Grants Coordinator at the International Rescue Committee (IRC)

Sector: Grants
Employee Type: TTA
Employee Category: Full Time

Job Description

• The TTA objective is two-fold: 1- to fill in for the Grants Coordinator during the annual leave, from July 29th to August 20th; 2- to support proactive business development opportunities, such as leading concept notes aimed at potential donors.
• The Grants Coordinator will lead grant management for the IRC in Niger.
• The position reports to the Deputy Director for Programs (DDP) and supervises the Grants Officer.
• This position is based in Niamey with trips to field sites as needed.
• The Grants Coordinator will work collaboratively with the IRC’s senior management team, the technical coordinators, operations team, and the finance team.

Responsibilities
Proposals:

• Lead coordination of proposal development (including logframe meetings) working with program staff and ensuring proper review at the HQ level, gathering input from technical coordinators, technical advisors, Research, Monitoring and Evaluation staff, and the Regional Unit.
• Write budget narratives, edit proposals, and ensure proper proposal and grant management procedures are followed.
• Act as focal point with donors in-country for the proposal development process.
• Monitor and support the use of management tools such as FM01 and Budget vs. Actual (BVA) for the proper monitoring and the successful implementation of programs and early warning in case of obstacles or challenges.
• Liaise with NY and UK grant units in order to ensure proposals meet internal standards, apply IRC’s Outcomes Evidence Framework (OEF), are in line with IRC Niger’s Strategic Action Plan (SAP) and are donor compliant.

Reporting:

• Support the Grants Manager in the reporting process with in-country staff for updates and HQ for approvals before submission to the donor.
• Ensure that reports to donors are submitted on time; that reports are coherent and accurate (quarterly, interim or final reports).
• Play a key role in Grant Opening and Closing meetings, as well as monthly/regular grants management meetings which include representation from each unit (finance, programs, logistics) and ensure proper follow up of issues raised.

Donor Compliance:

• Act as focal point with donors in-country on grants management issues for ongoing, past, and potential future projects.
• Review donor agreements and coordinate their review with the relevant IRC HQ office.
• Ensure that grants are implemented in compliance with IRC and relevant donor regulations.
• Maintain and update grant files related to proposals.
• 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.

Communication and Information Management:

• Distribute to IRC staff all documentation (grant proposals, reports, budget, etc.) related to their specific programs.
• Supervise Grants Manger to keep country fact sheet updated and contact communications team to update the information on the Niger website periodically.
• Keep an updated inventory of all communications related to programs/donors and ensure communication and visibility requirements are met.

Management and Capacity Building:

• Supervise Grants Manager and Partnership Officer and provide on-the-job training. Discuss job expectations, set objectives and provide appropriate and timely feedback regarding performance.
• Offer training and capacity building to all IRC and local partners staff on program reporting and IRC program specific documents.

Administrative/Other:

• Act as main point of contact for New York and UK offices, ensuring HQ staff are kept informed of important issues affecting the country program’s portfolio.

Status and Security Protocols:

• This position is non accompanied. Housing is in a shared IRC guesthouse and includes amenities such as Internet, cable TV and cleaning staff.
• Niger is security phase 2 (Yellow) and the field office in Diffa is in the security phase 3 (Orange). As such, the Grants Coordinator will be expected to respect the various security protocols in place in country. 

Job Requirements

• Masters Degree or equivalent in International Affairs, Development or related subject.
• Fluency in English and French, spoken and written
• At least three years of experience working in project and/or grants management and proposal/business development/design
• International experience with preference in Africa
• Prior knowledge of donor regulations (UNHCR, OFDA, USAID, ECHO, DFID, SIDA, SDC, UNICEF, etc.)
• Previous successful experience developing projects, writing proposals and reports for public donors
• Good communicator with strong organizational, time management and analytical skills
• Excellent inter-personal, cultural and diplomatic skills
• Strong writing and editing skills with close attention to detail
• Flexibility to adapt to changing requirements
• 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
• Strong computer skills