Senior Project Development and Grants Officer at IMPACT Initiatives

Under the management of the Regional Country Coordinator (RCC), the Senior Project Development Grants Officer (SPDO) is responsible for identifying, developing and managing grants to fund the country specific strategies in the Horn of Africa. The ideal candidate would be eager to work within a dynamic and motivated team and will have a clear focus on project development as a tool to improve the efficacy of the humanitarian response in the region.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The SPDO’s responsibilities include the following:

SUPPORT TO POSITIONING AND FUNDRAISING

• All the below tasks are in support of the RCC and the Regional Senior Management Team (SMT), and involvement may vary according to the profile and context. Context Analysis
• Analyse the three countries’ respective socio-economic situation, (donor) trends, funding trends, needs and gaps.
• Regularly conduct stakeholder analysis, who does what and where.
• Alert the RCC and Regional SMT of gaps and emerging needs to trigger donor discussions/assessments in a timely manner. 

Strategy development and Fundraising

• Contribute to the development of a mission programme strategy in alignment with IMPACT’s global strategy and road map through engagement with external actors, context monitoring, and relevant focal points.
• Based on the IMPACT strategy, support the identification of funding opportunities and donors to ensure funding continuity as well as support the diversification of IMPACT’s donor portfolio through tracking funding opportunities, also potentially engaging with donors and donor working groups.
• In line with IMPACT’s strategy and expertise, contribute to partners mapping, to support identifying potential relevant international and/or local partners (academia, think tanks, national and international NGOs, private sector partners, etc.).

External relations

• Support the overall cooperation with IMPACT’s sister organisation ACTED in relation to project development and grants management ensuring communication is regular and timely and synergies are sought and built.
• Contribute to establishing, maintaining and improving active and regular working relationships with donors and, where relevant, act as point of contact for all formal/informal donor communication.
• Establish, maintain and improve active and regular working relationships with IMPACT’s partners, NGOs, UN agencies, relevant working groups, consortia and academia in relation to project implementation and proposal development.
• Maintain an up-to-date directory of donors, international and local NGOs, other partners and stakeholders.
• Ensure fundraising activities are appropriately tracked in the Funding Tracker (or similar tool),which is updated on a regular basis to log in latest negotiations and proposal possibilities with donors.

GRANT MANAGEMENT

Proposal Development

• Oversee project proposal conceptualisation (problem statement, logframe), and the development of other fundraising documents (Expressions of Interest, Concept Notes) in line with IMPACT’s regional/country strategy and donor requirements and in close collaboration with IMPACT/hosting partner Field and HQ Grants Department (GD) and Finance.
• Liaise with the RCC, Research Managers, Head of Operations and other relevant departments to ensure proposals are relevant and technically sound, as well as with other internal stakeholders such as Finance for the budget and other budget related documents (e.g., budget narrative).
• Ensure that learning from previous projects (e.g., lessons learnt and best practices) is incorporated into new proposals

REQUIREMENTS

• Excellent academic qualifications, including a Master’s degree in a relevant discipline(International Relations, Political Sciences, Social Research, Economics, Development Studies, or similar);
• Excellent communication and drafting skills for effective reporting;
• Proven institutional fundraising experience, familiarity with the humanitarian coordination system, and understanding of donor and governmental requirements;
• Proven knowledge of the Microsoft Office Suite, to include Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, Office 365, the Adobe package and Trello;
• Fluency in English;
• Solution-oriented, flexible, and open-minded, including ability to operate in a cross-cultural environment;
• Coordination, organisational and planning skills required, including ability to manage large workloads, effectively meet deadlines, through an excellent ability to multi-task and prioritise in complex environment;
• A self-starter with a proven ability to work independently;
• A sense of curiosity, the drive to improve the humanitarian sector, and ability to see the big picture;
• Past experience in field work is desirable;