Award Manager

SCOPE OF ROLE:

Reports to: Country Representative

Role Dimensions: Emergency Response of expected $5-7M with 30-50 staff in both capital and field location; multi-sectorial interventions namely – Child Protection/Psychosocial; Shelter/NFIs; FSL and Education.

Staff reporting to this post: Awards Coordinator (TBC)

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY :

Award Management

• Provide strategic support within the SMT on all aspects of award management including funding pipeline management, award contracting and donor compliance.
• Ensure that award management systems and processes are successfully implemented across the life of award and key controls are in place to support effective management of the funding portfolio and compliance with the donor requirements.
• Provide coordination to proposal development and review processes, ensuring all staff inputs happen in timely and effective manner and advice on donor compliance requirements to ensure high quality and on time proposals.
• Play a leading role in Award Kick-Off meetings to ensure that all award information is shared effectively with relevant staff across the country office (including field offices) and partners.
• Establish systems for regular award monitoring across the country office and facilitate regular meetings with key stakeholders to support the Program Implementation Team to ensure that performance on individual awards is tracked effectively, risks and issues are flagged and action taken as appropriate.
• Support the finance team on master budget development, cost allocation, monitoring of award budgets, phasing and forecasting, in particular ensuring alignment between the master budget and funding tracker.
• Coordinate the processes for donor reporting to ensure that reports are high quality, delivered on time and supported by auditable records. This includes assistance in preparation of donor financial reports, as well as assessing and making recommendations to improve the reconciliation process (reporting assurance mechanism) between Finance, Procurement, Logistics, Distribution, M&E that will ensure accountable reporting to donors.
• Maintain effective communications with Save the Children members, providing them with timely updates on their awards and flagging potential issue promptly.
• Provide regular management information to the SMT on the performance of the country office portfolio.

Donor Compliance

• Support all functions to ensure donor requirements are understood and complied with.
• Ensure that all appropriate donor formats are available in-country and that key contributing staff have a clear understanding of donor requirements and expectations at the proposal, kick off, amendment, reporting, close out and audit stage of awards.
• Ensure potential issues and amendment requests are flagged promptly to donors via the relevant Save the Children member. This may include developing business cases where donor waiver/derogation requests need to be more thoroughly articulated or negotiated with donors.
• Work with internal and external auditors as necessary.

Partnerships

• Work with Partnership management staff to ensure all implementing partners undergo legal vetting and capacity assessment prior to commencing work with Save the Children, are engaged with appropriate agreements and effective monitoring systems are in place so that partner delivery meets donor expectations and requirements.
• Work with program staff to ensure relevant donor requirements are effectively communicated and understood by implementing partners.

Award Management System (AMS)

• Ensure that all opportunities, proposals, contracts and amendments with donors are processed and approved through AMS and the system is an accurate reflection of current award status at all times.
• Ensure all partners and sub-award agreements are input into AMS.
• Ensure that all adequate attachments appear on AMS and are retained as part of the award audit trail

Capacity Building:

• Carry out orientations and staff trainings for award management procedures, donor requirements etc.

SKILLS AND BEHAVIOURS (SCI Values in Practice):

Achieving results effectively

• Ensures efficient and transparent use of resources in accordance with internal controls
• Demonstrates flexibility to adapt plans and make decisions in rapidly changing environments
• Actively manages risk and takes action to reduce risk.
• Makes changes to improve performance as a result of information received.
• Creates measures and metrics to track performance.
• Documents lessons learned and applies them to future projects

Maintaining and developing collaborative relationships

• Establishes clear objectives with teams and individuals and monitors progress and performance
  

Operating safely and securely

• Undertakes effective risk assessments and develops contingency plans
• Takes appropriate, coordinated and consistent action to handle situations of personal risk and risk for others
• Reduces vulnerability by complying with safety and security protocols set by the organisation
  

Managing yourself in a pressured and changing environment

• Remains focused on the objectives and goals in a rapidly changing environment
• Suggests creative improvements and different ways of working
• Demonstrates personal integrity by using one’s position responsibly and fairly
• Makes time to learn from experience and feedback and applies the lessons to a new situation
  

Leadership and Developing Others

• Delivers results and always acts with the beneficiaries in mind.
• Adapts plans and approaches based upon awareness of the external context
• Demonstrates managerial courage by confronting difficult situations, seeking resolution, and championing ideas.
• Actively contributes to a team environment where team members feel able to contribute, champion or challenge decisions
• Takes responsibility for own development, and actively takes steps to better understand and address own strengths and weaknesses.
• Effectively influences others by understanding their interests and showing how they will be met by own preferred solution.
• Gives constructive feedback to enhance capabilities and responsibilities of team members for the purpose of their development.
• Works to ensure that the workplace is inclusive and the talents of team members are harnessed to achieve individual and organisational success.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPEIENCE:

Essential

• Experience of and well developed skills in staff management, supervision and capacity building.
• Proven track record of active contribution to senior management team.
• Knowledge of the requirements of the major donors and experience in reporting to donors.
• Good attention to detail and analytical skills.
• Computer literate (i.e. WORD, advanced Excel, Outlook, Internet Explorer, financial systems).
• Cultural awareness and ability to build relationships quickly with a wide variety of people.
• Patient, adaptable, flexible, able to improvise and remain responsive and communicate clearly and effectively under pressure.
• Excellent planning, management and coordination skills, with the ability to organise a workload comprised of varying and changing tasks and responsibilities.
• Strong communication (written and spoken), and interpersonal skills in English, with experience in managing multicultural teams.

Desirable

• Experience with Save the Children award management system (AMS).
• Significant experience with NGOs in an international environment.
• Understanding of how to produce financial reports from Save the Children’s overseas accounting software (Agresso)
• Experience of Project Management, M&E Management or Funding Coordination
• Russian or Ukrainian language skills.