Available Jobs at International Rescue Committee (IRC)

Job Overview/Summary

The Grants Officer will provide grant management, administrative, business development and reporting support across the Nigeria portfolio. The Grants officer will work closely with the Grants units, program team, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), finance and operations functions to ensure quality support to both pre and post award grants functions. The position holder will assist teams on donor compliance, reporting, proposal development and information management. The Grants Officer will provide administrative support to the Grants Team, and assist with the overall management of the Nigeria Country Program's grants portfolio, which includes large projects funded by donors such as FCDO, USAID, ECHO, etc.

The position holder will be supervised by the Grants Manager and will be based in Maiduguri, Borno State with occasional trips to other field offices.

Major Responsibilities

• Maintain and update comprehensive online information management and filing systems, ensuring all relevant documentation and key communications are appropriately filed.
•  Ensure IRC colleagues have access to relevant records and information.
• Support the use of grant/project management tools (grants snapshot, reporting tracker, etc.) to ensure accurate tracking of opportunities, reporting and programmatic adjustments through the project life cycle.
• Support maintenance of the IRC's Opportunity Tracking & Implementation System (OTIS)
• Maintain up-to-date, comprehensive database of donor guidelines relevant to the Nigeria portfolio.
• Support the Grants Manager with close monitoring of grants spending, and flagging concerns in a timely manner.
• Support the timely coordination, writing, revision and dissemination of high-quality reports to
• donors.
• Assist with research and information gathering relative to proposal design and business development.
• Working with communications staff to collect lessons learned from IRC work and draft case studies from programs.
•  Support the Grants Manager to ensure that information on all donor communications, changes in regulations, and meetings or events are disseminated as needed.
• As requested, work closely with other members of the grants unit to proactively support any other grants management processes across the portfolio.
• As needed, assist with daily clerical and administrative tasks in the grants unit including organizing online files, recording, and distributing meeting notes and coordinating meetings
• Perform other duties as may be assigned by the Grants Manager.

Key Working Relationships

• Position Reports to: Grants Manager
•  Indirect/Technical Reporting: N/A
•   Position Directly Supervises: N/A
•   Key Internal Contacts: Grants, Partnerships and Communications Department, Program Coordinators, Operations Coordinators, Finance Department

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in international affairs, development studies, international political economy, project management or other relevant subject.
•  1-2 years grants management experience, preferably in an international NGO.
•  High school degree with 2-3 years previous administrative and clerical work experience in lieu of
• Bachelor's degree.
•  Fluency in English, spoken and written.
•  Strong writing and editing skills in English with close attention to detail.
•  Experience with Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook.
•  Excellent inter-personal/ intercultural skills.
• Good organizational skills.
• Flexibility to adapt to changing requirements.
• Ability to manage competing priorities, meet demanding deadlines and work under pressure I unstable security environments.
•  Familiarity with international donors is preferred (BHA, USAID, ECHO, FCDO, GAC, SIDA, UN agencies, etc.).

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Job Overview

The Access Safety and Security Director (ASSD) for Nigeria is the principal access safety and security risk advisor to the country program and provides technical leadership and direction to the Access Safety & Security Team (ASST) team in IRC Nigeria. A member of the Senior Management Team (SMT) and reporting to both the Country Director (CD) and Regional Safety and Security Coordinator (RSSC), the ASSD will supervise a team of access, safety, and security personnel based in Nigeria. S/he will oversee the development and implementation of sound humanitarian access, safety, and security management strategies in line with IRC’s strategy, humanitarian principles, and Duty of Care principles.
 
Major Responsibilities
 
Strategy Development 

• Advise the country program on security and access risks by ensuring that the security risk management process is strategically integrated into the project management life cycle and program decision-making – including program design and budgets development – in order to achieve a holistic and inclusive approach to the management of access, safety, and security risks across the country program. 
• Understand the existing gaps between security risk, programs, operations, and other functions and identify measures to collaborate, coordinate, and jointly plan for managing risk. 
• Ensure safety and security due diligence processes are developed, responsive to arising requirements, and aligned to IRC’s principled approach to public advocacy and communications, partnerships, and external stakeholders. 
• Lead on the development and implementation of strategies to enhance the country program security culture both within the SMT and across the field by ensuring that the humanitarian access and security agenda remains front and center for the country leadership team and by adopting an open and engaging approach to influencing others.
• Proactively collaborate with key members of the leadership team and program leads to ensure that humanitarian access and security management strategies are appropriately aligned with response priorities across all locations.
• Ensure humanitarian access and security management procedures are in alignment with IRC’s global policies and international best practices.

