Grants Coordinator

The IRC has long-term programs based in Baghdad and Erbil, as well as emergency response programs supporting Syrian refugees and war-affected Syrian internally displaced persons (IDPs). The IRC is seeking dynamic individuals to support it in the delivery of services and support to communities affected by conflict in Syria.

Working in coordination with the humanitarian community, the IRC currently addresses the needs of Syrian IDPs and Iraqi Refugees. Our activities in northern Syria focus primarily on the supply of vital medications and medical equipment, non-food items, food and vouchers and form part of an over-arching humanitarian response in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, and Syria that seeks to assist those in need to survive conflict and displacement.

As part of its regional effort the IRC is now expanding its operations inside Syria by establishing programs for health, protection, economic and food support to vulnerable families in Al-Hassekah Governorate, Syria.

IRC Iraq is currently looking for a Grants Coordinator to be based in Dohuk, in the Kurdish Region of Iraq. The ideal candidate has excellent coordination and networking skills, the capacity to innovate and solve problems efficiently and the ability to work effectively across programming teams operating within the overall context of insecurity and access challenges in Iraq.

SCOPE OF WORK:
The Grants Coordinator oversees the production of timely, high quality project proposals, amendment requests and reports for submission to donors; provides program and support teams with advice on compliance with donor and IRC regulations and is responsible for management of contract documents in soft and hard copy.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Business development
  • Support opportunity identification. Perform monitoring, research and analysis into donor strategies and share with program staff
  • Maintain an efficient system for proposal development - with 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
  • Work with grants managers and officers to ensure proposals are tracked with standard IRC tracking tools (e.g. FM01, OTIS)
  • Be the primary interlocutor for the HQ-based (NYC and London) focal points as regards 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 writers and reviewers, etc)
• Compliance
  • Maintain a broad and deep understanding of donor policies, regulations and procedures and build this knowledge among grants team members
  • Proactively identify compliance risks throughout the portfolio and advise programs, operations, finance and senior management on necessary actions
  • Maintain a comprehensive information management and filing system that ensures all donor contractual documents, reports, key correspondences, etc. are appropriately filed in up-to-date and consistent soft and hard libraries available as needed
  • In concert with the finance team, assist program technical leads and operations staff with understanding the reporting and other compliance requirements on their grants
  • Liaise with NY and London about specific compliance issues and clearly communicate these issues through to relevant colleagues in the field
  • Ensures that other grants team members are trained in basic compliance
• Donor Communication and Reporting
  • Work with technical leads to ensure that reports are constructive, clear, organized, and responsive to donor needs
  • With the Humanitarian Coordinator and CD maintain positive and constructive relationships with donors, in-country and abroad
  • With the senior management team, determine project and donor focal points
  • Provide liaison or representation to donors as the need arises and/or in the absence of regular donor focal points
  • In concert with senior management, ensure that effective channels of internal and external communications relating to grants are established and respected
• Institutional Memory
  • Track donor correspondence
  • Ensure that senior management and technical leads understand donor communication protocols and provide copies of correspondence for files
  • Track the submission of proposals and maintain file copies
  • Track the submission of reports and maintain file copies
  • Keep a database of key donor contacts
  • Ensure information management and filing system (hard and soft copies) are properly maintained
• Human Resources Management
  • Supervise the Grants Team as it grows. Discuss job expectations, set objectives and provide appropriate and timely feedback regarding performance
  • Maintain open professional relations with team members, promote a strong team spirit and provide oversight and guidance to enable staff to successfully perform their duties
  • With team members, identify individual training needs and ensure access to training and professional development resources appropriate to their skill gaps/needs
  • Work with the Humanitarian Coordinator to assure coverage of grants team responsibilities during scheduled absences (leave, R&R, etc)
  • Lead with commitment, integrity and accountability on the “IRC Way” – Global Standards for Professional Conduct

Professional Standards
The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Masters degree or equivalent in international affairs or related subject
• At least 3 years of experience working in project and/or grants management and proposal/business development/design, at least one of which must be in a post-conflict setting
• Prior knowledge of donor regulations (UN, USG, EC, DFID, Sida, etc)
• Good communicator with strong organizational, time management and analytical skills
• Excellent inter-personal, cultural and diplomatic skills
• Superior 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: must be competent in the use of Windows MS office programs (Word, Excel), email programs, etc
• IRC experience preferred
• Fluency in English, spoken and written, is essential. Knowledge of Arabic or Kurdish is desirable

SECURITY SITUATION/HOUSING: The security level is yellow in Dohuk, other parts of the country are orange, or red if clashes are ongoing. The majority security concerns are the presence of armed men across the spectrum of regular armed forces, volunteer militias and armed opposition groups. Staff in Iraq must comply with all IRC security policies and procedures applicable to international staff. Shared housing in a guest house will be provided. The position is unaccompanied.