Cost Share Coordinator at Mercy Corps

Program / Department Summary

• Mercy Corps Nigeria is implementing Small Town WASH, a USAID-funded program that is set to bolster state governments’ capacities to create and sustain enabling environments for the Small-Town Water Supply and Sanitation Agencies (STWSSA) and Water Consumer Associations (WCA) operators, and for these service provision agencies to increase their capacities to sustainably provide essential WASH services.
• This program has a significant cost-share requirement and monitoring the cost-share is an essential component of implementing and managing the program successfully.

General Position Summary

• Working directly under the direction of the Chief of Party for the USAID-funded Small Town Wash program and with parallel/dotted reporting line to the Director, Finance & Administration-CIPP and/or Sub-award Manager, the Cost Share Coordinator will dedicate full time to supporting the Small Town Wash (STWASH) Program in securing cost-share financing, adhering to the compliance procedures related to finance, match/cost share management and documenting, sub-awards, etc.
• The Cost Share Coordinator in close working with the CoP, will be responsible for identifying potential cost share opportunities, tracking cost share commitments, securing the required match documentation from MC complementing programs/activities and STWASH partners, reviewing and analyzing match/cost share financial records, coordinate timely match reporting and files archiving, generate financial statements, monitoring of sub-grants and ensure adequate internal controls are in place to mitigate risks in compliance with laws, regulations, donor requirements and Mercy Corps policies and procedures.
• S/he is responsible for ensuring the achievement of the cost share component of the award by ensuring adequate documentation and reporting of the cost share to the donor.

Essential Job Responsibilities

Cost Share/Match Management:

• Work with the CoP, Sub-awards Manager and Finance team to develop a cost-share plan.
• Work with the CoP and country leadership to mobilize resources for the cost share. Exploring both Private and government funding to complement or scale up the Small-Town Wash activities.
• Collate and document all cost share documents according to the Cost Share/Match Plan.
• Prepare cost share reporting for Mercy Corps Global headquarters for use in donor financial reporting.
• Manage, track and document cost-share transactions and files as per the Mercy Corps cost share/match internal policies and donor requirements.
• Maintain an auditable cost share filing system as per mercy corps record retention policy.

SUB Grants:

• Ensure compliance with Mercy Corps and donor regulations related to sub-granting, including issuance, management, and monitoring of sub-awards as well as training partners on processes and guidelines of Cost Share contributions.
• Provide financial review for all local partner financial reports and follow up with any missing documents with emphasis on monitoring the cost share contributions by existing partners.
• Identify areas of improvement for partners to work on and include in their implementation plans that affect Cost Share contributions.
• Set up physical grant files and ensure all grant documents are properly filed, both financial and program reports.
• Review subgrantee financial reports for correctness and completeness and ensure that reports are submitted on time with support documents attached.

Strategy & Vision:

• Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed.
• Set direction by prioritizing and organizing actions & resources to achieve objectives and contribute to countrywide strategy development.
• Develop and organize activities to secure resources for programs and convince stakeholders to provide support.

Influence & Representation:

• Identify, build and manage collaborative partnerships with consortium partners, sub-grantees, donors, local governments and other stakeholders.
• Communicate effectively to ensure overall project targets and donor obligations are met.

Security:

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
• Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.

Organizational Learning:

• As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.

Accountability To Beneficiaries

• Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in designing, monitoring and evaluating our field projects.
• Supervisory Responsibility: None

Accountability:

• Reports Directly To: CoP – Small Town Wash, dotted/parallel line to Director, Finance & Administration-CIPP and/or Subaward Manager.
• Works Directly With: All Mercy Corps Nigeria team members including Finance, Program team, and headquarters team members at MCG, as appropriate.

Knowledge and Experience

• A University Degree in Finance, Accounting, International Development, or a related Business Management field is required.
• Three to five years of finance, grant management experience, including financial analysis and grant management covering cost share or match awards.
• At least four years of high-level financial/grant management experience with international NGOs.
• Strong background in compliance, donor regulations (USAID), and fundraising from both government and private sectors.
• Good understanding of the financial analysis process especially in tracking and forecasting.
• Experience in financial analysis and reporting within non-profit organizations that implemented programs that had cost-share components.
• Experience in budgeting for various donor proposals.
• Experience in leading internal and external audits is a strong asset.
• Experience in training and capacity building of staff and partners
• Advanced computer skills in MS Office programs are required, particularly Excel.
• Fluent written and oral communication in English is required.

Success Factors:

• The ability to interact effectively with international and national personnel is required. A demonstrated ability to multi-task, meet deadlines and process information in support of changing program activities is necessary.
• A high professional standard of finance and procurement ethics as well as the willingness and ability to enforce compliance with MercyCorps and donor policies and procedures is essential. The ability to take financial data and present it in meaningful financial reports is essential.
• The Cost Share Coordinator must be willing to travel to all Mercy Corps field offices and project sites for short and long-term assignments.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

• The Cost Share Coordinator is based in Yola, Adamawa. Air travel is necessary to get to some field locations. Mobile phone services are widely available.
• The Internet is available in all Mercy Corps offices with some inconsistencies in the most remote sites. This position requires frequent travel by road and air to field offices.
• Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours when deployed in a field posting or on short-term assignments.
• Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and Mercy Corps policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

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 a 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, colour, 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 the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary-General and IASCand 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 adhere to the Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.