Senior Grants Manager

Job Description

The IRC has been operating in South Sudan since 1989 and currently operates in Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Lakes, Unity and Central Equatorial states. Currently, IRC South Sudan implements health, nutrition, economic recovery and development (food security and livelihoods), women’s protection and empowerment and child protection programming.

Job overview

The Senior Grants Manager is the focal point for program design and proposal development, donor reporting, grants information management and grants management capacity-building efforts. The Senior Grants Manager also supports programmatic and budgetary monitoring, compliance with donors and internal IRC rules and regulations. The Senior Grants Manager will work closely with the in-country program teams and will report to Grants Coordinator. In addition, the Senior Grants Manager will be responsible for managing and building the capacity of the Grants team.

Major responsibilities

The Senior Grants Manager shall:

Proposal Development

• Oversee and as needed lead proposal development and amendment for his/her portfolio for submission to donors in coordination with the sector leads, technical advisors, MEAL, finance and operations teams. Including:

• Organizing and managing the use of timelines, templates and guidelines for proposals

• Liaising with programs and finance staff regarding proposal writing and budgeting

• Writing or compiling and managing review of proposals

• Packaging proposals for submission

• Ensure appropriate review of proposal and budgets prior submission to HQ and donors.

• Maintain a track record of lessons learned from proposal development and donor responses.

• Liaise with NY and UK AMU units in order to ensure proposals meet internal standards, apply IRC Outcome Evidence Framework (OEF) principles and are donor compliant.

Reporting

• Oversee reporting process, coordinating with in-country staff for updates and HQ for approvals before submission to the donor.

• Ensure that reports to donors are submitted on time; that reports are coherent, accurate and compliant with donor regulations (monthly, quarterly, interim or final reports).

• Coordinate with the Grants team to update trackers, and upload documents on Box and OTIS.

• Coordinate with Grant Managers ensuring all Project Cycle Meetings (PCM) are set up according to PCM guidelines, ensuring representation from each unit (finance, programs, logistics).

• Support capacity development of Program staff to ensure that they have the skills and knowledge of how to write donor reports.

Donor Compliance

• Maintain contact and coordinate with donors regarding grant implementation, compliance and other requirements, in coordination with Grants Coordinator, Senior Program Coordinator and DDP.

• Actively participate in relevant donor meetings and coordinate meetings as necessary.

• Review donor agreements and coordinate their review with the relevant IRC HQ office.

• Provide technical guidance on IRC and donor regulations to ensure compliance within operations, program implementation and reporting, in coordination with IRC’s HQ and IRC UK, when necessary. Raise compliance issues proactively with senior management as necessary.

• Ensure quality information management through regular maintenance of grant files, reporting calendars, timely submission and updating of internal IRC documentation and other Grant Unit tools, including coordination and preparation of documents and files for internal and external audits.

• Ensure that partnership and sub-grant related administrative processes and procedures are consistently implemented throughout the program, including pre-award compliance checks, agreements, and disbursements and reporting.

Staff Management and Development

• Coach, train, and mentor staff with the aim of strengthening their technical capacity, exchanging knowledge within the team and providing professional development guidance.

• Supervise and mentor direct-report staff, including communicating clear expectations, setting performance objectives, providing regular and timely performance feedback, and leading documented semi-annual performance reviews.

• Provide constructive feedback and counsel on appropriate career paths and professional development.

• Promote and monitor staff care and well-being; approve and manage all leave requests to ensure adequate coverage.

• Build grant management capacity of field staff by facilitating training, and providing one on one follow up support in report writing, proposal development and other related topics.

Other

• Undertake other key grants management, program development, monitoring and evaluation, communications and external relations activities as requested by the Grants Coordinator.

Qualifications

• Graduate degree – international development or similar, or bachelor’s degree with significant grants management experience and superior writing skills

• At least five years of experience working in projects and/or grants management, proposal/business development/design, in various contexts

• Strong understanding and knowledge of USG (USAID/OFDA/BPRM), European (ECHO, EU, SIDA), DFID, UN (UNHCR/UNFPA/UNDP/OCHA/WFP/FAO) and other donor rules and regulations

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

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

• Excellent organizational skills and ability to determine priorities and meet multiple deadlines;

• Detail-oriented with good multi-tasking abilities and communication skills, both oral and written; and

• Able to work well both within a team and independently, in a challenging and fast-moving multicultural environment.

• Familiarity with South Sudan, international IRC systems and processes a plus.

Working environment:

Security level: yellow - The situation in the country in general is calm but remains tense and unpredictable; concerns include criminality, presence of armed troops, and looting.

The position is based in Juba. Lodging is a private bedroom in a shared IRC guest house – with electricity, internet and cable TV. Food is the individual’s responsibility. Field office housing is more basic, i.e. in traditional huts or tents with separate shared latrines and showers.

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Equality 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.

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Qualifications