Grants Coordinator

SCOPE OF WORK:

The Grants Coordinator will be responsible for overseeing and carrying out activities of the Grants Unit (GU) within the IRC Ethiopia Programs Department. This unit is integral to supporting the design, funding, implementation, and monitoring of a large, complex, multi-sector country program portfolio. The position is based in Addis Ababa but will require travel to the field. The role reports to the International Senior Program Coordinator (SPC), and directly oversees up to four GU staff.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITES

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Research and Program Design:

• Investigate opportunities to expand existing programming and new opportunities for IRC Ethiopia’s programming, as per the relevant IRC Ethiopia country and sectoral strategies.
• Assist IRC program technical sectors to develop holistic, long-term program plans beyond project-based planning.
• Facilitate IRC technical sectors to develop project plans, logical frameworks, and implementation timelines for current and future IRC projects.
• Identify synergies among program technical units and liaise with operational units to ensure high-quality, effective, and efficient programming.
• Assist senior management with research upon request, such as identifying potential donors, partners, and their strategies.

Proposal Development:

• Assume the role of team leader for all IRC Ethiopia concept notes and proposals, abiding by the guidelines set out by the donor and by IRC internal policies. This will involve developing and/or overseeing the development of all proposal documents, including budget, budget narrative, technical narrative, and other documents as necessary.
• Maintain in-depth knowledge of IRC internal policies and guidelines for donor organizations funding IRC Ethiopia projects.
• Coordinate staff from other IRC Ethiopia departments (technical sectors, finance, and field staff) to submit relevant information and documents to support proposal development.
• Review program proposals produced by the GU staff and provide feedback to build capacity in proposal development and improve product quality, accuracy, and style.
• Ensure that all IRC Ethiopia program proposals are submitted to the relevant body as per the agreed timelines.
• Conduct research as necessary to support the proposal development process.

Donor/Government Reporting and Communication:

• Supervise GU staff to research and write donor and government reports.
• Responsible for tracking all donor reporting schedules/requirements and ensuring that all reports are submitted to the relevant body as per the agreed timelines.
• Review all donor reports produced by the GU staff and provide feedback to improve product quality, accuracy, and style, as well as take on report writing when needed.
• Track progress and timely submission of government reports as per the required format.
• In coordination with the field offices and program technical units, supervise the GU to develop IRC Ethiopia government agreements.
• Responsible for tracking and processing donor agreements when applicable in coordination with IRC NY/UK offices and donors.
• Responsible for submission of in-country donor reports and proposals, and communication of compliance questions and feedback on reports or proposals.

Grants Management and Monitoring:

• Coordinate with other program accountability and learning (A&L) staff and technical teams to address gaps in program implementation identified through program reporting, and to identify program successes for documentation.
• Oversee GU to regularly track progress against targets for all projects and work closely with A&L staff to feed into development/improvement of A&L tools.
• Support A&L staff as needed to facilitate implementation of program quality tools developed.
• Oversee the coordination of field travel plans for support in designing projects and monitoring program implementation.
• Responsible for updating, streamlining, and disseminating relevant grants management tools and resources to relevant IRC staff in the main and field offices.
• Ensure that field and program technical and operational staffs have updated records and documents for all grants and information on changes to donor regulations or relevant communications.
• Supervise the GU staff to review monthly field reports consistently and in a timely manner.
• Maintain an in-depth knowledge on donor and government policies and support field and Addis-level staff in monitoring grants for compliance.
• Track and coordinate grant opening, review, and closing meetings, ensuring that, as often as possible, at least one GU/technical team member attends/contributes to each meeting.

Capacity Building:

• Provide training and on-the-job mentoring to all GU staff to build their capacity to produce high-quality documents meeting IRC Ethiopia and donor standards.
• Provide support to field teams in compiling proposal drafts and concept papers.
• Coordinate with A&L staff to design and organize trainings to build the capacity of field staff in identified skill areas.
• Provide regular feedback to field and technical unit staff to increase their capacity to produce high-quality documents meeting IRC Ethiopia and donor standards, with an increasing focus on donor compliance.

Special Tasks and Liaison:

• Take the lead on tasks involving the IRC’s online document and funding opportunity management system, Opportunity Tracking & Implementation System (OTIS).
• Oversee Grants Officers on general document management.
• Act as a liaison between IRC and its donors and partners as needed, and attend scheduled and ad hoc meetings and consultations upon the SPC/Senior Management’s request, representing IRC and its interests through positive and constructive relations.
• Act as the liaison between IRC head offices (NY and UK) for proposal development and grants management-related communication.
• At the request of the SPC, take responsibility for miscellaneous projects not falling under responsibilities underlined in this job description.

Management:

• Directly supervise the Grants Officers.
• Assign tasks and responsibilities to the team and monitor activities to ensure timeliness and quality of all deliverables.
• Ensure that program staff receives support and training/capacity-building as necessary.
• Review and evaluate Grants Officers’ performance on a regular basis.

Requirements/Qualification

• Excellent English writing skills are mandatory and the most important qualification sought for this position. Candidates will be asked to demonstrate English writing competence during the screening process.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel.
• Experience writing and coordinating high quality proposals for major donors (e.g. USG, UN, EU, etc); experience with non-traditional donor a plus.
• Masters degree in relevant field from a recognized university and at least three years of relevant experience.
• Knowledge of major donors’ rules and regulations.
• Experience with in an international NGO in a similar role.
• Experience directly supervising and coordinating with diverse teams.

Personal specifications:

• Effective communication and inter-personal skills.
• Ability to work well under pressure and with high workload, as well as work long work hours as needed.
• Ability to independently organize work and prioritize tasks.
• Self-motivated, honest, highly responsible, and punctual.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team.

N.B: please note that the position unaccompanied.