Jobs at the International Rescue Committee (IRC)

Contextual Background

• The IRC has been present in Nigeria since 2012 when the organization responded to flooding in Kogi state. In February 2014 the IRC moved into Adamawa State in NE Nigeria to provide humanitarian interventions through a multi-sectoral, integrated approach for conflict affected populations.
• IRC Nigeria now operates a country office in Abuja and field offices in Mubi and Yola of Adamawa State, Maiduguri and Monguno of Borno state and Damaturu of Yobe State.
• Currently, IRC Nigeria implements primary health care, nutrition, environmental health, women’s protection and empowerment, protection, child protection, governance, education, and Economic Recovery and Development programs.
• The position holder has the role of supervising MEAL Officers.  As a result, s/he is primarily responsible for building MEAL staff capacity through organizing trainings, mentoring, coaching and supervision.  Together with the Senior MEAL Manager, S/he technically supports IRC Nigeria to meet standards set out in the Strategic Action Plan (STRATEGY100), Client responsiveness objectives and IRC’s MEAL and IMPACT handbook for improving monitoring practice and use of data for decision making within the organization.

Job Overview / Summary

• The MEAL Manager position reports to the Senior MEAL Manager. This position is responsible for leading all MEAL related assignments and management of the IRC MEAL team in Borno state.
• The position supports the development and implementation of the programs monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning strategy to ensure quality, timely, and accurate information in support of the implementation of sectors activities.
• This position will support the review of proposals to ensure that core sector MEAL activities are adequately captured, as well as ensure project logframes are well designed in line with the IRC measurement standards.

Major Responsibilities
Leadership and Partnership:

• Manage all technical aspects and actions of M&E/MEAL regarding the [Technical Area(s)] program; respond to program needs; foster high standards and practices for quality data, analysis, and reports. Enable accountability to clients, partners, and donors;
• Improve M&E/MEAL systems and approaches and foster learning;
• Represent IRC at technical meetings, forums, and other events & build partnership within IRC and other areas of expertise;
• Champion design, access and use of data by leaders and partners for shared learning and evidence-based decision-making;
• Collaborate with M&E/MEAL teams within and outside IRC to support harmonization of M&E/MEAL systems and approaches, sharing capacity and experiences. 

Technical Oversight:
Lead the M&E/MEAL system and processes for the [Technical Area(s)] program in harmony with the M&E/MEAL Country and Global Strategy throughout the project cycle which include:

• Use learning, evidence, and data from previous projects to inform project proposal design;
• Develop logical frameworks, M&E/MEAL plans, digital data collection tools, processes for online data management;
• Establish and ensure timely data flow, quality checks, and audits, and updating of data visualization;
• Supervise M&E/MEAL field activities;
• Undertake regular analysis of monitoring data and work closely with program coordinators and managers to facilitate decision-making for real-time program adaptation;
• Produce quality reports and updating dashboards with key findings that foster learning and decision-making and share in project cycle management meetings and team meetings;
• Identify, detail, and share lessons learned to improve services and results for our clients. 
• Engage in the design, method, and conduct of surveys such as baseline and end line, and the commission of evaluations in coordination with colleagues and partners;
• Advocate for and support the expansion of standard mobile data technology and online dashboard to enhance timeliness and quality of data collection, analysis and visualization;
• Join and contribute to IRC’s effort in meeting its internal and external accountability commitments through the implementation of sound accountability, client feedback, and response mechanisms.

Human Resources:

• Coordinate, lead, mentor and support a dynamic small to medium team of M&E/MEAL staff; foster timely and high-quality achievement, and an inclusive and respectful team climate;
• Promote the growth and development of others in IRC teams and partners in M&E/MEAL: Lead and craft high-quality technical training and learning materials for partners, colleagues, and junior staff;
• Participate in the recruitment and onboarding of country M&E/MEAL officers, assistants, and (if relevant) external consultants

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Statistics, Social Sciences, Development Studies, statistics, Project Management or any other relevant discipline.
• A Master’s Degree in any field is an added advantage
• 4 - 5 years of consistent, proven, and successful experience in monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning – specific experience in feedback management will be an added advantage
• Demonstrated understanding or project management in a similar role/with similar responsibilities in a multi sectoral and multi donor environment
• Strong team management experience with sound capacities to work in a diversified team
• Willingness to work under pressure and stressful situations with minimal supervision and without compromising deadlines or quality
• Values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength
• Self-motivated with good organization, planning skills, including prioritizing work and multi-tasking
• Good communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills
• Willingness to travel to field sites under demanding conditions

Computer / Other Tech Requirements:

• Full professional competency in Microsoft Office Suite, especially Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint. 
• Competencies with mobile data collection such as Kobo, Commcare, ODK Collect is vital as well as proficiency with SPSS, STATA or other similar software. Knowledge of Tableau, PowerBi, or GIS software tools are additional assets

Language Skills:

• Fluency in English, local languages are an added advantage.

Ability to Travel:

• 20% to 40% of time.

