Head of Awards Management At Save the Children

The Opportunity

The Head of Awards Management is responsible for delivering an efficient and effective awards management function. He/ She will lead awards management processes for all programmes across the Afghanistan Country Office. The role has three main aspects to it: lead and develop the Country Office award management effort; capacity building for staff, and contributing to the development of best practices systems and processes. The role offers a leadership opportunity for an individual highly experienced in grants management, cross functional coordination and donor communications. It requires an individual capable of providing strategic leadership to a dynamic team which is responsible for the management of a portfolio of currently active awards.

In the event of a major humanitarian emergency, the role holder will be expected to work outside the normal role profile and be able to vary working hours accordingly.

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY*:*

Developing self and others; Networking

• Building a high performing award management team to support good practice and high quality delivery across the Country Office
• Lead Award Management related capacity building both within the AM team and for other relevant staff members including budget holders
• Develop strong relationships with the region, centre, members and other Award Directors in the region; escalate issues through the correct channels when required and stay the point of contact between the CO and the members/RO AM/donors

Communicating with impact:

• Provide strategic support to the CD on all aspects of award management and donor compliance; champion Award management at the Country Office
• Ensure the production of high quality and timely reports that accurately reflect the impact achieved and lessons learnt during the implementation of an award
• Build and maintain relationships with relevant networks and award management staff of similar organisations in the country, as well as local representatives of donor organisations
• Lead the Grants Management Committee (GMC) and ensure decision-making is inclusive and effective and actions of GMC meeting are addressed in a timely manner

Compliance (systems, processes & donor):

• To engage globally on the development of Save the Children systems and processes and the sharing of best practice
• To ensure that the Award Management System (AMS) is effectively maintained and up to date for all awards and sub-awards including authorisation and document retention
• To ensure that key staff (ESMT members, Budget Holders, partners’ staff, etc.) have a clear understanding of donor compliance requirements throughout the project management cycle and that there is a complete audit trail of the implementation and reporting for all awards

Monitoring and analysis:

• Working in collaboration with the Finance Director and SMT, ensure the CO has a clear framework for master budget development, cost allocation, monitoring of award budgets, phasing and forecasting, ensuring alignment between the master budget and funding tracker.
• Using strong financial analysis skills to oversee the award portfolio and pipeline
• To work in collaboration with the finance department and provide technical advice regarding strategic donor costs allocations with a view to minimise compliance issues where possible
• Ensure personal commitment to support MEAL system in all programs.
• Committed to facilitate that, MEAL is everyone’s responsibility.

Leadership, portfolio management & strategy

• Define the strategic direction of the awards management unit and undertake effective planning that supports the unit to establish and maintain an efficient and effective awards management process
• To use key performance indicators (KPIs) and other management information to identify and address operational issues that could impact negatively on the delivery of programmes
• Support the development of an organisational culture that reflects our dual mandate values, promotes accountability and high performance and frees up our people to deliver outstanding results for children and excellent customer service for our Members and donors
• To provide detailed analysis of current awards to senior management

Partnership:

• Ensure personal commitment in building constructive working relationship with partners based on SCI partnership principles spelled out in Theory of Change
• Oversee and monitor Partners’ performance in accordance with the Agreement and as required per Save the Children policies and procedures
• Ensure that Partners through training and capacity building in collaboration with the Partnership Unit and program staff is carried out, monitored and evaluated

QUALIFICATIONS

• Masters or equivalent degree in International Development or Business and Administration

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

Essential

• Excellent planning, management and coordination skills, with the ability to organise a demanding workload comprised of diverse and challenging tasks and responsibilities
• Proven track record of active contribution to the senior management team (SMT), and providing strategic support across multiple sectors and/or regions
• Extensive experience with NGOs with increasing responsibilities including a proven experience of establishing and running the award management function in the field
• Knowledge of the requirements of major institutional donors including budgeting, eligibility issues, compliance management, and reporting; experience of engaging with donors at a strategic level
• Well-developed skills in staff management. Proven coaching and capacity building skills
• Understanding of the financial aspects of award management, and understanding of operations and programming
• Very strong attention to detail, problem solving skills, and ability to analyse trends
• Computer literate (i.e. Word, Excel, Outlook, Internet Explorer, financial systems)
• Cultural awareness and ability to build relationships quickly with a wide variety of people
• Patient, adaptable, able to improvise, and communicate clearly and effectively under pressure
• Strong communication (written and spoken) in English, and strong interpersonal skills, with experience in managing multicultural teams

Desirable

• Experience with award management policies, procedures and systems and Save the Children’s award management system (AMS)
• Understanding of financial reporting from Save the Children’s accounting software (Agresso)
• Experience of Project Management, M&E Management or Funding Coordination

Additional job responsibilities:

The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience.

Equal Opportunities:

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI Equal Opportunities and Diversity policies and procedures.

Child Safeguarding:

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

Safeguarding our Staff:

The post holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI anti-harassment policy.

Health and Safety:

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI Health and Safety policies and procedures.

Application Information

Please apply using a cover letter and up-to-date CV as a single document. Please also include details of your current remuneration and salary expectations. A copy of the full role profile can be found at www.savethechildren.net/careers

Closing Date for Application: 31 July 2021

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

All employees are expected to carry out their duties in accordance with our global anti-harassment policy.