Safety and Security Management 

• Develop a quality assurance framework for existing safety and security systems and procedures by regularly evaluating, reviewing, and updating security management plans and SOPs.
• Seek to develop an agile and flexible safety and security support system that focuses on delivery at the field level, employing appropriate change management approaches when required.
• Work with Field Directors, Program Coordinators, Finance and Grants team to ensure security budgets and staffing levels are in alignment with the assessed levels of risk in each location.
• Ensure that all field staff are fully cognizant of prevailing security threats, report noticeable changes in threats through appropriate channels, and receive timely advice on means to reduce their vulnerability to those threats.
• Conduct in-person and remote safety and security assessment/audit on a regular basis in each field location to assess the level of adherence to relevant security plans and procedures designed for each geographical area. 
• Codify a solid critical incident management plan and conduct exercises for management and field staff using real-life scenarios; ensure every individual knows their roles and responsibilities when plans fall to operational realities.

Humanitarian Access Management 

• Support the SMT in evaluating access constraints for IRC interventions in Nigeria, including input on new program development opportunities. 
• Develop and implement humanitarian access strategies tailored to the local context in each field location in order to improve the existing and expand principled humanitarian access to conflict-affected populations.
• Ensure that humanitarian access strategies in field locations are considerate of the risks and opportunities for programs and operations in other locations controlled by the same or different actors. 
• Support the field teams to develop and implement community engagement strategies that promote acceptance of IRC mission and enable durable programming.
• Compile and submit regular reports tracking incidents and trends in humanitarian access across the country. 

Monitoring and Incident Reporting 

• Monitor the operating environment across all areas of operation, identify new threats, assess IRC vulnerabilities, and recommend adequate response strategies or corrective action plans.
• Contribute to local-level conflict sensitivity analysis and do no-harm assessments to inform risk and opportunity management decisions in partnership with relevant counterparts, including the regional safety and security coordinator. 
• Submit monthly security situation reports with mitigation measures to relevant leadership and field staff.
• Work closely with the field management teams to ensure all incidents are captured in a timely manner and followed up with an official written report, which is then shared with relevant stakeholders and filed appropriately.
• Fulfill other reporting requirements to the country program, regional office and donors as requested.

Training and Capacity Building 

• Identify learning and development needs across the country program.
• Develop and implement training and capacity development plans and prioritize initiatives based on the needs of the country program and the evolving context.
• Build the capacity of the ASS team to operate in volatile contexts with limited supervision.

Partnership and External Representation 

• Promote partnership equality principles through thoughtful engagement with partners to share capacity, capability, and experience pertaining to humanitarian access and security. 
• Liaise with peers and attend meetings at relevant humanitarian fora e.g., NGO Security Focal Points, INSO, NGO Forums, Access working group, etc.
• Contribute to the creation of a positive image and overall credibility of the organization vis-à-vis donors and other external stakeholders.

Key Working Relationships: 

• Position Reports to the Country Director and dotted technical line to the Regional Safety and Security Coordinator
• Position directly Supervises 1 Access Safety and Security Coordinator, 3 Access Safety & Security Manager, 1 Access Manager and 1 Access Safety, OTL Access and Safety Manager, and Security Officer.
• Internal: SMT members, Country Leadership Team, Field Coordinators, Regional Safety and Security Coordinator. 
• External: Partners, donors, peer humanitarian agencies, training providers, specialized networks, and forums.  

Job Requirements

• Education: A university degree in a relevant field or an advanced certification in safety and security operations management in complex environments.
• Work Experience:  A minimum of 10 years of leadership and management experience, at least 7 of which with INGOs, with demonstrated capabilities in planning, organizing, and executing complex humanitarian security operations in multiple conflict or high-risk settings. Previous regional or Nigerian experience is highly desirable.

Technical Competencies:

• Demonstrated understanding of the humanitarian principles, code of conduct, and specific sub-sector work linked to NGO field and operations contexts.
• Experience in monitoring relevant local, regional, and international developments and assessing their impact on operational positions and interactions.
• Demonstrated ability to provide clear and timely incident reporting on unfolding security situations. 
• Strong experience as a trainer; ability to develop, implement, facilitate, and impart learning to a wide range of audiences.

Leadership Competencies:

• Excellent relationship-building, interpersonal, and leadership skills. 
• Strong negotiation, mediation, and conflict resolution skills. 
• Superior oral and written communication skills, with the ability to express ideas and concepts clearly and persuasively with senior internal and external stakeholders.
• Experience working successfully with local stakeholders such as local and international NGOs, government, etc., with sensitivity and diplomacy.
• Able to lead teams effectively and efficiently through crisis and during times of uncertainty. 

Language/Travel: 

• English is required, while local language is an advantage.
• 50% travel to the field in Nigeria.