Grants Coordinator at International Rescue Committee

Requisition ID: req5315

Job Title: Grants Coordinator

Sector: Grants

Employment Category: Fixed Term

Employment Type: Full-Time

Open to Expatriates: Yes

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

Job Description

The International Rescue Committee in Kenya currently seeks a short term Grants Coordinator to cover this position while the role is recruited (2 months). The Grants Coordinator TTA/short-term hire will be coming in a time where the country program is undergoing a busy fundraising period with several major funding opportunities in the pipeline. The Grants Coordinator will be working on different donor opportunities and awards management including UNHCR, ECHO, BPRM, UNFPA, USAID, & DFID among others. The Grants Coordinator is overall responsible for proposal development, grants management, partnerships, donor communications and donor reporting, and directly supervises the two Grants Managers. This position has close working relationships with the Technical Coordinators, Deputy Director of Operations, Finance Controller, Supply Chain Coordinator, Country M&E Manager, as well as regular communications with field-based staff. The position will report to the Country Director based in Nairobi with possible travel to field sites.

Job Description/Responsibilities

Business Development

• Work with the Deputy Director of Programs (DDP) to support business development strategies that are aligned with the IRC’s Kenya’s Strategy and Strategy Action Plan (SAP) outcomes and based on analysis of local needs and gaps.
• Identify key proposal and donor-related information linked to new funding opportunities and communicate to relevant staff.
• Support the country office in organizing and leading program design workshops for all new business development opportunities.
• Lead on the writing of new proposals and development of donor budgets, and maintain an efficient system for proposal development. Maintain clear responsibilities outlined for management, programs, finance and operations departments - that yields timely, high quality submissions.
• Engage with senior management to address any issues during the proposal development process.
• Ensure proposals are tracked with standard IRC tracking tools (e.g. FM01, OTIS).
• Be the primary interlocutor for the HQ-based (NYC and London) Kenya focal points with regards to proposal processing.
• Coordinate proposal and project/program revisions (issuing and management of timelines and development processes, writing and editing as needed, providing review, liaison with reviewers, etc.)

Grants Management

• Manage and provide overall oversight of the grants portfolio (15-18 grants, including institutional and private donors) including but not limited to: conducting grant management meetings (GOM, GRM, GCM, monthly BvA); coordinating with different departments to follow up on action points and pending issues to ensure proper grants management; responding to ad-hoc HQ, donor, and IRC Kenya and staff requests and questions related to compliance; updating and disseminating grants trackers.
• Work closely with Finance department to monitor expenditure rates / spending levels across all grants, and provide feedback to field leads and departments heads on key issues.
• Manage all agreement reviews, revisions, amendments and budget realignments, including OTIS approvals
• Have a deep understanding of donor policies, regulations and procedures and train other team members in these areas
• Provide support to and advise technical / field coordinators on various project management issues, such as budget management, work plan implementation, indicator tracking, and achievement of project objectives/outputs.

Donor Communication and Reporting

• Ensure that reports are timely, constructive, clear, organized, and responsive to donor needs.
• Support the DDP and the CD to maintain positive and constructive relationships with donors, in-country and abroad.
• Provide liaison or representation to donors at different coordination fora/meetings as the need arises and/or in the absence of regular donor focal points.
• Serve as focal point for all donor communications related to contractual, budget or administrative issues.
• Ensure that effective channels of internal and external communications relating to grants are established and respected.

Partnership Management

• Identify relevant partners and partnerships models to support fundraising strategy, taking in to account developing conditions within the local context.
• Engage potential partners during project design phase of relevant proposals.
• Oversee the PEER process for all new partners and on partners’ risks and recommend capacity building actions accordingly.
• Lead in drafting sub-grant agreements and modifications, acting as focal point with HQ for review and approval, and facilitate signature by IRC and partners.
• Coordinate with Finance and Program departments for internal review and clearance of all financial documentation and reporting associated with sub-grants.
• Act as grants compliance focal point by identifying partners’ sub-grant compliance risks and incidents (such as activity implementation or reporting delays, or missing program documentation), making recommendations for further action.

Qualifications

• Previous experience managing a diverse donor-funded programs a must, experience managing UNHCR, ECHO, UNFPA and PRM grants a plus.
• Fluency in English in addition to superior writing/editing skills in English.
• Budget development, management and monitoring skills required, must be able to develop a donor budget (both IRC format and donor).
• At least 3-4 years of experience working in grants management and business development.
• Direct experience in building the capacity of national NGOs and working with local partners including a clear understanding of NGO capacity building.
• Experience working with and coordinating with donors including UNHCR, EU, ECHO, foundation donors, UN, DFID, USAID etc. and knowledge of specific donor guidelines and priorities.
• Demonstrated excellence in proposal and report development and writing.
• Demonstrated excellence in multi-tasking, time management, and flexibility.
• The ability to take the initiative and proven ability to work creatively, innovatively and effectively to make decisions with limited direct supervision.
• Sound knowledge of donor regulations (in particular UN agencies, ECHO, US Government donor).
• Good communicator with strong organizational, time management and analytical skills
• Excellent interpersonal, cultural and diplomatic skills
• Ability to respond to multiple priorities in a timely manner, producing high-quality outcomes.