Grants Manager

The IRC has worked in Liberia since 1996 and is one of the largest humanitarian actors in the country. Guided by its 2015 – 2020 Strategic Action Plan, the IRC implements innovative health and women’s and child protection and economic empowerment projects in Nimba, Lofa, Bong, and Montserrado counties. The IRC in Liberia aims to focus on expanding and improving the integration of our existing portfolio, refining our program design process, and strengthening client accountability mechanisms.

SCOPE OF WORK: 

The Grants Manager is part of the programs team. In addition to producing high quality reports that provide measurement of contractual goals and activities, the successful candidate will participate in designing programs that are outcomes-driven, contextually appropriate, and responsive to client needs. 

The Grants Manager reports to the Deputy Director of Programs, and provides day-to-day oversight of core donor reporting, information management, programmatic monitoring, compliance with donor formats and templates for report submissions. The incumbent will work collaboratively with both operations and programs staff and deepen their grants expertise in both pre-and post-award areas. The successful candidate will serve as the focal point for awards management colleagues in Europe and New York. The position is based in Monrovia with periodic trips to IRC's field sites throughout Liberia. 

AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY:

STRATEGY AND PLANNING

• Ensure that due process is followed for all grant review meetings, including preparation of materials, ensuring representation from finance, programs, and supply chain teams and follow up of issues raised.
• Participate in all country program strategy meetings.

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

• Lead documentation and knowledge management efforts for current and past program activities.  
• Disseminate essential documentation (grant proposals, reports, budget etc.). 
• Track and share current in-country political, socio-economic, security situation news.

MAINTAINING RELATIONSHIPS WITH DONOR AND COMMUNICATIONS

• Participate in donor meetings and visits to represent IRC and IRC’s interests, provide progress updates. 
• Respond to ad hoc requests from donors as needed.
• Provide briefing papers and support development of internal and external communication tools as requested.

PROJECT DESIGN AND PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT

• Identify funding opportunities that align with IRC-Liberia’s strategic objectives and local context.
• Coordinate with Programs and Finance staff to develop high quality proposals and reports.   Conduct site visits to assess program activities and support proposal development.
• Liaise with IRC NY and European grants and technical units to ensure proposals meet internal standards, apply IRC Program Framework principles, and are donor compliant; 

SUB-AWARD MANAGEMENT AND CAPACITY BUILDING

• Ensure that partnership and sub-grant related administrative processes are followed based on IRC policy and process, and in line with IRC processes and donor requirements.
• Follow IRC internal review processes for sub-award documentation, and secure all necessary approvals.
• Work with the partnership team and Awards Management Unit to ensure the relevant funding mechanism is identified for each sub-award, and that appropriate special conditions are incorporated in each award.
• Liaise with partners to finalize project descriptions, budgets, work plans, and M&E plans.
• Ensure that partners fully understand agreements, obligations, and IRC and donor rules and regulations.
• Support the partnership team to ensure that all partners’ program deliverables are received, reviewed, tracked, filed and in compliance with IRC and donor objectives and requirements.
• Support the partnership team to maintain the Sub-Award Tracker, capture all requirements throughout the sub-award life cycle (e.g., payments, partner deliverables, support plan implementation, etc.).
• Hold grant review meetings to ensure that donor commitments are met.

BUDGET MANAGEMENT

• Support Technical Coordinators, Program Managers, and Finance staff to carry out quarterly budget forecasts.
• Support program budget revisions and spending plan development in line with IRC Finance rules and timelines.
• Track and analyze spending patterns to recommend effective use of funding, and resolve delays or roadblocks.
• Collaborate with Finance to support monthly budget management meetings with Technical Coordinators, Program Managers, and partners to ensure sound financial management of grants.

COMPLIANCE

• Provide guidance to IRC staff on compliance and donor-specific compliance requirements.
• Ensure reporting of fraud cases through appropriate reporting mechanism.
• Acquire and disseminate updated donor formats (proposals and reports) to all relevant program staff.
• With support from IRC's NY and/or Europe HQ grants staff, address compliance questions from IRC Liberia program and finance staff to ensure compliance with donor and/or IRC regulations.

GRANT MANAGEMENT

• Provide guidance on IRC and donor regulations to ensure compliance across IRC Liberia, proactively raising and resolving issues.
• Ensure that programs are implemented in compliance with donor regulations, including file maintenance, regular partner meetings throughout the life cycle, and coordinating modifications to any agreements.
• Manage reporting deadlines, coordinate and consolidate reports to ensure documents are of the highest quality and in line with donor requirements.
• Act as a focal point for HQ grants administration and compliance colleagues.
• Manage all internal and external reporting, including programmatic and financial reports, through systematic tracking of reporting deadlines according to contractual agreements with donors.
• Prepare narrative program reports in line with donor formats. Draft narrative sections and compile/edit information provided from program teams. Assure draft reports are reviewed by staff in Liberia and at HQ before submission to the donor and any additional submissions the donor may require.
• Ensure high-quality, well-written and timely reports meeting donor and IRC requirements, with support from the program managers/coordinators, M&E Coordinator, and the Deputy Director of Programs.
• Monitor and support the use of grants management tools such as the FM01, BvA, and OTIS to ensure accurate tracking of opportunities, reporting and adjustments through the project life cycle.
• Develop reporting work-flow schedules and share with relevant program, M&E, finance and HQ staff to ensure roles, responsibilities, and deadlines for each report are clear to all contributing staff.
• Schedule grant review meetings, share reporting requirements, set expectations for all program staff throughout the grant cycle, monitor implementation status over the grant cycle, and close-out processes.
• In coordination with IRC teams in Europe and NY, monitor program implementation to ensure accordance with donor and IRC internal requirements.
• Ensure that reports to donors are submitted on time and are coherent and accurately written. 

STAFF COORDINATION

• Collaborate with and support the Partnerships team.
• Maintain close communication and positive working relations with partners where applicable.
• Ensure that all staff integrate the IRC program framework into all programs.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Deputy Director of Programs..

KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS:

Position reports to:  Deputy Director of Programs

Position directly supervises: n/a

Internal contacts: Partnership, Programs, Finance, M&E, Operations, AMU, Technical Units, and others as appropriate.

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Excellent written and verbal English language skills;
• Demonstrated coordination, interpersonal, networking, and problem-solving skills;
• Strong budgeting, grant cycle management, proposal development, and report writing experience;
• IT proficiency, MS Office Suite proficiency required;
• Working knowledge of donor rules and regulations for donors including USAID, Irish Aid, and GIZ.
• Significant knowledge and experience working in partnership management.
• Flexibility to adapt to changing requirements and circumstances
• Willingness to travel

STANDARDS FOR PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT

The IRC and IRC staff must adhere to the values and principles outlined in The IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct.  These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability.  In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces a range of policies, including on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.