Grants Manager At International Rescue Committee

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.

The IRC in Kenya is the primary provider of health services in Kakuma and Hagadera (Dadaab) Refugee Camps, including clinical services, maternal and newborn care, nutrition and immunization services for children and pregnant and lactating women, community health outreach, and HIV-AIDS & TB prevention and care. IRC’s office in Lodwar, Turkana County, serves local communities through livelihoods support programming, support to VSLAs and women’s and girl’s safe spaces, and efforts aimed at preventing and responding to gender-based violence. In Nairobi and Kajiado counties, IRC supports urban refugees and vulnerable populations through its Economic Recovery and Development (ERD) programming, as well as through protection and advocacy. As of June 2021, IRC is initiating nutrition and women’s protection and empowerment (WPE) programming in West Pokot County, in collaboration with local partners.

SCOPE OF WORK

Based in Nairobi, the Grants Manager will be a key member of IRC Kenya’s Grants and Partnership Unit and will report to the Grants Coordinator. This position has supervisory responsibility for a Grants Assistant. Occasional travel to field sites and refugee camps may be required. The Grants Manager will work collaboratively with all members of the Grants and Partnership Unit, as well as with technical coordinators, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), finance and operations teams. The Grants Manager will primarily be responsible for proposal development, including development and adherence to proposal development timelines, for creation and advancement of OTIS records for proposal approval, and for compilation of the overall proposal package. They will be the focal point for in-country proposal development and with HQ for proposal review and revision, as required. In addition, the Grants Manager will coordinate and manage the grants reporting process in collaboration with the Grants Assistant and the Grants and Reporting Fellow. They will also contribute to overall grants management efforts and work to ensure adherence to donor regulations and compliance across grants and sites.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Proposal Development

• On behalf of the Grants & Partnership Unit, coordinate the proposal development process through working with program and MEAL staff to develop and compile inputs to technical proposal narratives/concept notes and annexes; develop and/or review budget narratives, and undertake initial review of proposal drafts to ensure inputs are clear, and proper proposal templates and grant management procedures are followed.
• Develop and circulate Proposal Development Timelines, inclusive of roles and responsibilities of proposal development team members, to all relevant IRC Kenya program, finance and operations staff, TAs and regional/HQ staff and ensure timelines are met.
• Create and manage OTIS records. Secure all OTIS approvals for new proposals prior to submission to the donor. Ensure OTIS, Box and hard copy data is up to date for all new proposals and grants.
• Liaise with Finance for provision of budget breakdown for sites and program teams; ensure teams are provided correct budget templates; ensure budgets are completed on time and submitted for regional review, as required. Facilitate response to any comments.
• Liaise with Grants Coordinator/DDGA to ensure all concept notes, proposals and EOIs are in line with IRC Kenya’s SAP, meet internal IRC standards, and are donor compliant.
• Submit proposals and budgets and required annexes for HQ review, ensuring that the grant applications are prepared according to the required format and submitted to donors on time.

Grants Reporting

• Manage all internal and external grant reporting, including coordinating inputs from site, program, and M&E teams, to ensure high-quality, well-written and timely reports are produced meeting donor and IRC requirements, with support from the Grants Coordinator and program managers/ coordinators.
• Supervise the Grants Assistant to ensure timely and accurate circulation of weekly/monthly reporting timelines on Mondays/first of month, and required report templates, to the various program teams and M&E staff. Ensure adequate follow-up with the teams to ensure reporting schedules are met.
• Review the initial draft report once inputs have been compiled by the program teams and M&E staff; analyze content and data and proactively solicit feedback from program teams and M&E staff on content, and ensure revisions are managed in a timely manner. Edit reports as needed.
• Ensure reports are disseminated for review by IRC Kenya technical coordinators, Grants Coordinator/DDGA, and HQ team sufficiently in advance of due date to obtain final approval prior to submission to the donor.
• Ensure grant report due dates and submission dates are kept accurately updated on OTIS and upload final report submissions.
• Ensure all report submissions are filed in the Grants and Partnership Unit’s Box folder system, and hard copy files of report submissions are maintained, as appropriate.
• Accurately maintain grant report due dates and submission dates in the Grants and Partnership Unit’s Grants Tracking Sheet (GTS).

