Grants and Information Manager at Concern Worldwide

About the role: This is a 24 month, new role with unaccompanied terms based in Khartoum, Sudan with 40% time in the field offices with a salary of Grade 3 (€37,988 – €42,209 per annum).

You will report to the Programme Director (PD), and work closely with Consortium Director, Area Coordinators, Programme Managers (PM) and Area Managers (PM). You will also work closely with the Country Management Team. You will work with HQ Desk Officer (DO) and ensure effective coordination with HQ Technical Advisors in reporting and proposal development. You will also liaise closely with local partners on proposals and grant-related matters, ensuring efficient information flow. You will line manage Partnership and Grants compliance coordinator

We would like you to start as soon as possible. This is a new role.

Your purpose:

To lead efficient and quality grants management processes within Concern Sudan, and actively support the country programme grants and contracts portfolio, ensuring compliance to internal and donor requirements, supporting and building team capacity on the same.

Key responsibilities include: management of the donor portfolio, identification of funding opportunities, coordination and oversight of development of quality proposals and reports and their timely submission, information and knowledge management to promote learning, ensuring production and appropriate use of materials for external communications to different audiences. You will represent Concern at key donor and external coordination meetings in consultation CD and PD, and facilitate internal programme reviews and workshops.

You will be responsible for:

Grants Management

• Oversee Concern Sudan grants portfolio, keeping respective managers and colleagues informed and updated on donor policies and compliance requirements.
• Set up and facilitate timely grant opening and closure meetings, ensuring participation of programme, finance, logistics and HR colleagues and partners as relevant.
• Maintain the country grants matrix: update and share regularly with programme and finance focal points and HQ Desk Officer (DO), and lead on ensuring timely, accurate, quality reporting to donors.
• With Systems Director and Finance team, assist in ensuring strict compliance with donor and internal finance and logistics guidelines. Actively support managers on this, incl. via training as necessary.
• Working closely with Finance team, in support of Area Coordinators and Managers (PM/AMs), regularly track expenditure and monitor variances, raising issues requiring timely PD/donor attention.
• Review reports and proposals to ensure high quality of content and formatting; liaise with HQ DO and Technical Advisors for inputs and ensure comments taken on board.
• Provide relevant managers with correct proposal and reporting templates and guide them on specific donor policies and compliance requirements. Support with drafting of relevant sections.
• Be aware of contractual visibility and communications requirements of the different donors and collaborate with programme teams to ensure these are met (as appropriate to context).
• Support programme coordinators to track progress against outcomes and completion of deliverables.
• Support the MEAL team in scheduling and planning surveys and evaluations, and ensure inclusion of appropriate outcomes and indicators in programme log frames.
• Represent Concern at donor, consortia and other meetings as required/requested. Document and share information arising with PD, managers and relevant colleagues.
• Coordinate and contribute to review and development of donor, partner and draft contracts.

Programme Development and Funding

• Actively identify and keep abreast of funding opportunities and key donor priorities and approaches; liaise directly with donors and consortia partner on the same as appropriate.
• Arrange and facilitate proposal design/programme development meetings, ensuring participation of relevant colleagues from across the different sub-teams, and consortia partners as necessary.
• Work with programme and finance teams to develop cohesive, quality concept notes and proposals, ensuring internal and external deadlines met and technical expertise/knowledge incorporated.
• Maintain updated file of key organisational information required for proposals, and of all prior proposals submitted, for staff induction, learning and future reference purposes (with DO support).
• Maintain a funding tracker to monitor donor pipeline opportunities and, in support of PDPMs, proactivity identify funding gaps to be filled.
• Support PD, Consortium Director, and Programme teams to effectively mainstream cross-cutting issues and quality standards including Core Humanitarian Standards, .
• Support the use of capture and use of learning for adaptive management in the context.

Information and Communications Management

• Take a lead on ensuring clear and complete documentation of grants and programme documents are uploaded in GMS and accessible to colleagues in all Sudan offices, including oversight of the GMS for Sudan.
• Coordinate with PD, Area Coordinator, PMs and M&E Unit to ensure collection and proactive use of beneficiary case studies, photos, field reports and other information to demonstrate effectively to different audiences the achievements (and challenges) of programmes implemented.
• With support of relevant programme teams, review materials to ensure quality and adherence to Dochas Code of Conduct and other guidelines, and liaise with CD, PD, Managers and DO for correct level sign off.
• Ensure production of quarterly (or as agreed) Programme Updates, Briefing Papers and information packs for distribution to donors, , supporters etc.
• Compile and edit country programme Annual Report and internal updates/reports for PD and CD.
• With relevant programme teams, produce minutes of key internal meetings and workshops.
• Represent Concern at cluster coordination meetings and thematic working groups as requested.

Human Resource Management and Capacity Development

• Support identification of needs for capacity building within individuals and teams, source opportunities and, where relevant, directly lead training to build capacities in report writing, proposal development, documentation, case studies, and other relevant topics as agreed with PD and Area Coordinators.
• In liaison with PD, Managers and Partnership Coordinator provide support and training to local partner organisations for quality reporting, proposal writing and knowledge of key donor requirements.
• As a member of the country team, actively promote compliance with Concern’s Programme Participants’ Protection Policy, the Code of Conduct and all associated policies.

Your skills and experience will include:

Essential:

• Educated to degree level in International Development, Project Management or a related discipline.
• At least three years INGO experience, including at least two years working in a grants role.
• Familiarity with key humanitarian and development donors, and their specific reporting and compliance requirements (e.g. DFID, OFDA, EU, Irish Aid, UN, ECHO etc.)
• Significant experience of proposal development and familiarity with proposal and reporting formats.
• Ability to thrive and act independently in a high-pressured, results-focused, dynamic environment.
• Fluent spoken/written English language skills; proven excellent report and proposal writing ability.
• High attention to detail in reviewing and inputting to reports, proposals and other documents.
• Solid experience supporting the development of budgets and monitoring expenditure.
• Experience identifying and documenting lessons learned, development of quality case studies and/or other communication resources for different audiences.
• Experience of management of a diverse team
• Highly organised, with experience developing work-plans and tracking tools.
• Strong computer skills, particularly Microsoft Office, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Good networking abilities, interpersonal communication and presentation skills, ideally in multicultural contexts and with colleagues/partners/stakeholders at different levels.

Desirable:

• Knowledge of main institutional donor priorities for programming in Sudan.
• Programmatic experience and/or knowledge of some of the following approaches and sectors: Emergency Response, Resilience, Health and Nutrition, Livelihoods and Cash programming, Natural Resource Management NRM, WASH, Disaster Risk Reduction DRR,
• Demonstrated commitment to learning and using learning to strengthen practice.
• Professional knowledge of quality standards (e.g. CHS, Red Cross Code of Conduct, SPHERE); able to support colleagues in their use.
• Experience working in a consortia arrangement and/or with local implementing partners.
• Facilitation and/or training experience; keenness and ability to build capacity of colleagues (in e.g. in donor requirements, proposal/report writing, critical analysis, quality standards, communications materials).
• Willing to take on new responsibilities, within reason and if needed, especially in emergency scale-up.