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Job Overview

• The Senior Grants Coordinator (SGC) is a strategic role for IRC Nigeria and will work closely with the country program, finance, and operations teams in developing/reviewing business development strategy for IRC Nigeria, in line with IRC Nigeria Strategic Action Plan 2022 – 2024, to ensure that the overall strategy and operations is adequately funded.
• The role will be responsible for leading and facilitating broad engagement on business development processes with the program, operations and finance colleagues, management business development cycles and staying up to date on new trends of donor funding opportunities, partnership opportunities and operating contextual in Nigeria, especially in the NE and NW where IRC is currently operating.
• S/he will work to leverage public and private funding opportunities through prospecting, proposal and budget development, donor management and post award management. The post holder will be responsible for conducting the full range pre and post award activities required to prepare and submit institutional proposals to public and private donors.
• S/he will lead the development of high-quality proposals processes and ensure compliances to donor guidelines and policies. S/he will have overall responsibility for the management and coordination of grants, partnership and communications portfolio and matters.
• The Senior Grants Coordinator is a member of Country Leadership Team and reports directly to Deputy Director of Programs (DDP), with close working relationship and support of the Regional Senior Program Development Advisor and Program Development Advisors for West Africa region.
• The role will also have close working relationships with the Nigeria Senior Management Team, Senior Program Coordinators, Field Coordinators, sectoral Technical Coordinators, Technical Adviser’s, MEAL Coordinator, Consortium Leads, operations and finance leads, Compliance Coordinator, and grants management and partnership team.

Major Responsibilities
Business Development:

• Working closely with the DDP and country leadership team, lead the development process of a comprehensive and coherent business development strategy and help prioritize approaches to donors for the Country Program. 
• Research and analyze the changing donor environment and strategies and advise on effective influencing of donors, linking in with affiliate Regional and HQ (donor) leads as appropriate.
• Oversee the delivery of the grants and partnerships commitments in the implementation of the IRC Nigeria 2022 – 2024 Strategic Action Plan (SAP). 
• In coordination with the DDP, oversee the grants unit development of concept notes and proposals (including program design meetings) to ensure quality and alignment with both internal and donor standards, guidance and compliance.
• Oversee coordination across departments and with relevant HQ units in relation to proposal development and project revisions and donor reporting.  
• Conduct final quality control reviews of all proposal packages assembled by the Grants Managers. 
• Ensures that the contractual terms proposed by the donor or Lead Recipient before the start of a project are realistic and applicable, given the local context and IRC internal processes and procedures.
• Work closely with HQ and SMT to provide support and guidance in the negotiation phase before signing grants and partnership agreements.

Grants Management and Compliance:

• Ensure that grants are implemented in compliance with IRC and relevant donor regulations.
• Ensure uniform and effective systems are in place and utilized for proposal development, information management, and grant management (including reporting, implementation monitoring and tracking, and filing) across the Grants Unit.
• Monitor and support the use of grant management tools such as Grants snapshot, FM01, Budget vs. Actual (BvA), and OTIS for the proper monitoring and the successful, compliant implementation of programs and early warning in case of obstacles or challenges.
• Play a key role in advising on and overseeing IRC’s Project Cycle Meeting (PCM) approaches (Opening Meetings, Project Implementation Meetings, Project Learning Meetings and Closing Meetings), ensuring Grants team is always represented in the Project Cycle Meetings, documenting meeting discussions, providing live support to Project Leads, and tracking progress of meetings.
• Monitor and supervise all external (donor) reporting to ensure timely delivery of high-quality reports which meet donor and IRC requirements.
• In collaboration with the Finance Leads, follows up on disbursement requests throughout the project life cycle until the final report is accepted by the donor, the final advance payment is made, and the grant is closed.
• Review donor agreements and coordinate their review with the relevant IRC HQ office.
• Support Grants Managers and Partnership Manager to ensure ensuring HQ staff are kept informed of important issues affecting the country program’s portfolio and ensure that IRC business practices are rolled out to Nigeria staff.
• In close collaboration with Compliance Coordinator, conduct trainings for staff on donor accountability tools and procedures.
• Work closely with all relevant departments to monitor program compliance proactively and regularly with donor requirements.
• Act as the focal point for coordinating external audits with other finance and programs. S/he monitors the audit schedule and liaises with the finance and compliances to plan, support and supervise external audits.

Partnership Management:

• Support IRC Nigeria’s strategic approach to partnerships and ensure that partnership and sub-grant related administrative processes and procedures are consistently implemented throughout the program, including pre-award compliance checks, agreements, and disbursements and reporting.
• Working closely with the DDP and country leadership team, lead the development process of a Nigeria Partnership Plan in line with SAP 2022 – 2024 ambitions and partnership targets
• Increase IRC’s capacity to engage with strategic partners, promoting and modeling effective partnership approaches especially with local actors.
• Support the identification of potential implementing partners and oversees due diligence exercises with future implementing partners.
• Provide leadership and guidance to implementing partners in the development of project documents.
• Provide leadership and guidance for developing partnership agreements, coordinating the contracting phase with partners, and ensuring the proper dissemination of contractual obligations to the implementing partners. Also responsible for ensuring that project modifications and amendments to the grant agreements are properly reflected in the partnership agreements and updated on OTIS.
• Where applicable, and in close liaison with the partnership and program teams, oversee the partner capacity building plan at the beginning of the project, and monitors the plan implementation throughout the project cycle.

