Senior Grants & Partnerships Coordinator

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world’s largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 50 countries and more than 25 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you’re a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

Job Overview/Summary: The overall aim of Senior Grants and Partnerships leadership is to ensure that there is a positive donor relationship and that awards are managed efficiently and effectively to meet the needs of our clients.

This new position strategically feeds into Poland Country programme through streamlined, coherent coordination of ongoing awards, subawards and new opportunities. Grants supports the IRC’s mission in helping people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster, including the climate crisis, to survive, recover, and gain control over their future by ensuring funding is available for country offices to implement quality programming. Partnerships ensures IRC subawards are managed up to highest internal IRC and external legal compliance standards. The Senior Grants and Grants Coordinator, under the supervision of the Deputy Director for Programs (DDP), will provide support on all components of the grant, project and subaward lifecycle to ensure on-track, on-time, and on-budget implementation. This will include managing the process from initial evaluation to proposal development to grant management to closeout, developing and strengthening systems to support pre-award, post-award, and communications that enhance IRC Poland’s external and internal visibility.

Main responsibilities:

Business Development

· Develop a Business Development Strategy closely aligned to the Poland Country Programme Strategy; lead in the realization of the Business Development Strategy

· Under the supervision of the DDP identify and support in the development of donor relationships nationally

· Track upcoming opportunities by priority sector

· Coordinate the preparation of proactive materials such as brochures, concept notes and newsletters that will contribute to the attainment of business development objectives.

· Support development of external communication tools as relevant for donor visits/meetings on IRC Poland as a whole and IRC Poland programs in particular

Concept note and proposal development

· Under the supervision of the DDP, lead the process of go-no-go (GNG) process, by coordinating the meetings, guiding the agenda and by documenting and circulating notes,

· Creating and ensuring the OTIS opportunity and overview is correct throughout the proposal development process, and that all workflows are completed,

· Coordinating concept note and/or proposal development (including logframe meetings) and working with program staff, partnerships unit, technical advisers, and regional teams on the development of donor-required concept note and/or proposal materials aligning IRC strategic approach to donor requirements,

· Ensuring all proposal signoffs and approvals at the country and regional level have been obtained

· Preparing the final donor-facing versions for submission, and in some cases, directly submitting to the donor

Reporting and Award Management:

· Organizing and storing key award files and project management files on IRC’s systems and that all staff have access to and utilize the accurate award files,

· Completing agreement review for new awards alongside HQ,

· Ensuring an accurate reporting calendar for the whole portfolio,

· Managing the reporting processes for the IRC and its partners to meet internal (e.g. HQ) and donor deadlines with high-quality reports,

· Supporting accurate budget management by monitoring burn rates using the BvA and spending plans,

· Monitoring progress against indicators through collaboration with MEAL tools and resources, and

· Proactively monitoring awards to avoid amendments, however if one is identified, ensuring the amendment process is effectively followed aligning to IRC processes

Coordination and Communication:

· Ensuring proper review of donor facing materials, including proposals and reports, by HQ regional grants team, TAs, MEAL, DDP/CD,

· Notifying country program staff or partnerships of any changes to awards, including proposal approvals, amendment approvals, T1 updates, or key donor needs,

· Keeping written publications and internal planning files aligned to IRC branding guidelines, and

· Coordinating donor meetings and preparing written ad-hoc updates for donors, particularly those for critical context shifts

Project Cycle Management (PCM):

· Consolidating key files and ensuring these files are appropriately stored on Box,

· Developing and maintaining the schedule for PCM meetings per IRC standards,

· Acting as country program focal point for PCM guidance,

· Scheduling and participating in the meetings, and

· Ensuring that the meetings are used to discuss cross-departmental coordination and any pain points between departments

Management in Partnerships:

· Line managing key partnerships managerial staff.

· Establishing deliberate, inter-department routines in partnerships management with Finance and Supply Chain, in line with PEERS.

· Reinforcing chain of accountability in partnership forming relationships, up to highest internal IRC and external legal compliance standards.

· Together with the partnership senior manager and manager, proactively map and identify new partners, including refugee-led organizations, private and public-sector entities, to collaborate with IRC in the delivery of services to refugees in Poland.

· Co-facilitate and guide competitive and non-competitive partner selection processes to identify new
partners, as well as new applications from existing partners, in coherence with PEERS.

· Establish and manage the Partnership Working Group (co-responsible for delivering the functions of the PWG),
including referral of issues to Senior Management Team as appropriate.

· Coordinate and participate in timely and effective partner program, finance, and compliance review and reflection (monitoring), and work with the Partnership Working Group to address any project performance issues.

Donor and IRC compliance**:**

· Providing guidance on donor regulations during both proposal development as well as upon award start-up,

· Creating and maintaining a compliance cheat sheet that is accessible to all staff with key award considerations based on the agreement, and

· Responding to compliance queries, coordinating with HQ regional grants team as needed for complex cases

Key Working Relationships

Position Reports to: Deputy Director of Programs (DDP)
Works closely with: Program leads, Finance lead, Operation teams, PartnershipsFinance

Indirect Reporting: n/a

Requirements:
· Bachelors degree in relevant discipline
· At least five years of grants or project management experience, preferably within the humanitarian sector
· Proven ability to communicate requirements and standards across departments, promote collaboration and provide grants development and compliance training to staff and partners
· Substantial experience in grants management or humanitarian program management, including working in emergency/conflict areas
· Knowledge of donor regulations, procedures, and requirements, including UN donors and other institutional donors such as BPRM, GFFO, GAC, FCDO etc
· Exceptional English writing skills, Polish speaking candidates highly preferred
· Previous experience in establishing high quality program monitoring systems and/or budget development strongly preferred.
· Knowledge of IRC PEERS preferred

Standard of Professional Conduct: The IRC and the IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – our Code of Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability, and Equality.

Commitment to Gender, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: The IRC is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, respectful, and safe work environment where all persons are treated fairly, with dignity and respect. The IRC expressly prohibits and will not tolerate discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or bullying of the IRC persons in any work setting. We aim to increase the representation of women, people that are from country and communities we serve, and people who identify as races and ethnicities that are under-represented in global power structures.