The IRC opened the country program in Afghanistan in 1988. Our programs span the range from humanitarian relief to early recovery and development activities, focusing on child protection, education, economic wellbeing, health, and power. The IRC works in 9 provinces throughout Afghanistan, among which some of the most security volatile, and employs over 1,000 staff.
SCOPE OF WORK
IRC Afghanistan’s Grants Coordinator is responsible for the oversight and management of the Program Department’s Grants Unit. The Grants Coordinator reports directly to the Deputy Director for Programs (DDP). The position directly manages two grants staff and is based in Kabul with periodic travel to the field. Key relationships are with the program technical leads, Finance Controller, Awards Management Unit, and donors. The Grants Coordinator provides strategic guidance and support to the country office on issues of program development, grants/sub-grants management and compliance, and donor relations. S/he leads proposal development processes and supports a variety of aspects of project cycle management, including information management, problem analysis, program design, negotiation with donors, grant and sub-grant monitoring and modifications, reporting, and grant closure.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Program Design & Proposal Development (approx 40% of time)
•Support DDP and technical leads in comprehensive business development and develop funding proposals, appropriate to context and aligned with the country-level Strategic Action Plan
•Lead proposal development initiatives, providing overall coordination function between HQ, IRC’s 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. FM01, OTIS, Internal tracker)
•In collaboration with MEAL Coordinator, utilize needs assessment 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 in a constructive and consistent manner, and that strategic partners are appropriately engaged in pre-positioning and proposal development processes
Grants Management and Compliance (approx 40% of time)
•Manage and provide overall oversight of the grants portfolio and regularly update and disseminate the grants tracker
•Ensure the submission of timely and high-quality report to donors, including timely dissemination of funding and donor reporting schedule to relevant staff
•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 DDP and DDO for timely action and keep senior management informed of any projected inabilities to meet contractual obligations, report submission and of spend rates/significant budget variances
•Ensure project cycle meetings are well planned and facilitated, and coordinate with different departments (Programs, Finance, Supply Chain, etc.) to follow up on action points and pending issues to ensure proper grants management
•Manage and/or support all agreement reviews, revisions, amendments and budget realignments, including relevant approvals
•Coordinate closely with finance teams to ensure effective spending plans, amendments, and closeout activities
Team Management (approx 20% of time)
•Review key project reports prepared by Grants Managers and provide guidance and on-job capacity strengthening as needed
•Ensure strategic action plan commitments and milestones owned by and/or relating to the grants team as key contributors are delivered/supported
•Supervise Grants staff, ensuring quality outputs and effective performance management
KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS
The Grants Coordinator reports to the Deputy Director of Programs and directly supervises 2 staff (international and national) in a team of 4 people.
