Regional Grants Director, Asia

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.

The Awards Management Unit (AMU)

Established in January 2016, the Awards Management Unit (AMU) is a global unit spanning New York, Washington DC, London, Bonn, Berlin, Brussels, Stockholm, Nairobi, Bangkok and Amman. It has responsibility for identifying, securing and managing all funding from statutory donors. The Unit is organized into five pillars: Strategic Partnerships, Programme and Grant Support, Compliance and Policy, Programme Development, and Training & Curriculum Design. Regional Grants Directors (RGDs) are responsible for the Programme and Grants Support pillar.

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. The unit operates within a matrix management system across the teams in the US, Germany, Belgium, and the UK, driving functional integration between all relevant units and staff, in collaboration with the Vice President of the AMU and the Senior Vice President for Europe.

The Crisis Response, Recovery and Development - Asia Region

The IRC’s Asia Region includes various relief and rehabilitation programs for refugees, internally displaced persons and communities affected by conflict and has country programs in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia, with emergency and preparedness activities through partners in the Philippines.   Asia region is managed by a Regional team that oversees the region’s country programs, headed by a Regional Vice President (RVP) and Deputy Regional Director (DRD) supported by functional leads. IRC has programmes in the following sectors: health & environmental health, child & youth protection & development, women’s protection & empowerment, economic recovery, and governance & rights.

The Purpose of the Role

The RGD is tasked with direct support and oversight of grants management to meet country and IRC-wide priorities. The Regional Grants Director aims to improve awards management service quality to IRC country teams and external stakeholders, and provide regional and country teams with additional award management capacity.

The RGD takes part in designing and rolling out regional and departmental strategic objectives, in collaboration with departments across the organization.

The Regional Programme Support Team is responsible for a) post-award grants management support for all public and private donors in their respective region (including US Government, UK Government, European Union/ECHO, UN, and others), b) pre-award support for non-European donors, and c) additional business operations l non-grants tasks including deployment to country operations supporting grants/business development as required. They serve as the front line for questions, referring more complex issues to the appropriate specialized AMU teams and other service departments, at the discretion of the RGDs. They review reports, awards, and proposals, serve as representatives of their region at HQ level, gap fill, and support training in country offices.

Scope and Authority

Reporting both to the Deputy Regional Director, CRRD and the Deputy Vice President, AMU the Regional Grants Director ensures effective communications about compliance, training, donor relations, etc. with the AMU and across the region, spanning both the pre- and post-award phases, to enhance organisation-wide compliance and consistency in business development (BD).

The Regional Grant Director leads a Regional Program Support Team of grant experts (Regional Grants Advisors, Regional Grant Assistant, Regional Program Officer and Regional Program Managers) who are responsible for award management, assuring compliance, and support to all country offices, including support to regional business development.  As a team, they liaise with departments across the organization to troubleshoot issues, find solutions, and provide effective support for grant and award management in a manner that supports program teams on the ground to deliver effective programmes for crisis-affected communities.

KEY ACCOUNTABLITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Accountable for excellent proposal and award management support to country offices by Regional Program Support Team and act as a main support for field based grants staff, finding solutions, ensuring capacity building and support in coordination with teams across the organisation
• Responsible for maintaining regional level overview of award portfolio and pipeline, working closely with regional Business Development team to ensure attainment of regional Business Development targets and support countries in implementation of their business development plans
• Line manage the Regional Programme Support Team for the region including general supervision, assignment of projects and activities, and professional development. Provide guidance and oversight for post-award grants management for Regional Programme Support Team
• In close collaboration with regional Business Development team and Regional Leadership, support the country programs in setting and implementation of their Business Development plans, and ensure attainment of regional Business Development targets and support countries in implementation of their business development plans through proactive planning and reviewing progress in support and consultation with Regional leadership
• Preserve positive relationships with donors to sustain regional impact – escalating and following up on donor issues, provide insight and information into donor thinking and developments when appropriate and within the scope of the RGD role
• Support country programs in the development and review of Strategic Action Plans, as needed
• Responsible for collaboration between the AMU’s Strategic Partnerships team and country offices on donor communications
• Assess need for and coordinate optimal support for field office with relevant AMU pillars.
• Ensure regional input into and adoption of policies and procedures developed by the AMU
• Share and assure adoption of best practices across regions to support greater cross-regional consistency in routine business development and awards management
• Lead on and contribute to AMU and regional strategic priorities and initiatives
• Maintain close collaboration and communication with Ethics and Compliance Unit

KEY RELATIONSHIPS: All pillars within AMU, IRC UK, IRC-DE and other European offices, CRRD, Finance, Ethics and Compliance Unit, and Global Partnerships and Philanthropy.

• Bachelor’s degree
• At least 7-10 years of experience with a humanitarian and development NGO or multilateral agency
• International field experience, especially in the region, preferred
• Program and/or grants management experience with key donors, such as USAID, DFID, European Union/ECHO, UN agencies, and others
• Experience managing for donor compliance, proposal writing, budgeting, and representing implementers to donors
• Proven ability to lead, manage, and develop teams, including staff working at a distance
• Proven ability to manage multiple work streams and to coordinate across teams/functions
• Excellent relationship-management skills with colleagues in the field and HQ, senior stakeholders, and donors
• Ability to travel internationally approximately 15% of the time                                           

The deadline for applications is midnight between Sunday 2^nd and Monday 3^rd February 2020.

Candidates must have the right to work in one of the listed locations. 

IRC-UK is committed to equality of opportunity and non-discrimination for all applicants and employees. IRC-UK seeks to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce regardless of gender, race, religious belief, nationality, ethnic/national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability. IRC-UK welcomes applications from all candidates, including refugees who have the right to work in the UK.

If you have any questions or need assistance with the online recruitment process, please contact the UK HR team at applications@rescue-uk.org

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