Senior Grants and Partnerships Manager

IRC began working in Nigeria in October 2012 in response to a widespread flood disaster. Since then, IRC has expanded its program scope and size with the aiming of making the greatest possible contribution to meeting humanitarian needs in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states in North East Nigeria. IRC’s response includes integrated health, reproductive health and nutrition support, protection including women’s protection and empowerment services, child protection, environmental health, economic recovery and development, and education. In 2015, IRC Nigeria developed a five year Strategy Action Plan, which has health and education as high priority program areas.

SCOPE OF WORK:

The purpose of this position is to support IRC Nigeria’s strategic goal of significantly increasing the amount of programming which is delivered in partnership with local and international NGOs. It will provide specialist support for management and involvement in consortia and partnerships with INGOs, as well as carrying out the duties of a Grants Manager. Managing a new Partnerships Manager position, the post will increase IRC Nigeria’s capacity to engage with partners. This includes the functions of partnership sub-grantee mapping, identification and on-going engagement and management, as well as capacity development, training and support. This position is based in Maiduguri with some travel, including to other IRC operational bases, and to field sites. S/he will work collaboratively with a range of colleagues in Nigeria and elsewhere, including other members of the Grants Team, M&E Team, technical coordinators, Operations, Finance, and with the Deputy Directors of Programs, and of Field Management.

AREAS of RESPONSIBILITY:

Strategy and planning

• Working with the Senior Grants Coordinator, DDP and others, agree on an actionable plan which sets out how IRC Nigeria will increase partnership working and delivery with national and local NGOs.

• Working across relevant functional teams, drive forward the implementation of this plan with regular progress reviews and adjustments as required, and the development of appropriate management tools.

• Provide specialist support on working in, and leading, consortia with international NGOs, as well as with Nigerian NGOs.

• Ensure that due process is followed for Project Cycle Meetings both within IRC, and with partners, including preparation of all necessary materials, follow-through, taking a lead as necessary.

• Organize and facilitate quarterly partnership review meetings with senior staff; support and guide program staff in partner amendments, realignments and other such issues.

• Support development of and participation in relevant country-level partnership working groups.

Information management

• Act as custodian of documentation of institutional knowledge and program activities in coordination with relevant sector supervisors and coordinators.

• Maintain comprehensive electronic files for consortia programs, and ensure IRC colleagues and partners have access to relevant records and information.

• Distribute and share with partner organizations all documentation (grant proposals, reports, budget, etc) related to their specific projects.

Donor relations and communications

• Liaise with donors and potential donors, and other operational partners, including through attendance at meetings, and represent IRC and IRC’s interests by maintaining positive and constructive relations.

• In coordination with relevant colleagues, respond to requests from donors for compliance information and respond to donor compliance questions as needed.

• Ensure that colleagues and partners are aware of all relevant donor communications, changes in regulations, and meetings or events.

• Facilitate and participate in donor visits and/ or meetings as per the agreed timeline of visits.

Pre-award

• Lead the mapping process for selecting partners, work closely with program colleagues to identify selection criteria and make sure selection is transparent and well documented.

• Lead the sub-award process with local and international partners, including due diligence of potential partners and drafting sub-award agreements in line with IRC processes and donor requirements.

• Work with the 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 monitoring and evaluation plans.

• Draft sub-award agreements, follow IRC internal review processes for sub-award documentation, and coordinate to get all necessary approvals.

• Ensure that partners fully understand agreements and obligations, including IRC and donors rules and regulations.

  Sub-award management and capacity building

• Provide and coordinate capacity-building support to local partner organizations based on assessment findings and donor compliance, including report and proposal-related mentoring and training.

• Ensure that partnership and sub-grant related administrative processes and procedures are followed based on IRC policy and process, and are consistently implemented including pre-award compliance checks, agreements, disbursements, reporting and partner capacity-building.

• Ensure that all partners’ program deliverables are received, tracked, filed and in compliance with IRC and donor objectives and requirements, coordinating with program teams and other units within the IRC, and that partners’ contractual reports are properly reviewed.

• Serve as a pivot and communication point for coordination of programs, operations, finance and other support to partners.

• Coordinate and support monitoring visits and coordinate support for partners, ensuring that support plans are implemented, regularly reviewed and updated.

