Institutional Funding Specialist – Dublin At Concern Worldwide

Reports to: Manager, Institutional Funding Support Unit (IFSU)

Liaises with: International Programmes Department, Country teams, Fundraising departments (HQ, UK and US), Finance, Compliance, Advocacy, Technical Advisors

Job location: Concern Head Office, Dublin 2. Hybrid working.

Travel: 25% overseas travel

Pay Band: Pay Band 5 (€49,905 – 58,711)

Contract: Permanent, Full-Time

Job Purpose: The Institutional Funding Specialist (IFS) will be instrumental in supporting country teams to realise their funding targets. S/he will gain specific expertise on institutional donors and work with several units across Concern’s various departments and offices. S/he will provide dedicated support to country teams in the initial stages of project development and the pre-award stages of grant negotiation. The focus of this support could include large multi-annual grant applications, often of a consortium nature, as well as grants from new and existing donors and potentially contract applications. The Institutional Funding Specialist is expected to contribute to building and disseminating best practice, promoting and supporting the use of Concern’s Grant Management System (GMS), building donor intelligence and institutional knowledge to drive efficiency and help to improve success rates of applications.

Key Responsibilities:

Support securing flows of funding for country programmes through existing and new institutional donors:

Through coordination with the International Programmes Department (IPD) and Technical Units (SAL and Emergency Department):

• Liaise closely with Desk Officers to agree level of support for country teams which could range from a desk review to coordination of a funding application across countries to in-country programme design and proposal development;
• Present projects that align with Concern’s priorities, meet the donor call, offer value for money, have the potential for scale and impact and will deliver on results;
• Become familiar with and apply Concern’s processes and procedures to ensure adherence to best practice in developing proposals both as a single implementing agency and in consortia in grants and contracts;
• Promote and support the use of GMS along with Desk Officers to ensure technical/M&E/Finance HQ reviews of proposals both appropriately and on a timely basis;
• In liaison with Desk Officers and Regional Directors, support country programmes to develop country level Funding Strategies;
• Identify requirements/gaps and complementarity that could be offered by other partners;
• Where required and appropriate, provide support to consortia proposals considering the need for governance structures such as consortium management units and other consortia requirements;
• Support where required, any due diligence processes with the finance/compliance lead and ensure dedicated action plans in place where weaknesses have been identified;
• Support any risk assessments with the finance/compliance lead and ensure mitigation measures are included in the proposal document
• Through strong proposal support debriefing and reviews/Wash Ups, capture learning from successive applications particularly around donor reasons for rejection of applications.

Contribute to building knowledge on donor intelligence and funding trends:

• Establish strong knowledge of key donors including profiling, priorities and strategy review as well as forecasting of expected grant timelines and communication across the organisation;
• Keep relevant donor profiles in GMS up to date;
• Engage in donor relationship building as relevant;
• Thoroughly analyse, digest and summarise key donor guidelines/compliance specific to key opportunities identified;
• Oversee and support the analysis of funding trends and other analysis related to funding, using data available in GMS and elsewhere;
• Produce reports on various angles of funding as and when required.

Contribute to building Concern’s capacity to manage grants and incorporate best practice in programme implementation:

• Participate on an individual and team basis to develop guides and tools;
• Review and participate on work streams and events that enhance learning on programme approaches;
• Keep abreast of developments within Concern and the external environment;
• Participate in regular meetings with Grant Compliance Unit and Advocacy team and support joint initiatives.

The Institutional Funding Specialist will work closely with the other Institutional Funding Specialist in the IFSU team as well as with the Funding Support Officer and the IFSU Manager.

Any other duties as assigned by your line manager.

Skills and Experience Required:

Essential:

• Written and spoken French;
• Ability to travel at short notice;
• Ability to work to tight deadlines;
• Undergraduate degree in field related to humanitarian, development or international affairs;
• At least 3 years’ overseas experience at management level with an international NGO;
• Programme management experience;
• Articulate with strong presentation and excellent writing skills;
• Experience and knowledge of institutional donors;
• Excellent facilitation, brokering and negotiation skills;
• Uses initiative and works proactively.

Desirable:

• Consortium management experience (lead agency or partner);
• Coaching and capacity building skills;
• Monitoring and Evaluation skills;
• Previous experience in a similar role an advantage.