Strategic Partnerships & Grants Management Coordinator at WaterAid

Pay band: Grade F
Contract type: 2 years fixed term (renewable based on performance)
Reports to: Country Director
Manages: None
Budget responsibility: Limited
Travel: 30% travel (local and international)

Team Description

• WaterAid is an international not-for-profit organisation dedicated to helping the poor and marginalised people break free from poverty and disease, and change their lives for good through improved access to clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene. Since 1995, WaterAid has dedicatedly worked with the governments and people of Nigeria to support the implementation of sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions and programmes.
• The Partnerships and Grants Management team will support fundraising and the building of partnerships with donors, government, private sector and civil society organisations as well as ensure compliance to donor requirements for the management of secured grants.
  

Job purpose

• The Strategic Partnerships and Grants Management Coordinator will support the country programmes’s efforts at forging strategic partnerships, resource mobilization and grants management from diverse sources.
• In particular, the role will gather and analyse strategic donor intelligence; building effective liaisons with academia, private, for profit and non-profit entities, multilateral/bilateral funding institutions that will translate into project development and funding of projects.
• The role will be accountable for ensuring that project implementation and reporting are in compliance with donor contract conditions etc.
• The post holder will also be expected to build strong and effective collaborations with colleagues in WaterAid Nigeria, WaterAid West Africa region, WaterAid International member countries, partner organisations and a wide range of stakeholders to achieve success.

Responsibilities
Fundraising:

• Develop the short-term and long-term fundraising strategy and plans required to deliver WaterAid Nigeria’s overall strategy.
• Maintain close and effective collaborations with WaterAid Nigeria colleagues, WaterAid member fundraising teams, the Regional Funding Manager and Global Funding Managers to scope opportunities to meet WaterAid Nigeria funding requirements and co-ordinate development and implementation of the plans to realise the opportunities.
• Coordinate intelligence, identification and filtering of opportunities to meet CP funding requirements and the timely production of technically sound and competitive proposals in response to these as agreed with the Country Director and the SMT.
• Research and secure new funding streams from in-country -based academia, private for profit and non-profit entities, mass engagement and multilateral /bilateral funding sources. Initiate and coordinate fundraising campaigns and events to maximise new engagement and funding opportunities.
• Maintain clear communication channels with donors; Regional funding manager and with member country fundraising teams when approaching new donors and managing existing ones, sharing information to maximise donor engagement opportunities globally.
• Lead all funding proposal development and contract processes in WaterAid Nigeria. Coordinate funding proposal development activities, including co-ordination of the programme/policy, finance and people teams inputs and provide quality assurance of project proposals and budgets.
• Respond effectively to information requests from donors or member country fundraising teams, maintaining a clear record of reasons for proceeding with or rejecting opportunities
• Ensure all WaterAid proposal review protocols are completed and in line with gold standards for fundraising

Grant and Contract Management:

• In collaboration with colleagues, assure good relationship with funders is maintained by WaterAid Nigeria. Act as the main point of contact for the funder, Regional Funding Manager, Global Fundraising Managers and member country fundraising teams by responding to queries in a timely effective manner.
• Work collaboratively and support and challenge the programmes, finance and people teams and partners to ensure all contractual funding requirements are met and delivered on time. Keep up to date with local and international donor policies and communicate these as widely as required.
• Support risk management by developing and maintaining risk management plans for donor- contract funded programmes. Effectively support and challenge programmes teams, finance teams and partners to flag project risks and ensure plans for mitigation of the risks are communicated to the Country Programme Senior Management Team, Regional Funding Manager, member fundraising teams and funder in good time. Co-ordinate planning for any mitigation strategies to respond to contract risks and propose changes to be requested from the funder concerned as necessary.
• Co-ordinate delivery of accurate and timely donor reports - Support and co-ordinate the delivery of funder reporting requirements (including development of a clear reporting schedule) with the Programmes and Finance teams to ensure all reporting is timely, accurate and fully meets funder requirements and internal WaterAid requirements. Provide quality assurance for all funder reporting.
• Identify any capacity or resource gaps (internal WaterAid capacity or partner capacity) related to fundraising and work in collaboration with People team /Sector strengthening teams to develop and implement learning and capacity building activities for fundraising.
• Ensure the maintenance of an effective contract and documentation management system and process. Ensure appropriate funder management systems and processes are in place in compliance with WaterAid policy and practice. Ensure effective storage and maintenance of donor contracts and other documentation in line with donor and WaterAid audit requirements.
• Develop an early warning mechanism for identifying potential risks to WANG management of donor funded grants and convene working groups necessary to address the risks that could impact grant management effectiveness; escalate such issues to SMT as may be necessary with recommendations of appropriate course of action.
• Support the Head of Finance & IT to complete funding forecasts, accurately identify funding gaps, manage matching funding obligations and track expenditure against grant commitments.
• Be accountable for ensuring that project implementation and reporting are in compliance with donor contract conditions etc.

People Leadership:

• Support the recruitment of competent staff and effectively manage the team to deliver high performance; develop team members in order to maximize their contribution to the team and organization.
• Coach, guide, and mentor leaders within the department so that they are effective as leaders and managers in managing their teams.
• Create and maintain a positive environment conducive for high performance of the team.

Cross organisation collaboration:

• Contribute actively to building a culture of learning and knowledge management across the organization. Encourage effective documentation and sharing of learning through workshops, seminars, exposure visits, sharing meetings etc.
• Be an active member of the Tactical Team and contribute to reflection, analysis and translate strategic direction to operational actions to achieve country programme goals.
• Promote interaction and collaboration between departments
• WANG in different taskforces, working committees, networks, alliances, workshops and meetings as assigned

Person specification
Essential Criteria:

• University/Masters level degree in International Development, Business, Marketing or other related discipline
• Minimum of seven (7) years post qualification work experience of which at least three (3) years’ should be in the management of institutional funding especially from DFID, USAID and EU.
• Prior experience of developing a fundraising strategies at a country/regional level
• Strong network within donor communities and the private sector
• Prior experience leading a fundraising or business development team in an organizational context with a similar profile as WaterAid Nigeria.
• Prior experience of institutional fundraising
• Strong proposal writing and coordination skills and the ability to meet tight deadlines
• Strong experience in reviewing, monitoring and reporting against funder contracts
• Experience of effective risk management including the ability to identify problems or risks and develop effective and timely mitigation measures or solutions
• Ability to develop and review complex proposal budgets
• Excellent written and oral communication skills. Including excellent report writing skills, and the ability to communicate information and ideas effectively
• Excellent inter-personal and relationship management skills with experience of developing and cultivating business development contacts and relationships
• Experience of working in a matrix management structure
• Ability to influence others to achieve results and deliver on time
• Attention to detail and ability to produce high quality and accurate documentation
• Ability to effectively support and challenge colleagues and other stakeholders
• Effectively plan, prioritise and co-ordinate the work of others in the team and other teams towards meeting tight proposal timelines
• Proven experience in building and successfully maintaining strong working relationships internally and with external funders
• Ability to work autonomously with minimum supervision and can work under pressure to competing demands.
• Ability to resolve conflicts as required and negotiate effectively with others
• Strong initiative, with a willingness to take on new responsibilities and challenges.
• Commitment to WaterAid’s values and a working style that reflects these.