Partnership and Grants Coordinator

Description

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.

BACKGROUND: The IRC responded to the earthquake of January 12, 2010, with a focus on the immediate needs of the affected and displaced population in and around Port-Au-Prince. The program has since transitioned from an emergency response to a country program with the overall objective of accompanying Haiti towards its development. The IRC maintained the capacity to respond to emergencies in the hurricane season and aim to develop a strong partnership with local actors during these coming 2 years. The current program sectors in Haiti are: gender-based violence, protection, child and youth protection and development, and environmental health. The IRC Haiti Country Office is based in Port-au-Prince.

SCOPE OF WORK:  The Partnership and Grants Coordinator will work under the supervision of the Haiti Country Director and closely with the program coordinator, while supporting the three programs and finance unit. He or she will work with the IRC’s two headquarters offices in New York and London and with different technical Units and This position will contribute to the implementation of the IRC Haiti Country Action Plan particularly in the development of partnership with national actors, support the institutional and technical development, identifying new funding sources for the IRC and for partners, support proposal development, channel new program opportunities, ensuring donor and internal compliance procedures, and donor reporting.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

The main goal of the Partnership and Grants Coordinator is to asses and build strong strategy of partnership with local NGO’s,  monitor and document partner performance, to support partners in key elements of project cycle management (proposal development, reporting, financial management) directly or by facilitating the process. Strengthen the emergency response capacities of the partners through targeted trainings and tailored assistance in needs assessment, humanitarian principles, emergency.  As supervisor of the Grants officer this position will also  to autonomously undertake rapid needs assessments, serve as a logistical bridge head, respond to small scale emergencies (in terms of safety, health and income) and meet donor requirements  aim to develop the funding opportunities of the Haiti program, contribute  Reporting, Compliance/Donor, communications, capacity building. The percentages of time and effort presented are meant to be approximate and cumulative.

• Partnership development and management
• Develop partnership strategy for IRC Haiti program 
• Review existing partnerships strong and weak points
• Establish selection criteria of potential IRC strategic partners
• Realise Mapping of local NGOs capacity in the key sectors identified
• Realise the  Assessment of the local NGO preselected for partnersip
• Identify ‘strategic’ partners
•  Develop MoU and follow the Agreement signature with partners
• Build relations with and operational/programmatic capacity of partners through consistent support and remote training
• Ensure trainings and refresher trainings on partnership and sub Grants compliance remotely for key partners and IRC staff
• Concentrate on effective communication with partners.
• Based on remote monitoring findings, create Compliance Work plans based on deficiencies noted during pre-award and/or post-award remote monitoring and work collaboratively with partners to ensure compliance to USG regulations and correction of deficiencies previously noted.
• Maintain a tracking sheet and filing system (both soft and hard copy) for all sub grantees proposals, agreements, financial reports and outstanding advances/balances to be paid.
• Prepare all sub-grant agreements and modification to agreements using established agreement formats.

Training and capacity building:

• To offer or facilitate training  and capacity building for  IRC and local partners staff on reporting, proposal writing, Compliance/Donor, communications, needs assessment, humanitarian principles, and any other targeted related to the strategic partnership
• Support the technical and professional development of the Grants Officer
• Ensure that all staff are aware of and integrate the IRC program framework into all programs
• Keep informed on monitoring and evaluation techniques and support tools which can be shared with program staff; work closely with the DME manager and Technical Coordinators.

Visibility/Business Development :

• Support the Country Director in donor representation or other relevant meetings at the national level, with an emphasis on European donor-led meetings.
• On a regular basis, submit communications/media stories to IRC NY and IRC UK’s external relations teams (1x/month for a long-form story suitable for the IRC blog or external media; 1x/week for a short-form story suitable for Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram).
• Create communications documents for use in-country and outside Haiti that highlight IRC Haiti’s accomplishments as a whole, in specific sectors, and in specific projects.

Proposals and  Reporting :

• Coordinate the development of proposals for new projects by working with program staff and ensuring proper review at the HQ level.
• Liaise with NY and UK grant units in order to ensure proposals meet internal standards, apply IRC Program Framework principles and are donor compliant
• As a member of  senior management team participate in all internal program strategy meetings
• Participate in meetings with in-country donor representatives to discuss ongoing and future programs
• Review all narrative reports before submission to the donor timely and with high level of quality .

Donor Compliance :

• Act as focal point with donors and partners in-country on grants and sub 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
• 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.

REQUIREMENTS:

• BA degree or equivalent in International Development or Affairs, Business or related field; Advanced degree a plus
• Minimum of 3-5 years work experience with an NGO in an international context
• Successful experience establishing partnerships and strengthening capacity of partners
• Proven expertise in project proposal, Grants management and M&E development
• Acumen in applying remote management tools in high risk areas
• Experience working with community based organizations in a sub-grantee relationship
• Strong knowledge of U.S. Government and European donors  rules and regulations as they apply to sub grant management
• Excellent communication and coordination skills
• Proven ability to work well in and promote teamwork, thrive in a multi-cultural environment, be flexible and handle pressure with professional grace
• Experience and skills in reading, reviewing and auditing financial reports
• Experience managing staff and a commitment to team building, mentoring and staff development
• Excellent written and spoken English and French