Grants Meetings

• With the support of the Grants Assistant, ensure regular and timely scheduling, preparation, and facilitation of Project Cycle Meetings (PCM), including but not limited to project/grant opening and closing meetings, ad hoc grant implementation meetings, and budget versus actual (BVA) meetings. Ensure required representation from each unit (program teams, Finance, Supply Chain, HR, and Grants) are in attendance, and that any needed pre-work is completed in advance of the meeting. Review and circulate meeting minutes, assign action items, and ensure proper, timely follow-up of issues raised.

General Grants Management/Administration

• Records Management: Support comprehensive information management and filing system to ensure all grant agreements, reports, key correspondences, T codes, etc. are appropriately filed in up-to-date and consistent soft (Box) and hard (physical) files managed by the Grants and Partnership Unit.
• Capacity Building: Ensure training is made available for program and operations staff at country office and field office levels on grants management related issues, including grant report writing and donor compliance issues, as needed. Support Grants and Reporting Fellow to develop and provide such trainings.
• Grant Tracking System (GTS): Update regularly and as grants are awarded/modified/closed and ensure consistency with OTIS and T1s. The GTS includes detailed and summary grant information on open and closed grants, reporting schedules and submission dates, upcoming meetings, publications, and proposals in the pipeline.
• Spending Plans: Ensure that each active grant has a current Spending Plan uploaded to IRC’s BVA system as soon as the grant is initiated, the finance codes (T1) are issued, and the is budget uploaded to the system by the Finance team. Coordinate and provide support to program and field operations teams to ensure Spending Plans are updated quarterly and uploaded to the BVA system on time.
• Bi-weekly COVID-19 updates and donor implementation brief: Ensure these informal donor reports are drafted every two weeks; Grants Assistant or Grants and Reporting Fellow should share templates with program teams and request inputs. Grants Manager should review inputs and edit as needed. Share with Country Director for on-time donor submission.
• Communication and information management: Provide support, as required, in drafting donor correspondences and taking minutes during grants-led meetings, as well as bi-monthly Senior Management Team (SMT) meetings, and following up action points, as required.
• Support other program initiatives / work streams / task as assigned.

Human Resources

• Provide technical back-stopping for field-based grants officers/interns/fellows/volunteers.
• Support the program department in other recruitments, if requested.
• Orient Grants and Partnership Unit staff and relevant new staff of all departments to the Grants and Partnership Unit processes and donor requirements and work closely with all IRC departments and field sites.

Qualifications

• University degree in international relations, or other relevant field.
• Master’s degree desirable.

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE AND COMPETENCIES

• 3 to 5 years of INGO field experience in a similar position: grants management, proposal development (program narratives and budgets) and donor reporting.
• Knowledge of UN (UNHCR/UNICEF/UNFPA/WHO), US (USAID/BHA/CDC), EU (ECHO/EC) and UK (FCDO) donor regulations, procedures, and requirements.
• Proven ability to develop winning proposals to public- and private-sector donors.
• Ability to work with tight deadlines for report writing/ information needs.
• Excellent written and spoken English essential.
• Excellent organizational skills, ability to determine and juggle multiple priorities, and attention to detail is critical.
• Ability to work in a multi-cultural context as a flexible and respectful team player – patience, cultural sensitivity, and application of contextual understanding in day-to-day work is required.
• Willingness to travel to the field sites as needed.
• High-level of knowledge and practice with Word, Excel, Outlook, etc. required.

Standards of Professional Conduct: The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – Code of Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Harassment-Free Workplace, Fiscal Integrity, Anti-Retaliation, Combating Trafficking in Persons and several others.

Gender Equality: IRC is committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols and other supportive benefits and allowance.**

Kenyan nationals are encouraged to apply. International allowances are not available for this position. Salary and employee benefits are compliant to the Kenyan NGO Sector.

IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer and considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status or disability.

Disclaimer:

Please take note that International Rescue Committee (IRC) does not ask for any fees in connection with its recruitment processes.