Senior Grants Coordinator

Requisition ID: req47249

Job Title: Senior Grants Coordinator

Sector: Grants

Employment Category: Fixed Term

Employment Type: Full-Time

Open to Expatriates: No

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

Work Arrangement:

Job Description

Across two refugee camps, Dadaab and Kakuma, and four counties (Garissa, Turkana, West Pokot and Nairobi), the IRC implements programs in the sectors of health, Nutrition, governance & rights, and womens protection & empowerment, Economic Recovery and Development, as well as providing emergency response through a network of four field offices and a range of institutional and community-based partnerships.

Scope of work:

The IRC Kenya Sn Grants Coordinator will report to and work with the Deputy Director for Grants and Accountability (DDGA) for the Kenya country programme to maintain quality grants coordination. Reporting to the DDGA, this position will work closely with all departments and staff including senior program coordinators, partnerships, MEAL, technical coordinators, finance, and operations on compliance, donor relations, business development and reporting. The Sn Grants Coordinator sitting in Nairobi will supervise a team of Grants Manager and Officers located in different locations.

The IRC Kenya Sn Grants Coordinator will additionally liaise with the East Africa Regional office in Nairobi, as well as IRC Headquarters colleagues in NY, Germany, and the UK.

Major Responsibilities:

Program Design & Proposal Development (approx 40% of time)

• Support the DDGA to cultivate donor relationships in Kenya and the Region.
• Track upcoming opportunities by priority sectors in the country programme
• Support the development and management of the BD strategy for Kenya.
• Support the DDGA and technical leads in comprehensive business development and develop funding proposals, appropriate to the context and aligned with the country-level Strategic Action Plan.
• Lead proposal development initiatives, providing overall coordination function between HQ IRCs global technical advisors, partners, finance, operations, HR, and program focal points to ensure smooth and timely proposal development processes.
• Serve as team lead for all proposals, working with and /or overseeing other key roles (e.g. regional support team, consultants) when needed and as resources are available to support them.
• Ensure proposals are tracked with standard IRC tracking tools (e.g. OTIS, Internal tracker)
• In collaboration with MEAL Coordinator, utilize needs assessments contextual analysis results to inform project design.
• Monitor major donor trends (policies, strategic directions, etc.) and funding opportunities through regular research and monitoring of information on relevant websites and/or other sources.
• Support program growth aligned with strategic priorities through liaising and collaborating with respective technical units in program design, researching context, gaps, needs assessments, and viable new funding opportunities.
• Ensure the identification, appraisal, and mapping of partners is carried out constructively and consistently, and that strategic partners are appropriately engaged in pre-positioning and proposals development processes.
• Interpreting donor solicitations and donor-specific rules and regulations to ensure a responsive and compliant proposal design.
• Support proposal budget develop and ensure responsiveness and that it matches the technical narrative.
• Consolidate written inputs into a cohesive proposal narrative; write non-technical sections such as the management and past performance sections.
• Edit full technical proposal and budget narrative for coherence, length, uniformity, and responsiveness to the solicitation.
• Ensure timely submission of quality proposals.

Grants Management and Compliance (approx 40% of time)

• Review and negotiate donor contracts and agreements.
• Review any request for extension and amendments in coordination with the DDGA and maintain a tracker for IRC and partners payments and expenditure per each grant.
• Manage and provide overall oversight of the grants portfolio and regularly update the grants tracker for dissemination internally and to Awards Management Unit
• Ensure open, timely and accurate information flow within the Grants Unit and between the Unit and relevant departments.
• Ensure the submission of timely and high-quality reports (including narrative, financial and MEAL) to donors, including the development and update of regular funding and reporting trackers and schedules for dissemination to relevant staff.
• Maintain strong oversight of the portfolio and pipeline, including grant opening and closing dates to ensure timely submission of all related deliverables.
• Provide technical guidance on IRC and donor regulations to ensure compliance within operations, program implementation and reporting.
• Raise compliance issues proactively with program staff and the DDGA, DDP, DDF and DDO for timely action and keep senior management informed of any projected inabilities to meet contractual obligations, reports submission and of spend rates/signification budget variances.
• Manage and/or support all agreements reviews, revisions, amendments, and budget realignments, including relevant approvals.
• Leads the Grants Unit to coordinate closely with finance teams and review project spending plans and financial health to ensure effective spending amendments, and closeout activities.
• In coordination with DDGA, conduct project lessons learned meeting during project closeout phase.

Human Resources Management, capacity building and development (approx. 20% of the time)

• Coach, train, supervise and mentor direct-report staff, including communicating clear expectations, setting quarterly performance objectives, providing regular and timely positive and constructive performance feedback, and providing documented semi-annual performance reviews.
• Make sure the Grants team work as one even if sitting in different locations and covering different field locations.
• Hold high-quality meetings with each direct report on a regular and predictable basis, at least bi-weekly.
• Provide a measurable development plan including on-the-job learning with the aim of strengthening technical capacity, exchanging knowledge within the team, and providing guidance on career paths.
• In coordination with HR colleagues, promote and monitor staff care, well-being, and self-care. Approve and manage all time, attendance and leave requests to ensure adequate departmental coverage. Model healthy work-life balance practices. Support appropriate interventions in response to identified staff care needs of both national and international staff.
• Look for opportunities to support staff in their career growth, where appropriate. Offer leadership support for successful adherence by staff to IRCs country and Global HR Operating Policies and Procedures.
• Develop a detailed capacity building plan for the grants department with regular trainings (minimum quarterly). As part of succession plan and nationalization goals, identify, train, and develop capability and capacity of a national staff to successfully transition role and responsibilities, by end of assignment.
• Identify top performing national staff and prioritize these staff for capacity building and mentoring investment.
• Build the capacity of key program staff in grants management including reporting, compliance, proposal development, compliance etc. through regular training.
• Maintain open and professional relations with team members, promoting a strong team spirit and providing oversight and guidance to enable staff to successfully perform in their positions.
• Work with HR staff to identify and implement recruitment and retention strategies.