• Maintain partner files, including filing all appropriate communication and maintaining the Sub-Award Tracker, capturing all requirements throughout the sub-award life cycle (such as scheduled payments, partner deliverables, and special requirements).

• In collaboration with relevant IRC staff, coordinate inputs and review of sub-award progress for donor reporting and grant review meetings to ensure that donor commitments are met.

• Develop and process sub-award amendments in a timely manner, ensuring involvement of relevant IRC units.

• Work with Finance to ensure timely and accurate payments are made to partners throughout life of the partnerships

Compliance

• Ensure that the partners are operating according to donor and IRC compliance policies. This includes conducting routine reviews of financial and compliance documentation of procedures, asset checks, field monitoring visits.

• Provide support to partners on compliance issues as needed.

• Provide training to partners and IRC staff on compliance and donor-specific compliance requirements.

• Help design and ensure the maintenance of the indicator tracking sheet to monitor partner performance, and escalate any issues or concerns to the Senior Grants Coordinator and DDP.

• Ensure immediate reporting of suspected fraud cases through appropriate reporting mechanism.

Grant management

• With the support of the Senior Grants Coordinator, coordinate the development of quality proposals and narrative reports with relevant teams, including acting as lead writer when necessary.

• Liaise with HQ units (regional, Awards Management Unit, technical units) to ensure proposals meet internal standards, apply IRC’s Outcome and Evidence Framework and are responsive to donor requirements.

• Support program staff in assessing funding opportunities for fit with IRC Nigeria’s strategic objectives and the local context, advising on these as required.

• Work with coordinators and managers to coordinate the timely development of high quality new funding proposals and reports.

• Monitor and support the use of grants management tools such as the FM01, BvAs, and OTIS to ensure accurate tracking of opportunities, reporting and adjustments through the project life cycle.

• Provide technical guidance on IRC and donor regulations to ensure compliance across IRC Nigeria, proactively raising and resolving issues.

• Ensure that consortium programs are implemented in compliance with donor regulations, including maintenance of files; regular partner meetings throughout the life cycle, and coordinating modifications to any agreements.

• Organize monthly budget management meetings (BvA) with IRC managers/coordinators and consortium partners to ensure sound financial management of grants.

• Manage all reporting deadlines, coordinate and consolidate report as necessary 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, including maintaining submissions on IRC’s online opportunity management tracking system (OTIS).

  Staff management and development

• Coach, train, and mentor staff with the aim of strengthening their technical capacity on grants and partnerships, enhancing knowledge within the team and providing professional development guidance.

• Directly manage and support the Partnerships Manager, including setting objectives, holding regular 1:1s, providing regular feedback and support to ensure a high level of performance.

• Maintain close communication and positive working relations with partners.

• Perform other duties as may be assigned by the Senior Management Team.

  Update

Qualifications

• Masters degree (MA) or equivalent in international affairs, development, international political economy or other relevant subject; Bachelors degree required

• Five years of experience working in grants management and proposal/ business development/ design

• Significant knowledge and experience of working in partnership management

• Prior knowledge of donor compliance regulations (OFDA, USAID, ECHO, DFID, SIDA etc)

• Proven previous successful experience developing projects, writing proposals and donor reports.

• Good communicator with strong organizational, time management and analytical skills

• Fluency in English, spoken and written

• Strong writing and editing skills with close attention to detail

• Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures but also use own initiative, meet deadlines, and work independently and cooperatively with team members

• Flexibility to adapt to changing requirements and circumstances

• Ability to mentor and build staff and partner capacity

• Ability to juggle competing priorities, meet deadlines and work under pressure in an insecure environment

• Aptitude to adapt to a different context regarding security, culture, climate or health issue, demonstrated by experience outside of country of origin

• Willingness to travel

• Commitment to women’s rights and IRC’s vision, mission and values, including sensitivity to cultural settings

  SPECIFIC SECURITY SITUATION/ HOUSING

  The Senior Grants and Partnerships Manager will be based in Maiduguri, Borno, Nigeria with travel throughout the sites where IRC has a presence. The security situation in North East Nigeria continues to be volatile with security level at 3 (orange); candidates should be prepared to implement programming in insecure environments. This is a non-accompanied position, and the Senior Grants and Partnerships Manager will live in shared housing.

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