Regional Project Coordinator At University Research Co.

University Research Co., LLC (URC)

URC is a global company dedicated to improving the quality of health care, social services, and health education worldwide. With a non-profit affiliate, the Center for Human Services (CHS), URC manages projects in over 45 countries, including the United States.

Established in 1965, URC offers a range of technical assistance to strengthen health and social systems and service quality by empowering communities and health workers to identify and scale up locally appropriate solutions to critical problems. Internationally, we expand access to and improve the quality of services addressing maternal, newborn, and child health; infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria; reproductive health and family planning; food and nutrition; and vulnerable children and families. In the US, we focus on improving communication related to issues like substance abuse, with particular focus on reaching underserved populations.

URC’s mission is to provide innovative, evidence-based solutions to health and social challenges worldwide. Please join us in carrying out our mission (http://www.urc-chs.com/).

Division Overview:

The Technical Programs Division is comprised of the Center for Technical Excellence (CTE), a knowledge management function (KM), and three regional teams that develop and manage programs in Southern, Eastern and Central Africa (AFR), Asia, Middle East and North Africa (Asia/MENA), and Global Programs, Latin America, and West Africa (GLW). CTE, KM, and the regional teams interact with each other to harvest best practices, develop innovative tools and approaches, support project implementation, and grow the regional portfolios.

Roles and Responsibilities:

The Project Coordinator is responsible for carrying out overall implementation and operational support and coordination for their designated project(s) within the Global, Latin America and Caribbean, and West Africa (GLW) Region portfolio, primarily the USAID/Mali-funded Household and Community Health (HCH) Activity. Reporting to the Program Officer, he/she/they serve as the primary liaison between the field offices and URC headquarters and as needed in matters related with their responsibility, coordinates communication with subcontractors or sub grantees, partner organizations, and donor agencies.

Primary responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:

Technical and Project Deliverables

• Provide full support to technical and program staff in the development and presentation of annual work plans and accompanying budgets;
• Tracking, develop, and ensure quality of project deliverables to include reports, summaries, and success stories. These deliverables may require writing, editing, proofreading, translating and/or coordinating translation services;
• Coordinate and support preparation and distribution of technical documents and corporate communications about the project;

Project Start-up and Close-out

• Coordinate and track project start-up and close-out activities, as needed, including mobilizing field-based staff, registration, coordinating relocation costs and logistics, establishing close-out timeline, and coordinating close budget monitoring in compliance with budget and client regulations;

Financial Management

• Review monthly project expenditures against budget and update financial tracker. Prepare written analyses of country spending as needed and coordinate monthly expenditure reviews with the GLW Finance Director. Alert project team to necessary contractual or management actions based on that review (i.e., line-item re-allocations, extensions needed etc.)
• Conduct programmatic review of monthly financial reports in accordance with contractual requirements and US Government regulations. Provide written certifications of review, as required;

Contracts Administration

• Ensure that program inputs are mobilized when needed, including in the areas of consultants and home office technical assistance, contracts, budgets, procurement, and HR, to support the achievement of project deliverables;
• Systematize the monitoring of achievement of various processes and contract deliverables through the development and use of project trackers. Use and maintain project trackers to ensure sound financial, administrative, and programmatic management of the projects and anticipate technical/program support needs and priorities;
• Ensure that contractually required and URC approval requirements (e.g., waivers, task orders, and approval memos) are met, and prepare justifications supporting those actions in coordination with senior technical, management, and contracts staff at HQ and country levels as needed;
• Process documentation needed to recruit and contract consultants and subcontractors; perform the actions necessary to initiate appropriate contractual mechanisms;
• Support management of subcontracts, including review of monthly expenditure vouchers against budgets, coordinating of regular partners’ meetings, and monitoring subcontractor technical inputs;

Operational Support and Overall Coordination

• Provide operational, technical, and financial management support to field-based projects and staff. This involves monitoring project expenses and providing detailed analyses for decision-making, reviewing and processing monthly field reports, preparing and analyzing quarterly financial reports, and developing various iterations of project budgets for different audiences;
• Coordinate project activities with partners and other organizations as appropriate. Prepare for meetings and presentations of project activities (set up meetings, develop PowerPoint presentations, etc.);
• Update and report on required equipment inventory and property management compliance documents as required by project contract or audits;
• Oversee travel arrangements for technical assistance visits in compliance with USAID regulations and obtain necessary approvals;
• Receive procurement documentation from field teams and conduct thorough review and analysis of completeness and compliance with USAID regulations. Arrange procurement and shipping of supplies and equipment to the field offices, as necessary;
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date electronic and paper filing systems for assigned projects;

Other Responsibilities

• As needed, attend and represent the organization in various events, seminars and functions;
• Other tasks as consistent with the nature of this position including support with business/proposal development efforts as applicable.
• Travel to developing countries as required up to 30% of the time.

Qualifications:

Required Experience & Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, accounting, international development, or related area/program of study.
• Minimum of one (1) year experience in a corporate support function, preferably on international donor funded projects in charge of programmatic and financial management tasks.
• Experience with financial management, including experience reviewing expenditure vouchers and accompanying receipts and determining allowability, allocability, and reasonableness of back-up documentation for expenditures.
• Background in budgeting, including experience with and aptitude for creating budget scenarios, projecting expenditures based on clear assumptions, and tracking actual expenditures against projections.
• Flexible and able to handle multiple tasks and work collaboratively with others. Able to work independently in a fast-paced organization by prioritizing and managing multiple priorities. Strong attention to detail and follow-through required.
• Excellent communication skills (verbal and written) in English are required.
• Advanced French language skills (verbal and written) are required.
• Computer literacy is required with intermediate skills in Word, Excel, PPT a must.

Desired Experience & Qualifications

• International field experience in developing country setting (such as Peace Corps service or equivalent) preferred.
• Experience working with donor-funded programs in an organization focused on international development is desired.
• Fluency in other major languages such as Spanish, Arabic, and others considered a major advantage.
• Experience in or demonstrable ability to present and brief diverse audiences with varying backgrounds and learning styles highly desired.

Physical Demands

• This position operates in a professional office environment and routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines.
• This position would require opening filing cabinets and bending or standing on a stool and may require the ability to lift files/folders/boxes, as necessary.
• This position may require travel up to 30% time to domestic and international locations with varying distances, duration, and modes of transport.

Please note: Only candidates who are eligible to work in the United States for an indefinite period without a need for sponsorship will be considered for this position.