead partnership selection processes. • Participate in organizational snapshot processes where appropriate for potential new partners. •Contribute relevant proposal content, and ensure appropriate budget resourcing for partner project delivery, including project support and capacity sharing activities. •Promote and apply the IRC’s Partnership Excellence for Equality and Results system (PEERS) •Co-lead the Partner's Project Capacity Review (PPCR) of potential partners, in coordination with other relevant departments, and participate in collaboratively identifying appropriate risk management strategies •Co-lead Partnership Project Opening, Review and Closing Meetings, together with the Partnership Lead. Promote and actively practice full partner participation in project decision making, including any project adaption based on data. •Lead timely and effective partnership project review and reflection (monitoring), identifying appropriate follow up actions, and provide completed reports to Partnership Lead. •Review partnership project narrative reports and provide feedback as appropriate (and support partners in the development of reports as necessary). Conduct summary review of partnership project finance reports to ensure expenses match activities and provide feedback as appropriate. •Support partners whenever possible in coordination with other entities such as government, UN, other humanitarian actors and coordination mechanisms. •Design partner project support plans to address potential program issues identified in the due diligence process. Direct responsibility for effective, timely technical support to partners. •Explore with partners potential capacity strengthening support, including system strengthening for government partners, and organizational development for civil society partners, and identify needed resources (in collaboration with the Partnership Lead). •Integrate technical capacity sharing approaches, including how IRC can learn from local partners.

Other Responsibilities •Support building consortium’s capacity in grants, compliance, and partnership skills. Includes on-boarding of new staff, routine re-fresher trainings, as well as development of unique trainings for dynamic needs identified as the project evolves. •Perform other duties as required by the Grants Coordinator.

Key Working Relationship Position reports to: Grants Coordinator. Internal contacts: Grants, Finance, M&E, Human Resources, Supply Chain, Safety and Security, Field Coordinators, Awards Management Unit, Technical Units, and others as appropriate. External contacts: Partners, donors, and others as appropriate.

Qualifications

•Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in accounting, business, international affairs, development, international political economy or another relevant subject •2-5 years working in grants management and proposal/ business development/ humanitarian program design •Knowledge of donor compliance regulations (private foundations, PRM, ECHO, FCDO, etc.) •Proven previous successful experience project management, budget management, and report development •Good communicator with strong organizational, time management and analytical skills •Ability to influence colleagues often without line management •Flexibility and adaptability to adjust plans for the realities of working across multiple time zones and cultural contexts. •Fluency in English, spoken and written •Advanced skill required in the Microsoft Office Suite with an emphasis on Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel •Strong writing and editing skills •Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures but also use own initiative, meet deadlines, and work independently and cooperatively with team members •Flexibility to adapt to changing requirements and circumstances •Ability to juggle competing priorities, meet deadlines and work under pressure in an insecure environment •Aptitude to adapt to a different context regarding security, culture, climate or health issues •Willingness to travel •Commitment to women’s rights and IRC’s vision, mission and values, including sensitivity to cultural settings

Please note: Deadline for receiving applications is January 4th 2023.

Working Environment The Project and Grants Manager will be based in Kampala with travel throughout the sites where IRC has a presence. The security situation in Uganda is stable except for the Karamoja region, which is volatile with security level at 3 (orange); candidates should be prepared to implement programming in insecure environments. This is a non-accompanied position.

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

Gender Equality & Equal Opportunity We are committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer generous 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. We welcome and strongly encourage qualified female professionals to apply.

IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.