Partnerships

• IRC Kenya has committed in its SAP to spend 8% of funding through local partners by FY2024. The grants unit facilitates this process by:
• Contributing to achievement of goals related to the SAP partnerships ambition including identification and onboarding of Strategic Partners
• Embody and model IRC values related to partnerships (partner as equals, partner first) and facilitate this approach in implementation of IRC programmes
• Support development and maintenance of strategic partnerships.
• Support negotiation of partner sub award agreements in coordination with the Partnerships Coordinator, Award Management Unit and Compliance Unit

Representation and Advocacy

• In coordination with the DDP/DDGA, actively develop and maintain effective working relationships with stakeholders including local communities, donors, government actors, UN agencies, international and local NGOs, and other relevant actors. Liaise with county and national governments, donors, NGOs, and other operational partners in Kenya via attendance at meetings, consultations, and other forums.
• In coordination with the DDP/ Senior Coordinator for Program delivery, assist in organizing donor visits by supporting staff in the smooth design and running of field visits.

Country Program Management

• Actively participate in and contribute to strategy discussions, including SAP revision processes
• Stay updated on new IRC priorities, policies, or process updates and ensure Grants & Partnerships and MEAL units are informed of any changes.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree international studies/development or similar OR Bachelors Degree with significant grants management experience and superior writing skills.
• At least 7 years of demonstrated field-based experience with humanitarian grants management, possibly including experience working with sub-grantee partners to build their capacity to access and account for resources. 5 years of this experience should be working in relief and development contexts.
• Excellent writing skills and experience in writing proposals/concept notes.
• Strong understanding and knowledge of USAID, PRM, FCDO, UNHCR, UNICEF, SIDA, SV, EU, ECHO and private donor rules and regulations.
• Proven competency with program design, M&E, proposal writing (including logical frameworks) and building budgets.
• Excellent management and coordination skills.
• Solid ability to provide team building, coaching, and development for staff as well as encourage cross-functional collaboration and cooperation.
• Ability to work independently while being a strong team player.
• Excellent relationship-building, interpersonal skills, and the ability to effectively represent IRC at forums and with donors.
• Full professional competency in Microsoft Office Suite, especially Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
• High attention to detail and excellent time management skills
• Excellent leadership and management skills including coaching, mentoring, and managing teams.
• Politically astute, with well-developed diplomatic and negotiating skills.
• Superior oral and written communication skills, with ability to express ideas and concepts clearly and persuasively with senior internal and external stakeholders.
• Extensive representation and fundraising success, including prior experience with European, US and other international and private donors.
• Established capacity to deal with ambiguity in stressful situations.
• Strong commitment to IRCs vision, mission, and core values.
• Proven ability to design and lead training engagements with staff and partners to enhance skills and adapt to changing program demands.
• Professional fluency in spoken and written English.
• Familiarity with Kiswahili is an advantage.
• Full professional competency in Microsoft Office Suite, especially Word, Excel, PowerPoint.
• Familiarity with file sharing systems such as SharePoint desirable.

Ability to Travel

• Up to 30% to field offices, occasional travel to HQ and other regions for workshops, conferences, or other meetings.

National Candidates:We strongly encourage national female candidates to apply for this position. The IRC strives to attract, motivate, and retain qualified national staff in our programs.

Professional Standards: IRC staff must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way Global Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability and Equality. In accordance with these values, IRC operates and carries out policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti-Workplace Harassment, Respect at Work Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

Accountability to Clients: IRC staff must adhere to the commitment of contributing to the sustainability and development of its (CR) Client Responsiveness Mechanisms, preserving the culture of prioritizing the needs of our clients and affected communities by systematically listening to their perspectives and using their feedback to make programmatic decisions and give them greater influence over program design and delivery.

Gender Equality: IRC is committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols and other supportive benefits and allowances.

Diversity and Inclusion: at IRC, we are passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. Organizations that are diverse in age, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, ethnicity, nationality, and perspective are validated to be better organizations. More importantly, creating a safe workspace environment where everyone, from any background, can do their best is the right thing to do. So, bring your whole self to work. IRC is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, respectful, and safe work environment where all persons are treated fairly, with dignity and respect. In keeping with our core values of Integrity, Service, Accountability and Equality, IRC strives to maintain a work environment built on mutual respect in which all individuals treat each other professionally, and free of bias, prejudice, and harassment. IRC expressly prohibits and will not tolerate discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or bullying of IRC Persons in any work setting. All IRC staff, wherever they are located, are accountable for creating an environment free of discrimination, harassment, bullying, and retaliation.

Disclaimer:

Please take note that International Rescue Committee (IRC) does not ask for any fees in connection with its recruitment processes.