Re-Advertisement: Grants Manager

Are you our next Grants Manager?

Do you burn with the desire for quality programming by ensuring effective grants management?

We are now looking for an experienced Grants Manager to lead the grants team in one of our biggest humanitarian operations. Read below for more details about the position.

THIS IS A RE-ADVERTISEMENT, CANDIDATES WHO HAD APPLIED DO NOT NEED TO APPLY AGAIN. 

NRC in Afghanistan

Afghanistan has been in an active state of war since its revolution in 1978. Despite the worsening situation, the country is increasingly neglected, leaving the humanitarian response in Afghanistan severely underfunded. Just 32% of the 2017 Humanitarian Response Plan for Afghanistan has been pledged. Generations of Afghans have grown up in exile, in neighbouring Pakistan and Iran. Each year, hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees spontaneously return or are forced to return from Pakistan and Iran. Meanwhile, more than 1.2 million Afghans are internally displaced. Access and insecurity are the largest barriers in reaching the most vulnerable. In addition to conflict, disasters like earthquakes and floods also force many to flee their homes.

NRC is a prominent humanitarian agency operating in Afghanistan, present in and focused on some of the most difficult parts of the country that are affected by displacement. Operational since 2003, NRC has focused on three primary sectors to directly assist and protect people that have been forced to flee their homes: Information, Counselling, and Legal Assistance (ICLA), shelter, and education. It also have complementary activities in other technical sectors, such as Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) – primarily for shelter and education work, Livelihoods and Food Security, and Camp Management services in urban displacement and out-of-camp settings. Further, NRC strives to influence wider policy and strategy in the interests of people who have been forcibly displaced, promoting humanitarian access, humanitarian protection, and long-lasting solutions that help families restore their lives and integrate into local society, and improving the wider quality of response. NRC Afghanistan is currently supported through multiple institutional, bilateral, and multilateral donors and with an average annual funding portfolio of USD $24 million.

About the position

The Grants Manager will contribute to achieving quality programming by ensuring effective grants management including, internal and donor compliance requirements, timely and quality proposal development as well as reporting, and leading on internal and external grants-related communications as delegated by the Head of Programme and Head of Programme Support. S/he will also oversee the key mandatory activities under NRC’s Project Cycle Management (PCM). The Grants Manager line manages 2 Grants Coordinators, and directly works with colleagues in various programme and support departments across the five area offices to ensure teams are informed of relevant donor compliance regulations and NRC procedures, manages donor and other external reporting, and coordinates grant revisions. S/he also supports Project Managers and Core Competency Specialists in the development of proposals and reporting in line with the grant process flowchart. 

General Responsibilities:

1. Adherence to NRC policies, guidance, and procedures;
2. Support overview and maintenance of all grants, donor requirements, rules and regulations, and internal and external deadlines;
3. Support the development of donor applications and reports, as well as ensuring donor compliance and quality control;
4. Contribute to the development and revision of funding proposals, budgets, and donor reports;
5. Be updated on donor priorities and track and share relevant calls for proposals;
6. Contribute to continuously improve internal grant management systems;
7. Provide an internal help-desk on donor related issues, including donor rules and regulations, as well as proposal and report writing;
8. Coordinate the development and distribution of internal reports;
9. Contribute to PCM procedures and usage of the NRC PCM framework in the Country Office, including inclusion of cross-cutting programme elements and M&E structures throughout all stages of the PCM;
10. Represent NRC with relevant partners and donors, as delegated by the Head of Programme/ Head of Programme Support;
11. Promote the rights of IDPs/returnees in line with NRC’s advocacy strategy.

Specific responsibilities

Funding Identification and Proposal Development (35%)

• Build positive working relationships with other teams in the Country Office to coordinate and support development of high quality proposals using relevant NRC Grant Management tools and guidance (Go/ No-go checklist, proposal development calendar, procurement plan, internal budgeting tool);
• Work closely with Budget Holders, programme teams, and finance as well as other stakeholders to compile accurate proposal budget and assess whether all necessary costs have been included;
• Be familiar with all NRC organizational and donor portfolio compliance requirements, and support programme colleagues with queries related to donor compliance on grants within portfolio.

Donor Reporting and Monitoring (40%)

• Coordinate donor reports ensuring consistency between narrative and financial reports and that they meet quality standards; 
• Provide technical support to relevant Core Competency Specialists and budget holders on monitoring issues and budget revising (if required), including highlighting critical financial issues such as under/ over spends to finance and budget holders;
• Work with other departments (i.e. programmes, finance, M&E, Compliance Coordinator) to ensure all documentation required is ready and available for audits (e.g. vouchers, distribution lists); support in the close out of grants, including project close-out meetings;
• Assist in training and capacity building related to NRC Grants Management/donor compliance as required.

 Due Diligence Assessments and Agreements (10%)

• Lead on NRC Afghanistan’s due diligence assessment when and as required by an existing or new donor, and review donor agreements/ contracts;
• Lead on organisational assessments of Partners as per NRC’s Grants Management procedures and draft Partner Agreements/MoUs;
• Contribute to partner capacity building as required and identified in partner assessment.

General Administration (15%)

• Ensure availability of documentation required to be kept by donors by maintaining high standard information management/filing systems;
• Support the Grants Coordinators to ensure correct and up-to-date maintenance of the Grants Tracker;
• Provide representation and attendance at meetings as required, and coordination with teams to follow up on agreed action points.

Download the full job description at the bottom of this page

For this position, our ideal candidate is:

A University Graduate with a minimum of 4 years’ international experience with grants management and donor relations.  An individual who is well-versed with the rules and regulations of multiple donors in the humanitarian sector. Has the proven ability to develop and coordinate writing proposals and donor reports. Someone who can handle multiple priorities, able to deal with pressure and displays commitment towards completing assignments in a timely manner. Our ideal candidate is a good communicator, has the tact and ability to develop and maintain productive relationships. Has the ability to work in a matrix structure, to coordinate and enlist the help of others to ensure  goals are achieved.  Someone who can work independently,  is a good people manager and has the capacity and experience to manage as well as support our staff through training and coaching. We are looking for a dedicated and highly organized individual who is motivated to be a part of enabling NRC to deliver high quality assistance. 

If you fit into the above profile and want to be a part of a stimulating and rewarding work environment, a collaborative workforce and a genuine place of passion responding to global refugee crises we look forward to your application. 

What we offer: 

• Contract period: 12 months (Renewable subject to funding)
• Salary/benefits: According to NRC’s salary scale and terms and conditions.
• Duty station: Kabul, Afghanistan 
• Grade 8  (See the NRC Global Grade Structure Below) 
• Travel:  30% 

Additional Information

This is an unaccompanied post/non family duty station, with shared housing/ accommodation of moderate standard. Due to the unstable security situation, recreational and social facilities are limited. All international staff working and residing in Afghanistan are obliged to pay income tax to the Afghanistan authorities.

Approved health certificate will be requested before contract start. Selected candidate need to provide certified University diplomas prior to applying for visa to Afghanistan.

NRC may be required to verify the identity of its partners and to check that its partners have not been involved in illegal activities.NRC reserves the right to use electronic screening tools for this purpose.

Please note that you are required to enter the geographical location for all your previous positions while registering your CV. There is no specific field for this information in our CV form, but you can use the "Company name" field for both company and location