Grants and Reporting Lead – Poland At Mercy Corps

About Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have long term impact.

Program / Department Summary
Mercy Corps’ Ukraine crisis response seeks to meet the humanitarian needs of vulnerable Ukrainians and other conflict-affected people where they are: displaced inside Ukraine, refugees in Poland, Romania and Moldova, or trapped behind frontlines. Almost all of our impact will be delivered in partnership: with Ukrainian, Polish, Romanian and Moldovan civil society organizations through a grant program that matches humanitarian action with capacity strengthening, and with peer international NGOs through a consortium in Ukraine.

In Ukraine itself, we prime a major consortium, UCC, that focuses on delivering both multi-purpose cash assistance (MPCA) and non-cash aid to hundreds of thousands vulnerable Ukrainians and other conflict-affected people across the country. UCC is a $112 million partnership between Mercy Corps, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), and People In Need (PIN), currently funded by USAID Bureau of Humanitarian Affairs (BHA) and the U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO).

In addition, private funds of over $24 million support a range of humanitarian partnerships in Poland, Romania and Moldova. Over the course of 2023, Mercy Corps aims to stay and deliver humanitarian assistance at scale in Ukraine, complement that with pilot interventions focused on economic resilience, and grow our refugee programs in neighboring refugee-hosting countries, including exploring social cohesion and inclusion activities. We will be actively seeking to expand our donor base.

General Position Summary
The Grants and Reporting Lead (GRL) heads up all our grant administration and donor reporting across the response: in Ukraine, Poland, Romania and Moldova. Working under the direction of the Director of Programs and with a team of Grants Officers, and in close coordination with regional and Ukraine Response stakeholders, s/he will gather, collate and analyze monitoring and other data from program teams, and translate these into concise, clear and insightful narratives supported by statistical evidence, case studies and other quantitative and qualitative information. The GRL ensures that our donor reporting is compiled and completed to deadline and in a high quality, compliant manner.

The GRL needs to possess a good working knowledge of the compliance regulations and reporting requirements of key donors, including but not limited to USAID/BHA, other USAID, US State Department, UK FCDO and ECHO. S/he also needs to be able to communicate these requirements clearly and train program and operations teams in compliance where needed. S/he will also act as the focal point for PM@MC compliance and promote MEL standards and community accountability. The GRL is an integral and important team member on the Ukraine Response and is expected to develop and maintain a good working knowledge of program implementation, operational realities and strategy. Finally, the GRL may be asked to assist in program funding concept or proposal development for specific opportunities, working with the Roving Director of Program Operations.

The GRL works under the general direction of the Director of Programs and with Response PaQ, MEL, finance, and program teams, as well as with the grants reporting function supporting the consortium management team of the Ukraine Cash Consortium (UCC) and with Mercy Corps Global and Europe regional program teams in the United Kingdom, Netherlands, and U.S.A.

Essential Job Responsibilities

GRANTS MANAGEMENT & REPORTING

• Ensure that quarterly, annual and final reports are prepared and submitted to the relevant donor in a timely manner and to a high standard, working across teams to achieve this (donors will include those supporting our Private Pooled Fund; USAID/BHA; FCDO; American Red Cross; ECHO).
• Assist in gathering information for, and collating answers to, informal/ad hoc information or reporting requests from key donors.
• Where appropriate, assist the Ukraine Cash Consortium grants management function in ensuring both informal and formal reporting is completed to high standards and is responsive.

GRANTS ADMINISTRATION & COMPLIANCE

• Coordinate the maintenance of the Private Pooled Fund budget across different donors, teams and projects.
• Ensure that all grant filing structures conform to PM@MC standards and Response policy.
• Assist with and/or lead grant kick off meetings and play a key role in monthly Grant Review Meetings across the Response.
• Where appropriate, provide technical guidance and/or training on donor compliance to other Ukraine Response staff.
• Where appropriate, and as directed by the Director of Programs and/or in coordination with the Regional Program Teams for Mercy Corps Global and Mercy Corps Europe, act as a liaison and representative to donors in meetings or events.

PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT & RESEARCH/COMMUNICATIONS

• Where appropriate and as agreed with the Director of Programs and/or Roving Director of Program Operations, assist in the development of funding concepts and proposals to key donors, including gathering/analysis of information, writing proposal narratives or assisting with budget compilation.
• Where appropriate, and as agreed with the Director of Programs, assist in and/or lead other research, internal communications and media work streams (e.g. value for money studies; gender studies; media and Workplace postings etc.)
• Act as the Response focal point for PM@MC, ensure project management tools are robust and up to date, and help develop/maintain a grant pipeline tracker and status dashboard.
• Support accurate and efficient Program team and Monthly Grant Review meetings and other ad hoc key meetings associated with grants administration as appropriate.

Supervisory Responsibility : Grant Officer(s)

Accountability
Reports directly to: Director of Programs
Works directly with: Program Leads and Managers; UCC consortium management team; Roving Director of Program Operations; PaQ and MEL leads; Finance and Compliance team; Mercy Corps Global and Europe regional program teams.

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders
Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline, Master’s degree or equivalent in experience
• Three years’ experience in grants administration and reporting, ideally with a humanitarian and/or development non-profit organization and with a balance of working at HQ and in the field.
• Strong, demonstrable analytical skills, able to draw on diverse information sets and translate that into clear insights.
• Excellent spoken and written communications skills in English, with Ukrainian, Russian and/or Polish capability a plus.
• Demonstrable narrative writing skills, able to pull together disparate elements into a compelling, coherent story.
• Demonstrable knowledge of key donor compliance and reporting regimes, including for USAID, FCDO, American Red Cross, ECHO, and private philanthropies.
• Excellent planning, coordination and reporting skills, with the ability to organize a substantial workload comprised of complex, diverse tasks and responsibilities, and present complex information in succinct and compelling manner
• Competency in Internet and Microsoft Office systems including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and other database/mapping systems
• Experience living and working in an active conflict environment strongly preferred.

Success Factors

The successful GRL will be a strong team player but also able to be pro-active on their own initiative. S/he will combine a stong grasp of compliance and reporting issues with the ability to produce high quality narrative reporting supported by data. S/he will thrive under pressure and be able to cope with the stress of an active conflict environment. S/he will be able to work effectively with team members across different locations and functions, as well as communicate to donors and organizational stakeholders in the U.S. and Europe.

Living/Environmental Conditions
This position is initially based in Warsaw or Krakow, Poland, and is unaccompanied. As security permits, the position may spend time inside Ukraine. Living conditions are in group housing: water, electricity and internet are present outside Ukraine but may be intermittent within it. Poland is a highly developed country with a plenitude of services. This position will require travel in the region and into Ukraine as security permits. Successful candidates must be cognizant that, if inside Ukraine, this is a very active conflict and therefore they may experience events such as aerial attacks during the day or night. All efforts are made to ensure the safety and security of all team members inside Ukraine, and Mercy Corps has a strong and highly professional security team.

Mercy Corps Team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit to a field posting. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and Mercy Corps’ policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

Fostering a diverse and open workplace is an important part of Mercy Corps’ vision. Mercy Corps is an Equal Opportunity Employer regardless of background. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment.

Ongoing Learning
In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity
Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics
Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to theInteragency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere toMercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

As a safeguarding measure, Mercy Corps screens all potential US-Based employees. This is done following the conclusion of recruitment and prior to assuming full employment.

Our screening process is designed to be transparent and completed in partnership with new Team Members. You will have the opportunity to disclose any prior convictions at the conclusion of the recruitment process before the check is initiated. We ask that you do not disclose any prior convictions in your application materials or during the recruitment process.