Emergencies Officer (EU) at Plan International

Title: Emergencies Officer (EU)

Reporting to: Senior Officer – EU Unit

Direct Reports: None

Key relationships: Internal departments and Programme colleagues across our global federation

Grade: 3 (salary range from €38,000 to €45,000)

Contract Length: Three years

Brief overview of role

The Emergencies Officer is an important member of the Programmes Implementation Team, which is responsible for managing and delivery of our institutional grant portfolio. You will be part of the EU Unit reporting to the Senior Officer – EU Unit, with a primary focus on EU funding in humanitarian and protracted crises.

You will also form part of Plan International’s Emergency Roster and may be deployed at short notice to respond to emergencies. You will be the primary focal point between Plan International Ireland and Plan Country Offices where our grants are being delivered.

You will link closely with Plan International Ireland’s technical experts to strengthen the design and management of humanitarian grants, supporting a robust pipeline of grants.

You will support the Business Development Unit in the design of quality priority donor proposals and identify and develop new grant opportunities as they arise.

You will liaise with the fundraising and communications department to profile Plan International Ireland’s work in the designated country offices, and within Ireland.

About Plan International Ireland

Founded in 1937, Plan International is a children’s charity that fights for children’s rights, particularly girls, who live in the poorest regions of the world. We are an independent organisation with no religious, political, or governmental affiliations. Our vision is a just world that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.

We work at local, national, and international level across over 70 countries to influence governments to tackle the root causes of child poverty and to create a more equal world for girls. We work with communities to build schools, educate teachers, advocate for an end to FGM and child marriage, and much more. During emergencies, we save lives and ease suffering by providing shelter and sanitation, while also creating safe spaces to protect and keep children in school.

Established in 2003, Plan International Ireland is a young and dynamic organisation that influences and supports Plan International’s work worldwide.

Plan International Ireland have been certified as one of Ireland’s Best Workplaces in 2020 and 2021.

Key roles and responsibilities

Managing a Grants Portfolio

§ Grant management, compliance, and financial management of humanitarian and protracted crisis programme grants within the designated countries, in particular related to DG ECHO and INTPA, plus other projects as may be required to support the wider Programmes Implementation Team balanced portfolio management.

§ Strong co-ordination and liaison with both Country Offices and National Offices, to support the delivery of high-quality programmes.

§ Maintenance of robust donor engagement, particularly with DG ECHO at the appropriate levels, and identification of new funding opportunities, supporting a robust grants pipeline to our priority Country Offices.

§ Sharing of learning and knowledge management for development programmes, both internally and across Country Offices to strengthen delivery of programmes.

§ Acting as focal point and providing technical capacity on a relevant thematic area, donor, or project management area.

§ Maintenance of a strong context analysis on priority countries and on the donor landscape in particular for DG ECHO and INTPA in protracted crises.

§ Contributing to opportunities to profile our work, within the Plan Federation and within Ireland.

Country Office support

§ Support Country Offices in the development, implementation, monitoring and review of Country Strategic Plans (CSPs) where required.

§ Liaise with other National Offices working in designated countries and with DG ECHO to maximise co-ordination, learning, and grant opportunities.

§ Ensure Country Offices are fully aware of Plan International Ireland thematic priorities and share current thinking and best practices as appropriate.

§ Contribute towards staff training and organisational learning in designated countries where appropriate.

§ Provide continuous mentoring and backstopping support to a designated number of Country Offices to ensure quality delivery (e.g., start-up workshops), timely reporting (internally and to donors), and M&E processes of grants secured by Plan International Ireland.

§ Conduct regular monitoring missions to supported countries to review activity plans, achievement of outputs and outcomes and adherence to Plan International and donors’ policy and compliance rules.

§ Support Country Offices to implement good practices in all aspects of programme/project cycle and budget management liaising with Plan International Ireland finance team.

§ Work with Country Office teams to maintain appropriate flows of communication with partners including contracting procedures, dissemination of templates, funding schedules, report deadlines and to build their capacities.

§ Manage grant budgets to ensure timely and accurate expenditure and reporting.

§ Assist the Country Office teams in identifying innovative and successful approaches and scalable solutions in-country.

§ Represent Plan International Ireland to donors as required and to deal with their related inquiries.

