Regional Grants Manager – CEE At Norwegian Refugee Council

Background

The Norwegian Refugee Council has been present in Ukraine since 2014, helping more than 700,000 people with food, shelter, water, sanitation, and legal assistance. Following the escalation of conflict since 24 February 2022, NRC is scaling up its efforts inside Ukraine and in neighbouring countries Poland, Moldova and Romania to provide aid to hundreds of thousands people forced to flee. NRC is responding majority through local partners and to a lesser extent with direct implementation, by applying an integrated approach combining our sectoral areas of expertise such as legal aid (ICLA), protection from violence, shelter, education and livelihoods and food security.

NRC is currently operational in Ukraine, Poland, Romania and Moldova. To support the regional response in the best way, NRC has established the Central and Eastern Europe Regional Office (CEERO), based in Warsaw, Poland. This ensures a centralised structure in proximity to the crisis and provides coordinated support, management, advice and oversight to the country operations.

The Regional Grants Manager, based in CEE regional office, is responsible for contributing to the achievement of quality programming in the region through grants management and business development support for multi-country and/or regional grants. The post holder will also provide advice, guidance and capacity building support to CO grants staff and support them in the same for partners.

Below is a summary of the role. Please download the detailed Job Descriptionfor further details.

What you will do:

The Regional Grants Manager has the overall responsibility for effective grants management of multi-country and regional grants. The post holder is the focal point for the key mandatory activities under NRC’s Project Cycle Management (PCM) and ensuring internal and donor compliance requirements, this includes timely and quality grant reporting, revision and review, and related internal and external communications. S/he provides strategic support to and liaison with country offices who are recipients of the multi-country or regional grant funds, ensuring they are informed of relevant donor compliance regulations and NRC procedures, and coordinating with them on managing the grant(s). Finally, the Regional Grants Manager coordinates the development of funding proposals with country teams and consortia members where relevant.

Roles and responsibilities

Funding identification and proposal development

1. Contribute to identification of new funding opportunities for multi-country initiatives
2. Coordinate the development of funding proposals and provide collaboratively support to regional and country office colleagues to ensure timely and high-quality multi- country funding and partnership proposals, using relevant NRC Grant Management tools and guidance (Go/No-go checklist, proposal development calendar).
3. Contribute to the development and revision processes for RO and CO donor strategy and business plan, with a focus on multi-country grants and ensuring alignment.
4. Work collaboratively with budget holders, programme teams and finance as well as other stakeholder to ensure programmatic proposal and financial budget alignment.

Grant Agreement

1. Coordinate and contribute to the review of donor contracts, working with colleagues, including finance and risk & compliance, and flag any points that might challenge NRC’s procedures, and support contract negotiations.
2. Liaise and work with Institutional Partnerships Advisers and other relevant colleagues to ensure the country offices involved with the multi country grants, are provided with clear guidance on key reporting and compliance requirements (incl. compliance checklist).
3. Coordinate with respective budget holders and finance in order to ensure budgets are correctly allocated and aligned.
4. Ensure mandatory PCM processes (including meetings) take place and all mandatory documents are in place (internal logframe, internal budget, procurement plan, work-plan and M&E matrix). Ensure follow-up on actions based on minutes by closing working together with COs and relevant RO colleagues.
5. Work with the relevant COs to ensure clarity about the arrangements for multi-country grants, including allocation of funds, allocation of roles and accountabilities in terms of grants management and reporting together with RO finance.

Donor reporting and monitoring

1. Coordinate, and provide inputs to, the completion of donor reports ensuring consistency between narrative and financial reports and that they meet quality standards.
2. Support RO Finance to highlight critical financial issues such as under/overspends to finance and Budget Holders, and follow up in writing when discussed verbally.
3. Provide technical support to relevant CO CC Specialists and Budget Holders on monitoring issues and budget revising (if required).
4. Collaborate with the finance team to ensure donor budget lines as per the contract are in line with the financial system (i.e. amounts have not changed as a result of new income instalments at different rates being received).
5. Monitor grant payment schedules and income requests for respective portfolio, working closely with finance to ensure this is done in a timely manner.

Donor Compliance

1. Be familiar with all NRC organizational and donor portfolio compliance requirements and ensure high quality management of grants through meeting of KPIs and deadlines.
2. Support and advise programme colleagues with queries related to donor compliance on grants within portfolio.
3. Work with other departments (i.e. programmes, finance, M&E, Compliance) to ensure all documentation required is ready and available for audits (e.g. vouchers, distribution lists).
4. Coordinate Grant Closure Meetings to identify and resolve problems, and Close Out of grants in respective portfolio.
5. Lead and assist in training and capacity building related to NRC Grants Management/donor compliance as required for the region.

General Administration

1. Ensure all key grant documents for a grant is available within the Grants department by maintaining a standardized information management/filing systems.
2. Ensure a correct and up-to-date grants management information on the approved system (e.g., Cycles, and GORS) and/or on-line systems.

Specific responsibilities

General

1. Gap fill or provide specific CEE CO grant support as per request and availability, depending on workload and other responsibilities, as agreed between RGM, RPD and HoP of the given CO.
2. Support the production of programmatic updates for the region for external stakeholder engagements.
3. Support the RPD with other task as assigned.

Assessments and Partnerships Agreements

1. Support CO partnership teams in ensuring effective compliance for partner activities in line with NRC’s Grants Management procedures.
2. Contribute to partner capacity building as required and identified in partner assessments in support of CO grants staff.

Advice, support and capacity building

1. Act as an internal help-desk on donor related issues, including donor rules and regulations, proposal and report writing, working in partnership in addition to the Partnerships and Policy department help-desk
2. Identify gaps in quality and practice, and common development needs in relation to grants management within COs and work collaboratively with colleagues (regional, HO, OD/PCM Adviser) on development of learning initiatives to build skills and capacity

What you will bring:

• At least 6 years of relevant experience in a related field, preferable with at least 4 years in the humanitarian sector
• University degree in a relevant field
• Experience of donor relations and grants management (e.g. institutional humanitarian and development donors)
• Proven experience in report and proposal development, and working with multiple donors
• Excellent understanding of donor rules and regulations
• Good personal organisational skills, including time management, and ability to meet deadlines and work under pressure
• Staff capacity-building experience
• Strong preference for NRC experience in Grants management or programme management, or other reputable international NGO
• Strong analytical skills, both in terms of project monitoring and financial data

Required skills, knowledge and experience:

• Strong organisational and team working skills
• Good cultural awareness and sensitivity
• Ability to work under pressure, independently and with limited supervision
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English

What we offer:

• Type of contract and Duration : 12 months, National Contract ( (with possibility for extension based on good performance, need and funding)
• Salary/benefits: According to NRC salary scale grade 8, terms and conditions.
• Duty station: Primary and preferred duty station is Warsaw, Poland. (other locations where NRC has an office in Europe considered subject to discussion)
• Travel: 20% (Central and Eastern Europe Country Offices)

Nationals from Central & Eastern Europe are highly encouraged to apply.

EU nationals and those with the right to work in Poland will be prioritized.