Senior Grants Coordinator

The IRC Kenya Sn Grants Coordinator will report to and work with the Deputy Director for Grants and Accountability (DDGA) for the Kenya country programme to maintain quality grants coordination. Reporting to the DDGA, this position will work closely with all departments and staff including senior program  coordinators, partnerships, MEAL, technical coordinators, finance, and operations on compliance, donor relations, business development and reporting. The Sn Grants Coordinator sitting in Nairobi will supervise a team of Grants Manager and Officers located in different locations.

 The IRC Kenya Sn Grants Coordinator will additionally liaise with the East Africa Regional office in Nairobi, as well as IRC Headquarters colleagues in NY, Germany and the UK.   

Major Responsibilities: 

Program Design & Proposal Development 

• Support the DDGA to cultivate donor relationships in Kenya and the Region.
• Track upcoming opportunities by priority sectors in the country programme
• Support the development and management of the BD strategy for Kenya.
• Support the DDGA and technical leads in comprehensive business development and develop funding proposals, appropriate to the context and aligned with the country-level Strategic Action Plan.
• Lead proposal development initiatives, providing overall coordination function between HQ IRC’s global technical advisors, partners, finance, operations, HR, and program focal points to ensure smooth and timely proposal development processes.
• Serve as team lead for all proposals, working with and /or overseeing other key roles (e.g. regional support team, consultants) when needed and as resources are available to support them.
• Ensure proposals are tracked with standard IRC tracking tools (e.g. OTIS, Internal tracker)
• In collaboration with MEAL Coordinator, utilize needs assessments contextual analysis results to inform project design
• Monitor major donor trends (policies, strategic directions, etc.) and funding opportunities through regular research and monitoring of information on relevant websites and/or other sources.
• Support program growth aligned with strategic priorities through liaising and collaborating with respective technical units in program design, researching context, gaps, needs assessments, and viable new funding opportunities.
• Ensure the identification, appraisal, and mapping of partners is carried out in a constructively and consistently, and that strategic partners are appropriately engaged in pre-positioning and proposals development processes.
• Interpreting donor solicitations and donor-specific rules and regulations to ensure a responsive and compliant proposal design
• Support proposal budget develop and ensure responsiveness and that it matches the technical narrative.
• Consolidate written inputs into a cohesive proposal narrative; write non-technical sections such as the management and past performance sections.
• Edit full technical proposal and budget narrative for coherence, length, uniformity, and responsiveness to the solicitation.
• Ensure timely submission of quality proposals

Grants Management and Compliance

• Review and negotiate donor contracts and agreements
• Review any request for extension and amendments in coordination with the DDGA and maintain a tracker for IRC and partners payments and expenditure per each grant
• Manage and provide overall oversight of the grants portfolio and regularly update the grants tracker for dissemination internally and to Awards Management Unit
• Ensure open, timely and accurate information flow within the Grants Unit and between the Unit and relevant departments
• Ensure the submission of timely and high-quality reports (including narrative, financial and MEAL) to donors, including the development and update of regular funding and reporting trackers and schedules for dissemination to relevant staff
• Maintain strong oversight of the portfolio and pipeline, including grant opening and closing dates to ensure timely submission of all related deliverables
• Provide technical guidance on IRC and donor regulations to ensure compliance within operations, program implementation and reporting
• Raise compliance issues proactively with program staff and the DDGA, DDP, DDF and DDO for timely action and keep senior management informed of any projected inabilities to meet contractual obligations, reports submission and of spend rates/signification budget variances.
• Manage and/or support all agreements reviews, revisions, amendments, and budget realignments, including relevant approvals
• Leads the Grants Unit to coordinate closely with finance teams and review project spending plans and financial health to ensure effective spending amendments, and closeout activities
• In coordination with DDGA, conduct project lessons learned meeting during project closeout phase

Human Resources Management, capacity building  and development 

• Coach, train, supervise and mentor direct-report staff, including communicating clear expectations, setting quarterly performance objectives, providing regular and timely positive and constructive performance feedback, and providing documented semi-annual performance reviews.
• Make sure the Grants team work as one even if sitting in different locations and covering different field locations
• Hold high-quality meetings with each direct report on a regular and predictable basis, at least bi-weekly.
• Provide a measurable development plan including on-the-job learning with the aim of strengthening technical capacity, exchanging knowledge within the team and providing guidance on career paths.
• In coordination with HR colleagues, promote and monitor staff care, well-being and self-care. Approve and manage all time, attendance and leave requests to ensure adequate departmental coverage. Model healthy work-life balance practices. Support appropriate interventions in response to identified staff care needs of both national and international staff.
• Look for opportunities to support staff in their career growth, where appropriate. Offer leadership support for successful adherence by staff to IRC’s country and Global HR Operating Policies and Procedures.
• Develop a detailed capacity building plan for the grants department with regular trainings (minimum quarterly). As part of succession plan and nationalization goals, identify, train and develop capability and capacity of a national staff to successfully transition role and responsibilities, by end of assignment.
• Identify top performing national staff and prioritize these staff for capacity building and mentoring investment.
• Build the capacity of key program staff in grants management including reporting, compliance, proposal development, compliance etc. through regular trainings.
• Maintain open and professional relations with team members, promoting a strong team spirit and providing oversight and guidance to enable staff to successfully perform in their positions.
• Work with HR staff to identify and implement recruitment and retention strategies.

Partnerships 

IRC Kenya has committed in its SAP to spend 8% of funding through local partners by FY2024. The grants unit facilitates this process by:

• Contributing to achievement of goals related to the SAP partnerships ambition including identification and onboarding of Strategic Partners
• Embody and model IRC values related to partnerships (partner as equals, partner first) and facilitate this approach in implementation of IRC programmes
• Support development and maintenance of strategic partnerships.
• Support negotiation of partner sub award agreements in coordination with the Partnerships Coordinator, Award Management Unit and Compliance Unit

 Representation and Advocacy

• In coordination with the DDP/DDGA, actively develop and maintain effective working relationships with stakeholders including local communities, donors, government actors, UN agencies, international and local NGOs, and other relevant actors. Liaise with county and national governments, donors, NGOs, and other operational partners in Kenya via attendance at meetings, consultations and other forums.
• In coordination with the DDP/ Senior Coordinator for Program delivery, assist in organizing donor visits by supporting staff in the smooth design and running of field visits.

Country Program Management

• Actively participate in and contribute to strategy discussions, including SAP revision processes
• Stay updated on new IRC priorities, policies, or process updates and ensure Grants & Partnerships and MEAL units are informed of any changes

Requirements

Education

• Advanced degree – international studies/development or similar OR Bachelor’s Degree with significant grants management experience and superior writing skills.

Work Experience

• At least 7 years of demonstrated field-based experience with humanitarian grants management, possibly including experience working with sub-grantee partners to build their capacity to access and account for resources.  5 years of this experience should be working in relief and development contexts.

Languages

• Professional fluency in spoken and written English.
• Familiarity with Kiswahili is an advantage.

Source: https://careers.rescue.org/us/en/job/req51481/Senior-Grants-Coordinator