Over the past 80 years, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has developed unparalleled expertise in responding to emergencies and helping uprooted communities to rebuild. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC’s mission is to help people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future. The International Rescue Committee UK is part of the IRC global network, which has its headquarters in New York and London. The IRC is on the ground in more than 40 countries, providing emergency relief and rebuilding lives in the wake of disaster. Through 28 regional offices in cities across the United States, the IRC also helps refugees resettle in the US and become self-sufficient. The IRC is committed to a culture of bold leadership, innovation in all aspects of our work, creative partnerships and, most crucially, accountability to those we serve. The IRC is a tireless advocate for the most vulnerable.

IRC-UK

IRC-UK was established in London in 1997 to support the organisation’s global activities and particularly to diversify its donor base and be able to better advocate with UK and European policy-makers on behalf of the people we serve. In Europe, IRC also has offices in Bonn, Brussels, Berlin and Geneva.

The Awards Management Unit (AMU)

Established in January 2016, the Awards Management Unit (AMU) is a global unit with staff based in Germany, New York, London, Nairobi, and Amman. It has responsibility for identifying, securing and managing all funding from statutory/government donors. The unit is organized into five pillars: Donor Relations & Analytics; Grants Management and Frameworks; Compliance and Policy (C&P); Programme Development (Business Development); and Training.

The AMU is a bridge between donors and the field: providing expert technical advice to the field, while maintaining portfolio-level visibility to ensure consistency and compliance, and manage risk. This unit ensures that donor compliance policies and procedures are implemented consistently, and supports all staff working across the grants management cycle for all restricted funding from global government sources. The unit operates within a matrix management system across teams in Germany, the US and the UK, driving functional integration between all relevant units and staff, in collaboration with the Vice President, AMU, and the Senior Vice President for Europe in relation to overarching issues with European donors.

AMU Compliance & Policy (C&P) Pillar

Donor Compliance & Policy develops and manages compliance-related policies, guidance and templates; it tracks and communicates changes in donor regulations, and builds knowledge of compliance throughout the IRC. The Donor Compliance and Policy Team offers escalated support to grant staff in case of complex donor compliance questions or to carry out supplementary reviews of agreements in the event that the donor is new or grant staff flags issues to them during their initial review. The pillar includes a team of donor-specific compliance advisors (USG, European, UN) and a team of compliance officers focused on sub-awards and partnerships.

Reporting lines and Key Working Relationships

The role will report to the IRC AMU Head of European Donor Compliance & Policy, IRC-UK.

The role will work closely with other AMU pillars with non-AMU units such as Ethics and Compliance Unit, Finance, Office of the General Counsel, Supply Chain, and International Programmes Department; as well as with the Sub-award team and other colleagues within the C&P Pillar across all IRC offices.

Key Accountabilities

DFID Overall (Accountable Grant Arrangements and Commercial Contracts)

