Funding Coordinator at Oxfam

JOB PURPOSE

• Reporting to the Business Development Lead, the Funding Coordinator supports the Program Leads and to grow Oxfam Kenya  income and partnerships in order to resource the country programme strategy.
• The job holder  will be responsible for implementing resource mobilisation strategies, including facilitating engagements between donors and Oxfam, supporting proposal development processes and identifying and developing new funding opportunities.
• The role will support  effective and efficient contract management and communication and ensuring high quality reporting standards and compliance with donor rules and regulations and Oxfam systems. The Funding Coordinator will build partner and staff capacity in, contract management , concept and proposal development.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES (Technical, Leadership, People and Resource Management)

Donor Engagement and resource mobilisation                                                        

• Organizes and convenes regular meetings with Oxfam colleagues and potential donors to explore opportunities for collaboration partnership and future funding.
• Supports and participates in external donor engagement and relationship building with institutional donors and Oxfam affiliates at country level.
• Links with the confederation funding architecture to access intelligence, opportunities and skills in order to support resource mobilisation in the country.
• Follow up and implement Oxfam’s commitments and actions emerging from donor and affiliate engagements with country colleagues.
• Engagement both internally and externally on proposal development, funding opportunities, and donor strategies.
• Prepares all necessary groundwork for proposal development and works closely with bid development teams from different affiliates or partners.
• Provides effective bid coordination and project inceptions, reporting and closures in country.
• Works closely with bid teams and the Business Development Lead to undertake quality assurance of donor proposals (narrative, financial, compliance requirements) to ensure high quality competitive proposals to successfully secure institutional donor funds.
• Works closely with programmes teams and communications teams to keep institutional donors and affiliates regularly updated and informed about the country programmes work, outside of the formal reporting donor requirement to sustain donor interest and engagement in the country programme.

• Collaborates with other affiliates to co-create or develop global or multi-country funding opportunities.
• Keeps the pipeline reports updated on a regular basis and advices on the health of the pipeline and related risks.

Donor Contract Management and Compliance                                                   

Under the guidance of the Business Development Lead

• Supports and participates in negotiations with institutional donors over contracts, costs, governance and accountability, and donor conditions.
• Advises program and finance staff during project inception and implementation to deliver strong donor compliance in accordance with donor guidelines and procedures as stipulated in donor contracts and Oxfam project Agreements (OPAs).
• Conduct quality assurance and due diligence for reports to donors ensuring they meet quality and adhere to donor standards, guidelines, and procedures.
• Ensures all donor contracts are in compliance with internal Oxfam donor contract management and programme management information systems and procedures.
• Supports in-country staff to adhere to funding policies and guidelines of the confederation.
• Works across the global program funding function to ensure coherence, consistency and quality in fundraising efforts and results.

Capacity Building, Coordination and Support

• Induct new staff, partners and conduct refresher sessions on Oxfam funding procedures including bid development processes, contract management processes, specific donor procedures, among others.
• Provides training and support to staff and partners on concept and proposal development.
• Provide training and support to partners and staff on quality donor reporting.
• Work with technical advisers and donor account managers in affiliate HQs, regional offices to conduct donor and funding related trainings for country teams.
• Collaborates with and influences colleagues in different parts of organisation including programs, finance, human resources, logistics, and funding.

Person Specification 

Most importantly, every individual at Oxfam needs to be able to:

• Live our values of INCLUSION, ACCOUNTABILITY, EMPOWERMENT, COURAGE, SOLIDARITY and EQUALITY (read more about these here).
• Ensure you commit to our ORGANIZATIONAL ATTRIBUTES (including adhering to the Code of Conduct).
• Be committed to our feminist principles, and to applying them in your day-to-day behaviour and your work. Be ready to keep learning, with accountability to those who experience oppression as a result of their identities, such as their gender, race/ethnicity, disability, class, or LGBTQIA identity."
• Be committed to undertaking Oxfam’s safeguarding training and adhering to relevant policies, to ensure all people who come into Oxfam are as safe as possible.

Experience, knowledge and competencies

ESSENTIAL

• Self-awareness: Knows, owns and acknowledges their own strengths, limitations and biases, understands impact of their behaviour and style of working on others and the organization as a whole, is willing to adapt behaviour where necessary, invests in learning and developing themselves
• Developing Others:  Is aware of strengths, limitations and needs of staff and partners, looks to develop potential in them, gives feedback to stimulate improved performance, provides the space to learn from mistakes, makes training advice, support readily available and identifies opportunities for developing others.
• Influencing others: Identifies critical people in funding decision processes, uses a range of approaches and style to steer appropriate action, builds a strong network that facilitates achievement of goals.
• Decision Making: Takes timely decisions following appropriate consultation but not necessarily full consensus, does not delay decisions for that “last piece” of information, ensures that decisions are communicated to those needing to know, takes responsibility for the associated outcomes of decisions, and follows through to implement actions from decisions.
• Tenacity: Gets things done despite setbacks, sticks with the problem with perseverance and determination balanced with a good sense of when things should be let go, continues to act despite frustrations or obstacles to accomplish objectives.
• Relationship Building: Identifies, initiates, develops and maintains working relationships that are of mutual benefit to both yourself and the other party.

In addition:

Technical Skills, Knowledge and Experience

Essential:

• Minimum requirement is a university degree or equivalent in Business Administration, Law, Economics, International Development, or related field.
• Minimum 5 years in fundraising with demonstrated ability to devise and implement resource mobilisation strategies.
• Demonstrable experience and success in engaging with bilateral and multilateral donors for an international agency like Oxfam.
• Superior verbal and written communications skills in English with ability to analyse and synthesise complex issues.
• Excellent computer skills, including various office applications and internet navigation.
• Strong networking, representational, and negotiation skills.
• Attention to detail especially in reviewing and editing of complex proposals and reports.
• Sound knowledge of the funding context and trends in Kenya.  
• Knowledge of major donor priorities, strategic priorities, and approaches to funding of civil society organisations.
• Knowledge and experience of contract management or donor compliance management.
• Ability to work effectively with others within a multicultural, multilingual, and multidisciplinary national and global team across institutional boundaries and business units.
• Proven ability to identify new business opportunities and partnerships.
• Experience of collaborating with and leading technical teams to develop program proposals that are funded by institutional donors.
• Ability to make effective, timely decisions and take prudent risks.

Desirable

• Familiarity with government decision-making processes, both political and technical, including budget processes, appropriation, protocols, and communications.
• Experience in working consortium with others to mobilize resources.
• Experience in capacity building of local institutions.