Communication:

• Work with Comms Manager and program sector leads to develop and produce IRC information materials such factsheets, program updates, emergency situation reports, newsletters, contributions to global IRC news bulletin, and annual and sector reviews.
• With Comms Manager, facilitate development of success stories for reporting and lessons learned to inform project design.
• Oversee knowledge management of all communications related to programs/donors and ensure communication and visibility requirements are met.

Staff Performance Management, Learning & Development:

• Hire, supervise, and build the capacity of team members in relevant technical and management competencies.
• Develop and implement remote management capacity building approaches to build the strengths of your team. 
• Coach, train, supervise and mentor direct-report staff, including communicating clear expectations, setting annual performance objectives, providing regular and timely positive and constructive performance feedback, and providing documented semi-annual performance reviews.
• Maintain open and professional relations with team members, promoting a strong team spirit and providing oversight and guidance to enable staff to successfully perform in their positions.
• Approve and manage all time, attendance and leave requests to ensure adequate departmental coverage; ensure monthly, accurate timesheet submission and carry out probationary reviews.
• Hold high-quality meetings with each direct report on a regular and predictable basis, at least monthly.
• Provide a measurable development plan including on-the-job learning with the aim of strengthening technical capacity, exchanging knowledge within the team and providing guidance on career paths. 
• As required identify staff performance issues and work with Human Resources to document and address these in accordance with the National Staff Employment Policies.
• Maintain open and professional relations with team members, promoting a strong team spirit and providing oversight and guidance to enable staff to successfully perform in their positions.
• Promote and monitor staff care and well-being. Model healthy work-life balance practices. Support appropriate interventions in response to identified staff care needs of both national and international staff.
• Look for opportunities to support staff in their career growth, where appropriate. As part of succession plan and nationalization goals, identify, train, and develop capability and capacity of national staff to successfully transition role and responsibilities, by the end of assignment.
• Adhere to and act in accordance with the IRC Global HR Policies and Procedures and communicates through word and example a high standard of compliance with all applicable policies and regulations.

Coordination & Representation:

• Participate in Field level coordination forums, as relevant. 
• Participate in consortium partners coordination, as relevant.
• Work with the DDP to coordinate any donor visits and facilitate any reasonable requests from funding affiliates and governing bodies
• Serve as a member of Country Leadership Group and ensure full participation in the forum.
• Represent the organizations to donors and to other humanitarian organizations where applicable and as need arises.

Key Working Relationships:

• Position Reports to:  Deputy Director for Programs
• Indirect/Technical Reporting: Regional Program Advisors, West Africa
• Position directly Supervises: Senior Grants Manager, Senior Partnership Manager, Communication Manager  

Key Internal Contacts: 

• SMT, Senior Program Coordinators, Assistance Finance Controllers, Compliance Coordinator, Sectors Technical Coordinators, Consortium Team Leaders, Security and Access Coordinator, Senior Advocacy Manager, Field Coordinators and Senior Area Managers etc.
• Region/Global: AMU etc.

Key External Contacts:

• Donors, Consortium Partners, Local Partners, government officials etc.

Job Requirements
Education:

• A Master’s Degree or equivalent in International Affairs, Communications, Finance Management, Development, or related subject.

Work Experience:

• Minimum of four (4) years of international grants management, proposal/business development, program designs experience within the development / humanitarian sector, preferably in Africa. 
• Experience developing proposals with rigorous requirements and tight deadlines.
• Ability to work independently and meet deadlines with minimal supervision.
• Excellent organizational skills: the ability to multi-task, learn quickly, and work independently and productively in a fast-paced and detail-oriented environment.
• Demonstrated attention to detail and ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work both independently and cooperatively with team members.

Demonstrated Technical Skills:

• Prior knowledge and experiences of donor regulations and guidelines (USAID, BHA, ECHO, FCDO, SIDA, Europe Aid, OCHA, Private donors etc)
• Excellent oral and written reporting skills and demonstrated ability to write and edit reports and proposals and to meet required deadlines
• Working knowledge of budget development and management
• Experience conducting assessments, preferably using participatory approaches
• Ability to work in unstable security environments
• Previous successful experience developing projects and writing proposals and reports for public donors
• IRC experience is an asset.

Demonstrated Managerial/Leadership Competencies:

• Excellent inter-personal, cultural, and diplomatic skills
• Good communicator with strong organizational, time management, and analytical skills
• Strong capacity to mentor and build capacity of staff
• Ability to juggle competing priorities, meet demanding deadlines, and work under pressure in unstable security environments
• Good stress management.

Languages:  

• Fluent written and spoken English is a MUST.
• Computer/Other Tech Requirements:
• Full professional competency in Microsoft Office Suite, especially Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint.
• Excellent database, data management and data analysis skills, with strong experience using software applications such as Microsoft Excel, Access.
• Ability to Travel: 30% field travel to locations where IRC has presence in Nigeria