• Under the direction and guidance of the Head of European Donor Compliance, accountable for all DFID compliance matters, grants and commercial contracts;
• Develop and maintain strong relations with key DIFD staff and IRC internal stakeholders: other AMU pillars, IPD regions, Finance, ECU, and OGC as needed;
• Ensure that appropriate IRC internal stakeholders are advised of any changes made to DFID (commercial contracts and accountable grant arrangements) compliance regulations and that the impact on our programmes is assessed;
• In collaboration with the Head of European Donor Compliance, provide interpretation of DFID compliance regulations/policies as needed to field and HQ staff;
• Engage with country offices and regional teams as needed to provide input and develop solutions on major compliance matters;
• Work closely with the AMU Compliance and Policy team to assist in the review of and development of IRC policies, tools, templates and guidelines as needed to ensure optimal implementation and understanding of compliance requirements;
• Working with the AMU Compliance and Policy Subaward and Partnership team, serve as a donor expert for the enhancement and development of donor specific subaward and subcontract templates for DFID and other assigned statutory donors;
• Under the guidance of the Sr. Director of Compliance and Policy and the Head of European Donor Compliance, work with the AMU Compliance and Policy Subaward and Partnership (S&P) team to review and revise and complement as necessary IRC partnership policies procedures and tools (PEERS) to ensure they are suitable to compliantly and effectively manage partners under DFID accountable grant arrangements and commercial contracts.Disseminate award/contract policy changes in a timely and user friendly manner throughout the IRC as needed;
• Work with Deputy VP and Regional Grants Directors and Program Grant Support Teams and IRC Technical Units as needed to ensure there is a strong understanding of what issues need to be escalated and ensure there is a strong communication flow;
• Work closely with the Sr. Director of Compliance and the Head of European Compliance & Policy and the Director of Training to identify additional training needs and to design, communicate, launch and provide training on DFID commercial contracts and accountable grant arrangements;
• Under the direction of the Head of European Donor Compliance, serve as the AMU C&P focal point and collaborate with the AMU Strategic Partnerships & Analytics Senior Advisor for DFID on DFID’s Strategic Relationship Management Programme;
• Serve as the focal point between IRC Service Units, Country Teams, PGS  and TU staff on the roll out and ongoing maintenance of the DFID Code of Conduct both for Commercial Contracts and Accountable Grant Arrangements as applicable.
• Serve as a Donor Expert as a member of the IRC’s Contract Working Group.
• Support the Sr. Director of Compliance and the Head of European Compliance and Policy on any new IRC contract initiatives (e.g. development of contract-specific tools, guidance and policies; review of Country Offices capacities to implement contracts; business model analysis; etc.)
• Advises on all DFID compliance-related issues on any perspective or active DFID framework (e.g. DFID Frameworks Agreements that IRC may be bidding for, or that IRC has been selected as Supplier for, such as DFID such as DFID International Multi-Disciplinary Programme Framework Agreement - IMDP), related call-down contracts, accountable grant arrangement calls;
• Provide both off-site and in-person support as necessary to Country Offices and Project Teams implementing DFID funded awards/contracts and provide compliance guidance and support to IRC - DFID Fund Manager Roles as necessary.

Other responsibilities

• Represent IRC in external fora and liaise with donors and partners as needed;
• Participate in special projects, as needed;
• Other responsibilities as assigned by the Senior Director or Head of European Compliance & Policy.

• Demonstrated knowledge and prior experience working with DFID on Commercial Contracts, and strongly preferably, on DFID Grants in the function areas of compliance, business development and grants management.
• Demonstrated knowledge and prior experience working with the DFID Commercial Contract Code of Conduct.
• At least 7 years of relevant professional experience, demonstrating increasing responsibility with operations and programmes, inclusive of the project management lifecycle in international NGOs or equivalent.
• Master’s degree in a relevant area or equivalent relevant professional experience.
• Demonstrated experience and expertise in interpreting and applying statutory and regulatory language in executing awards and contracts from statutory entities and in maintaining a current knowledge of changes in the language, application and enforcement of this language.
• Demonstrated experience in reviewing and negotiating donor contracts and awards and sub-award agreements/sub-contracts.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to effectively and diplomatically negotiate with donors and partners and co-workers and convey complex topics in a way that is accessible to non-specialists
• Experience in systems strengthening, capacity building, and change management around building compliance competency in organizations
• Experience in organizational problem solving, operations, high performance management in complex organizations. Previous experience with international nonprofit organizations preferred.
• Previous experience developing and providing (compliance) training in a multicultural setting and developing policies, guidelines, tools and templates.

Attitudinal

•  Self-starter with a passion for assisting crisis-afflicted people in a high-performing international team working in a fast-paced environment.
• High level of tolerance for change; flexible work attitude and ability to meet unexpected demands.
• Excellent customer service skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills: the ability to work productively both independently and in a team environment.
• Keen attention to detail and solution focused/problem solving approach to work.
• Ability to successfully liaise with a range of staff and external stakeholders, from local partners to our CEO

To Apply

• Please apply completing the online application form. Please ensure you have attached your CV (two pages maximum) and cover page (two pages maximum)
• Please state clearly in your cover letter:
• Your reasons for applying
• How you meet the skills, knowledge and experience specified in the person specification part of the job description
• Where you saw the job advertised
• Current salary

The closing date is 9am on 25^th June 2019.

In order to minimise administrative costs, IRC-UK will only contact short-listed candidates.

Candidates must have the right to work in the UK.

IRC-UK strives to be an equal opportunities employer. IRC-UK is committed to equality of opportunity and to non-discrimination for all job applicants and employees, and we seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce regardless of gender, race, religious beliefs, nationality, ethnic/national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability.

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