§ Maintain programme records and associated files (including project contracts and internal compliance documents) for designated countries to facilitate reporting.

Resource mobilisation

§ Contribute to the development and implementation of funding strategies for designated Country Offices.

§ Support in the development of high-quality proposals related to designated Country Offices where required in cooperation with the BD Unit.

§ Support Country Offices to identify income streams locally and support on the design of new proposals.

Emergency Response

§ Travel to disaster affected areas as required at short notice for possible sustained periods to support Plan’s field teams to respond to emergencies.

§ Manage documentation related to ongoing and new emergencies as required.

§ Prepare emergency response briefings for Plan International Ireland and donors.

Learning, knowledge management, and communications

§ Support the Senior Officer – EU Unit in the management of Plan International Ireland’s compliance, registration and administrative responsibilities to DG ECHO.

§ Manage programme reviews and evaluations, and share learning, research and best practices, in close co-ordination with Plan International Ireland’s technical advisors, with a priority for ECHO engagement internally in the Plan federation.

§ Assist Country Offices to develop case studies and briefing papers that can also be shared with the communications, fundraising, programme funding and technical teams as appropriate.

§ Maintain watching brief on country context, programmes/projects, and evaluation and/or advocacy initiatives of designated countries and share with internal teams where appropriate.

Travel

§ Travel to Plan Country Offices for up to three months per year

Other

§ Contribute actively to Plan International Ireland’s Programme Implementation Team, sharing ideas and experience to ensure the implementation of our programme strategy and to build programme quality.

Person specification

Humanitarian Experience

§ At least four years’ experience working in a humanitarian setting overseas responding to emergencies.

Project Management

§ Knowledge and experience of programme cycle management, Results Based Management, and Rights Based Approach, the implementation of CHS and other humanitarian standards, such as SPHERE.

§ Ability to plan well and deliver on objectives in a timely way, particularly in relation to meeting grant management deadlines.

§ Ability to seek out, develop, and successfully implement new ideas, or adopt proven approaches that support the delivery of quality programmes.

Compliance and Finance

§ Ability to work with a portfolio of donors, donor compliance skills, including strong financial understanding. Particular experience and understanding of ECHO expectations and requirements an advantage.

Gender

§ An understanding of gender responsive programming and an awareness of the gendered nature of emergencies.

Strong communications and networking skills

§ Strong written and verbal communication skills, and ability to adapt messages to meet diverse audiences.

§ French language competencies beneficial.

§ Ability to engage with others inside and outside the organisation to promote our child rights agenda, and profile the work of Plan International Ireland.

A team player who is willing to adapt to change

§ Willing to respond positively and constructively to change and play an active role in Plan International Ireland’s Programmes Implementation Team.

Salary and benefits

Plan International Ireland operates a salary scale, as well as a broad range of employee benefits.

This role is graded as a Level 3 within our salary scale, with an expected range of between €38,000 and €45,000. Placement on the scale will be dependent on level of experience and fit within the role.

In addition to salary, Plan International Ireland provides a number of employee benefits, some of which include:

• Private Health Insurance for all employees (from commencement date)
• Matching company pension contributions up to 5% (once probation is complete)
• Flexible working hours (core hours of 10am to 4pm daily, minimum of 37 hours per week)
• Commitment to training and development
• 25 days annual leave, increasing with length of service up to 30 days.

Location

The Plan International Ireland office is located on Harrington Street, Dublin 8 (across from Brother Hubbard’s). We are just a stone’s throw away from the bustling and busy Camden Street area, with its many coffee shops, bars, restaurants, and much more! Our nearest LUAS stop is Harcourt Street.

As an employee you will also be able to sign up to the Bike-to-Work scheme, or the TaxSaver scheme for DART, LUAS, and Dublin bus users.

Safeguarding

Plan International is committed to safeguarding people within our programmes from exploitation and abuse and has specific policies on this commitment (including a Code of Conduct) which outlines the expected behaviour and the responsibility of all staff, consultants, and other organisational representatives.

Any candidate offered a job with us will be expected to sign our Safeguarding Policies and Code of Conduct as an appendix to their contract of employment and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these documents. Specific roles may require police/Garda vetting.

This document is not intended to be an exhaustive job description – it serves only as an overview of the role.