Director of Awards Management at Save The Children

Ref Id: 190000KM
Employee Status: Fixed Term

Role Purpose

• As a member of a Senior Management Team, the position of Director of Awards is central to the delivery of a high quality country programme and is accountable for providing strategic direction and creative leadership to the awards function to ensure that this goal is achieved.
• The role offers a leadership opportunity for an individual highly experienced in grants management, business development and donor communications. It requires an individual capable of supporting ambitious fundraising targets well above the current portfolio of over 30 awards valued at $35m.
• The individual will build strong positive working relationships with all SMT colleagues and will play a strong coordination role across the Save the Children movement and with donors to ensure compliance. S/he will lead on the coordination of high quality proposals, effective planning and timely analytical reporting.
• The position will own the Partnership Strategy and be able to assess potential partners effectively and as necessary to build their capacity. Monitoring partner engagements while maintaining systems, processes and the day to day management and capacity building of the awards team will be a key function
• In the event of a major humanitarian emergency, the role holder will be expected to work outside the normal role profile and be able to vary working hours accordingly.

Key Areas of Accountability
Developing self and others; Networking:

• Building a high performing award management team (AM) to support good practice and high quality delivery across the Country Office
• Lead Award Management related capacity building both within the AM team and for other relevant staff members including budget holders
• Develop strong relationships with the region, centre, members and other Award Directors in the region; escalate issues through the correct channels when required

Communicating with impact:

• Play a strategic role central to the SMT on all aspects of award management and in particular donor and SCI complaince;
• Lead the coordination of proposals, working with PDQ, Finance and Operations to produce high quality, fully costed proposals.
• Work closely with operations to ensure effective planning, regular reviews and the production of timely reports that accurately reflect the impact achieved and lessons learnt during the implementation of an award
• Build and maintain relationships with relevant networks and award management staff of similar organisations in the country, as well as local representatives of donor organisations

Compliance (systems, processes & donor):

• To engage globally on the development of Save the Children systems and processes and the sharing of best practice
• To ensure that the Award Management System (AMS) is effectively maintained and up to date for all awards and sub-awards including authorisation and document retention
• To ensure that key staff (including partners) have a clear understanding of donor compliance requirements throughout the project management cycle and that there is a complete audit trail of the implementation and reporting for all awards

Monitoring and analysis:

• Working in collaboration with the Finance Director and SMT, ensure the CO has a clear framework for master budget development, cost allocation, monitoring of award budgets, phasing and forecasting, ensuring alignment between the master budget and funding tracker.
• Using strong financial analysis skills to oversee the award portfolio and pipeline
• To work in collaboration with the finance department and provide technical advice regarding strategic donor costs allocations with a view to minimise compliance issues where possible

Leadership, portfolio management & strategy:

• Define the strategic direction of the awards management unit and undertake effective planning that supports the unit to establish and maintain an efficient and  effective awards management process
• To oversee the performance of SCI’s key indicators and provide other management information to identify and address operational issues that could impact negatively on the delivery of programmes
• Work with SMT to engage with donors and identify possible funding opportunities in line with CO strategy
• To support in the development of a Country Office funding strategy that enables proactive engagement across Save the Children globally and with donors to secure funding opportunities in a timely manner, making recommendations and flagging issues to Senior Management
• To provide detailed analysis of current/ pipeline awards to senior management
• To engage with Save the Children globally and provide information to support in the building of professional relationships with donors to identify strategic fundraising opportunities

Requirements, Experience and Skills
Essential:

• Excellent planning, management and coordination skills, with the ability to organise a demanding workload comprised of diverse and challenging tasks and responsibilities
• Proven track record of active contribution to a senior management team, and providing strategic support across multiple sectors and/or regions
• Extensive experience with NGOs with increasing responsibilities including a proven experience of establishing and running the award management function in the field
• Knowledge of the requirements of major institutional donors including budgeting, eligibility issues, compliance management, and reporting; experience of engaging with donors at a strategic level
• Well-developed skills in staff management. Proven coaching and capacity building skills
• Understanding of the financial aspects of award management, and understanding of operations and programming
• Very strong attention to detail, problem solving skills, and ability to analyse trends
• Computer literate (i.e. Word, Excel, Outlook, Internet Explorer, financial systems)
• Cultural awareness and ability to build relationships quickly with a wide variety of people
• Patient, adaptable, able to improvise, and communicate clearly and effectively under pressure
• Strong communication (written and spoken) in English, and strong interpersonal skills, with experience in managing multicultural teams

Desirable:

• Experience with award management policies, procedures and systems and Save the Children’s award management system (AMS)
• Understanding of financial reporting from Save the Children’s accounting software (Agresso)
• Experience of Project Management, M&E Management or Funding Coordination