Grants and Reporting Advisor - Amman, Jordan

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible.
In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions
into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within.
Now, and for the future.

Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps works in places of transition, where conflict, disaster, political upheaval, or economic collapse present opportunities to build more secure, productive, and just communities. Providing emergency relief in times of crisis, we move quickly to help communities recover and build resilience to future shocks, and promote sustainable change by supporting community-led and market-driven initiatives. Recognizing both the great potential and the complex challenges faced by the Middle East, since 1989 Mercy Corps has been implementing a range of humanitarian assistance and development programs tailored to the specific needs of the region and of those communities where we work.

In Syria, Mercy Corps has been implementing emergency and life-sustaining activities since 2012. Mercy Corps currently operates with multiple institutional donors and a rigid, reporting regime.

General Position Summary

The Grant and Reporting Advisor will support the program department as the point person for communicating Mercy Corps South and Central and Northwest Syria humanitarian activities through donor reports. This includes coalition of information from each operational department into concise and clear narratives, supported by statistical evidence and case studies. The Grants and Reporting Advisor must develop and possess an understanding of compliance and reporting format requirements for each donor and communicate those to program teams as needed. S/he will also serve as the focal point to ensure compliance with Mercy Corps internal systems of PM@MC and must possess a basic understanding of internal standards in monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) and accountability. S/he will be working closely with the South and Central and Northwest Syria teams and is expected to have a strong operational understanding of all activities and strategy. S/he will also be the point person for drafting new proposals and developing the initial narrative and budget requirements, in close collaboration with the Grants Manager. As such, the Grants and Reporting Advisor is expected to liaise across all departments. Finally, s/he is the primary contact for internal communications within Mercy Corps on key program activities, success stories and other useful updates for the broader, Mercy Corps audience.

The Grants and Reporting Specialist will work under the direct supervision of the Grants Manager, with functional supervision from the Director of Programs (DoP), and working relationships with finance, PaQ, Program Managers, security and all other field departments in coordinating all grants/reporting-related tasks.

Essential Job Responsibilities

Reporting & Grants Management

• Coordinate the preparation of timely program and donor reports on project activities in compliance with internal requirements and any relevant external donor requirements.
• Lead on the production of internal reports, including sitreps, 3Is and RTW, ensuring timely inputs from program, finance and operations teams, and ensure review and signoff processes are thorough and adhered to.
• Ensure that filing structure meets minimum PM@MC standards and folders are populated and archived accordingly.
• Support coordination and document all Program Kick-off and Close-out meetings, track action points for follow-up and record/document all lessons learned.
• In close collaboration with the DoP, provide draft answers to donor questions and requests, while ensuring compliance with donor regulations.
• Maintain and update project management tools, including funding trackers, grant trackers and dashboards.
• Work closely with the MEL team to collect information on program monitoring, progress and quality to support ongoing reporting, proposals and other operational management tools.

Proposal Development

• Lead on the development of concept notes and funding proposals (including log frames and budgets), coordinating the development process with all departments of the team and under the guidance of the DoP and Grants Manager. The portfolio includes a variety of donors, including major institutional donors, corporate organizations, trusts, and private donors among others.
• Ensure proposals and concept notes are developed in a timely manner and with realistic deadlines, and that these are communicated and understood by stakeholders both internal to the office as well as the region and HQ.
• Ensure proposals are developed in coordination and consultation with program technical advisers, finance and operations teams (including logistics, infrastructure) and that necessary support is adequately budgeted.
• In collaboration with DoP organize/coordinate proposal kick-off meetings, maintain proposal development calendar and ensure timely contributions from teams.
• Coordinate both internally and externally, to ensure that prior to submission all proposals are reviewed and approved by the relevant parties as appropriate.
• Ensure that concept notes and funding proposals align closely with response strategies, sector program plans, and master budgets and M&E frameworks.
• Support the Grants Manager to track funding opportunities, including calls for funding progress of proposals, submission deadlines, financing available. Ensure all appropriate donor and Mercy Corps proposal formats are available in country.
• Support the MEL team with the planning and implementation of program review exercises incorporating learning into new proposals.
• Support the Partnership Team and Program Managers with the development and review of partner proposals and reports as necessary.

Finance & Compliance Management

• Act as the focal point for full compliance with PM@MC minimum standards for program management.
• In coordination with Finance and the Grant Manager, support BVAs and lead donor reporting meetings presenting up to date information.
• Support the finance team with initial budget development and ensure consistency with program planning.

Other tasks

• Produce other information and communications products for both internal and external audiences as required.
• As delegated, act as focal point for all queries and information requests from Mercy Corps and donors.
• Represent Mercy Corps to donors and other key stakeholders.

Security

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country
• Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.

Organizational Learning

• As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.

Accountability to Beneficiaries

• Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically
  to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Supervisory Responsibility

None.

Accountability

Reports Directly to: Grants Manager; maintains functional link with Director of Programs.

Works Directly with: Each department: Program Teams, Finance Department, MEL, Operations and Security & Access, the HAT

Knowledge and Experience

• Bachelor degree or equivalent in related field.
• 2-3 years of experience related to humanitarian or developmental work, including:
  • Preparing writing and analysis on programmatic activities.
  • Basic budget development and management experience.
  • Managing work plans.
  • Representing programs with donors and external stakeholders.
• Excellent writing and communication skills required.
• Ability to produce and edit documents under deadline pressure.
• Ability and willingness to learn and follow donor reporting and compliance requirements.
• Ability to coordinate funding proposals and progress reports from key institutional donors (USAID, DFID, ECHO, EC).
• Experience with monitoring and evaluation and other learning efforts.
• Strong understanding of key humanitarian principles and good practices.
• Demonstrated flexibility and creativity in planning and problem solving.
• Ability to efficiently deal with competing priorities.
• Willingness and ability to travel frequently to Mercy Corps project sites and field locations, including traveling to insecure environments, is required.
• Experience working in a multi-cultural setting.
• Graduate degree in a relevant field preferred.
• Experience working in the Middle East region and Syrian context preferred.
• PM@MC certified preferred.
• Fluency in English is required. Proficiency in Arabic or Kurdish is a plus.

Success Factors

The successful candidate will combine exceptional organizational abilities and writing skills with good humor under pressure. S/he will learn and move between all departments to consolidate essential information for accurately reporting Mercy Corps activities in South and Central and Northwest Syria. S/he will be able to capture strategy and planning in to concise and clear documents in new proposal development. The candidate will be organized and maintain a clear electronic and paper filing system. S/he will take the time to learn and understand donor compliance and help ensure best practices are upheld throughout the entire grants management process. The successful candidate will be able to ultimately be able to provide constructive input to large relief programs and therefore, must be willing to learn from others. In particular, best practices in cross cutting issues including accountability, gender and protection. S/he must be focused on capacity building of national staff; have strong program support and information management skills.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is based in Amman, Jordan and it is unaccompanied. It requires up to 25% travel in the region. Housing is individual accommodation with unlimited freedom of movement beyond the house/office. Staff have easy access to services – medical, electricity, water, etc.

Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

Fostering a diverse and open workplace is an important part of Mercy Corps' vision. Mercy Corps is an Equal Opportunity Employer regardless of background. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment.

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PI101803869

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