Senior Grants Coordinator

Freetown, Western Area

Organization: IRC - International Rescue Committee
Location: Freetown, Western Area
Grade: Mid level - Mid level
Occupational Groups:
- External Relations, Partnerships and Resource mobilization
- Managerial positions
- Grant writing
Closing Date: Closed

The IRC has worked in Sierra Leone since 1999. The IRC currently has programs across three core sectors: 1) Health 2) Women and Girls’ Protection and Empowerment (WGPE), and 3) Education. The IRC is committed to supporting the Government of Sierra Leone in the strengthening of the country. We seek to build upon our programming experience and introduce new programs that are adaptive, collaborative and evidence-driven, leading to a more educated, safe, healthy and empowered Sierra Leone.

Scope of work

The Senior Coordinator of Grants will lead grant management and program development for the IRC in Sierra Leone. The position reports to the Deputy Director for Programs (DDP) and supervises the Grants Coordinator (GC), Partnership Manager, & Princeton Intern. This position is based in Freetown with frequent trips to field sites. The Senior Coordinator will work collaboratively with the IRC’s senior management team, the technical coordinators, measurement team, finance, programs and operations teams, and partners.

Main Responsibilities

1. Program & Strategy Development

•Lead coordination of proposal development process with the Grants Coordinator, from review of solicitation to final submission, gathering input from Technical Coordinators (TCs), Measurement staff, Field staff, Deputy Directors of Programs and Operations (DDP/Senior Ops Coordinator, Finance, Technical Advisors, and ensuring proper review at the HQ level;

•Ensure partner participation in the design and development of proposals that include partners and in accordance with internal partnership management processes;

•Ensure management of review process through IRC’s electronic grants database, OTIS and HQ approvals;

•Working closely with DDP, support facilitation of program design meetings, travelling to field sites & program activities in order to ensure high quality design processes;

•Lead, and support GC to lead, drafting of non-technical sections of proposals, budget narratives, editing of proposals and review against solicitation requirements and donor rules & guidelines;

•In coordination with HQ, ensure proposals meet internal standards, including use of IRC’s Outcomes Evidence Framework (OEF) Theories of Change, in line with IRC Sierra Leone’s Strategic Action Plan (SAP), Good & Great Standards and donor compliance;

•With finance, coordinate the development of proposal budgets and conduct review of proposal budgets for donor responsiveness and matching technical narrative;

•Act as focal point with donors in-country for the proposal development process;

•Working closely with the DDP, provide inputs to program development strategy through conducting donor mapping, analysis of upcoming opportunities, and IRC’s competitive strategy;

•Lead the coordination of the strategic evaluation & drafting of go-no-go decisions.

2. Grants Management & Program Support

•Lead on coordination and management of the grant cycle, from project opening/kick-off to close-out, including ensuring regular Project Cycle meetings and monthly budget versus actual (BVA) meetings. Ensure communication and follow-up with SMT on issues raised;

•Ensure sound management of reporting requirements, including via partners (and in coordination with the Partnership Manager), ensuring timely and quality submission to donors;

•Ensure support provided to field offices for management of project cycle and compliance requirements as per donor agreements;

•In coordination with finance, maintain visibility of spending and forecasts for the proper monitoring and the successful implementation of programs and early warning in case of obstacles or challenges.

3. Communications & Representation

•Ensure management and implementation of in-country partnership communication matrix

•Ensure any ad hoc communication requests from donors and/or HQ are developed (case studies, blogs, etc) by program and grants staff as appropriate.

•Ensure that requests from the government are fulfilled (i.e.; program documents for annual registration, SLAs, and other ad hoc government requests.

•Ensure that all donor branding and marking plans are developed and implemented as required

•Ensure routine updates on program information sheets for use in in-country advocacy and business development efforts;

•Support in-country engagement with donors and key stakeholders;

•Support representation in national technical working group meetings, partner meetings as needed.

4. Donor & IRC Compliance

•Act as focal point with donors in-country on grants management issues for ongoing, past, and potential future projects;

•Review donor agreements and coordinate their review in-country and with the relevant IRC HQ office;

•Ensure that grants are implemented in compliance with IRC and relevant donor regulations;

•Ensure that partnership and sub-grant related administrative processes and procedures are consistently implemented throughout the program in line with the IRC’s internal partnership management system PEERs, including partner’s project capacity review, agreements, and disbursements and reporting;

•Support audit preparation;

•Lead on all partner incident reporting, liaising with partner, HQ, SMT, and donor as per donor and IRC guidelines;

•Ensure comprehensive grant files are maintained up to date and are available for use by key staff.

5. Management and Capacity Building

•Supervise the Grants Coordinator (national), Partnership Manager (expat) and Princeton Intern. Discuss job expectations, set objectives and provide appropriate and timely feedback regarding performance;

•Support the training and capacity building to all IRC and local partner staff on program reporting, donor compliance, and IRC program specific requirements.

Job Requirements

•Bachelor’s degree in international affairs, development or related subject

•At least five years of experience working in project and/or grants management and proposal/business development/design

•International experience with preference in Africa

•Prior knowledge of donor regulations (UNICEF, USAID, EU, FCDO, Irish Aid)

•Previous successful experience in developing projects and writing proposals for range of donors

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

•Excellent inter-personal, cultural and diplomatic skills

•Strong writing and editing skills with close attention to detail

•Flexibility to adapt to changing requirements

•Strong capacity to mentor and build capacity of staff

•Ability to juggle competing priorities, meet demanding deadlines and work under pressure in unstable security environment

•Strong skills in Microsoft Office Suite

•Fluency in English, spoken and written

•IRC experience is an asset

This is an unaccompanied position.

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

IRC is equal opportunity employer, considered all the candidates on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran or disability.

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