Subaward and Partnership Senior Program Officer at Mercy Corps

Reference Number: ABV/PRO/2019/0031

Country Program Summary

• Mercy Corps has been present in Nigeria since 2012, focusing its interventions on humanitarian assistance, economic development, and conflict mitigation
• With the ongoing insurgency in Northeast Nigeria causing the displacement of millions of individuals, Mercy Corps started its humanitarian response in 2014 to address the rising humanitarian needs
• As the crisis has persisted, Mercy Corps’ strategy has also expanded to address the root causes of the conflict and seek to build the long term resilience of communities with integrated programs focusing on governance, the recovery of markets and livelihoods, social cohesion and social protection, youth empowerment, and local conflict management.

General Position Summary

• The Sub-award & Partnership Senior Program Officer is responsible for managing the programmatic and operational aspects of sub-awards issued under the program in Mercy Corps Nigeria
• Working with sub-award team, identifies new sub-grantees & participate in due diligence process and drafting subawards agreement
• S/he will also lead efforts to build the capacity of local sub recipients to meet finance and compliance requirements of the relevant program’s prime donor and other donors, so that these local organizations develop professional personnel and systems
• Work closely with consortium-level sub-recipient organizations to ensure they are issuing, managing and monitoring subawards in accordance with the sub-award agreement.

Essential Job Functions
Sub Awards Management:

• Participate in the design of new initiatives that require partnership strategies and manage the relationships with prospective partners.
• Prepare Request for Application (RFA) or call for proposal for competitive processes that clearly defines and communicates steps for selecting, negotiating and awarding sub-awards.
• Develop & prepare program-specific subawards procedure manual, when needed
• Conduct pre-award Programmatic capacity review and other due diligence of apparently successful applicants. Facilitate with HQ & partners in developing draft sub-award agreement.
• Review & refine Sub-grantee program description & milestone in sub-grant agreements. Support partners in identifying activities & developing their budget.
• Develop sub-recipient monitoring plans, conduct programmatic monitoring of sub-recipients. Visit sub-recipients and produce regular programmatic monitoring visit reports.
• Review sub-recipient programmatic reports for correctness and completeness in line with finance reports and ensure that reports are submitted on time. Follow up in resolution of program & finance performance report issues.
• Organize coordination meetings & programmatic correspondence with the sub-recipient for creating smooth relationship.
• Process the request for procurement for grant & sub-grants, assist in developing forecast & activity plan & review Actual versus budget variance analysis together with finance
• Maintain & update programmatic report on PM@MC folder file for program and follow up on Programmatic sub-award files in soft & hard copy,
• Assist sub-award close-outs & evaluation, including ensuring that all requirements of the sub-award agreement have been met and that sub-award program report are submitted.

Partnership Management:

• Provide program guidance and technical support for sub-grant award capacity building through provision of support to partner organizations as required and in coordination with the relevant program team.
• Conduct the capacity assessment of identified organizations using Mercy Corps’ Organizational Capacity Index (OCI) tool and using OCI findings support partner organizations to create capacity development plans.
• Refine organizational development tools and recommend best approaches for partner capacity development based on existing Mercy Corps knowledge and experience.
• Deliver training to build partner capacity and technical competencies as well as start-up monitoring and evaluation training
• Support peer-to-peer knowledge sharing and peer mentorship opportunities, including field site visits and learning events.
• Provide technical guidance to develop/strengthen partner organization’s administrative and financial management systems and structures.
• Work closely with consortium-level sub-recipient organizations to ensure they are issuing, managing and monitoring subawards in accordance with the sub-award manual.
• Other duties as assigned

Influence & Representation:

• Interface with the (donor) representatives to convey information about programs as appropriate.
• Participate in sharing best practices with NGOs and governmental agencies.
• Consistently demonstrate flexibility, resilience and ability to maintain positive relationships and composure, even under difficult circumstances.
• Maintain high ethical standards and treat people with respect and dignity.
• Demonstrate an awareness of his/her own strengths and development needs.

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 to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Accountability:

• Supervisory Responsibility: Sub-awardees, Sub-Award Monitoring Officers
• Reports Directly To: Chief of Party (CIPP)
• Works Directly With: Program Managers, sub-award compliance officers, Operations department, and others

Knowledge and Experience

• BA/S or equivalent in Social Science, Management, International Development or other relevant field; MA/S preferred.
• At least 3 years of progressive experience and proven high level of competence in working in NGOs/INGO capacity building programs, ideally in relief and/or post-conflict settings and strong gender background.
• Strong knowledge of, and experience with organizational development of CSOs in challenging environments, and ability to inform the content and method of organizational development training.
• Proven track record in staff and stakeholder training and capacity building and TOT training.
• Strong knowledge and understanding of conflict mitigation, peace building and negotiation and ability to translate them into capacity building elements for peace actors.
• Strong knowledge in gender, vulnerable groups and human rights theory, including the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Declaration and their implementation process with civic and government counterparts.
• In-depth knowledge and direct exposure to gender-related activities.
• Strong leadership, communication, and project management skills.
• Ability and interest to work with a multi-ethnic team in a culturally appropriate manner.
• Internationally recognized qualification in project or program management or a commitment to obtain the qualification in the early months of work.
• Knowledge of Sphere standards and other training in humanitarian response preferred.

Success Factors

• The successful candidate will have an ability to interact effectively across international and national program teams successfully, both in a managerial as well as training capacity
• S/he will be able to support programmatic objectives with timely and meaningful financial information, have a demonstrated ability to multi-task, meet deadlines and process information in support of changing program activities
• An impeccable professional standard of program, finance and procurement ethics and the willingness and ability to enforce compliance with Mercy Corps and donor policies and procedures is essential
• The Sub-Grant and Compliance Manager must be willing to travel regularly to Mercy Corps field offices and project sites.
• Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.