Cameroon: Grant manager

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.

IRC has been present in Cameroon since January 2016 when the organization launched an assessment in response to increasing concerns for people affected by violence linked to Boko Haram. In March 2016, IRC opened a field office in Maroua in the Far North, delivering lifesaving programming to increase access to water and improving hygiene practices in vulnerable displaced and host communities, cash programming to enable poor families to meet basic needs and improve food security, and protection programming, including meeting specific needs of women and girls. With funds from European and American donors, the IRC has an ambition to deliver quality humanitarian and recovery programs to meet the needs of vulnerable displaced and host families.

JOB OVERVIEW: The Grants Manager provides day-to-day oversight of the grants portfolio for IRC Cameroon. The Grants Manager is the focal point for all proposal development, donor reporting, information management and grants management capacity-building efforts. As a member of the country program Senior Management Team, the Grants Manager contributes to strategic evaluation and decision-making regarding the direction and priorities of the country program. The Grants Manager also provides key support in in-country donor relations, business development, communications and advocacy, programmatic and budgetary monitoring, compliance with donor and internal IRC rules and regulations and other key functions as required.

The Grants Manager is directly supervised by the Deputy Director of Programmes.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Grants & Compliance

• Ensure that deadlines and development timelines for reports to donors are clearly communicated to key staff, and that reports to donors are coherent and accurately written
• Establish and maintain information management processes for the IRC Cameroon grant portfolio
• Facilitate Grant Opening and Closing meetings, and participate in regular grants management meetings which include representation from each unit (finance, programs, logistics) and ensure prompt and proper follow up of issues raised
• In coordination with IRC-UK and IRC NY, monitor implementation of programs to ensure they are in accordance with donor and IRC internal requirements
• With support from the IRC's HQ staff, address donor compliance questions from IRC Cameroon program and finance staff to ensure compliance with donor regulations

Proposal Development

• In coordination with the Deputy Director for Programmes lead program staff teams in the development of quality proposals. Act as the lead writer for all proposals.
• Liaise with NY grants units, technical units and IRC UK to ensure proposals meet internal standards, apply IRC Program Framework principles and are donor compliant
• Conduct visits to field sites in order to work directly with program staff on the development of proposals and to regularly visit IRC program activities

Training and capacity-building

• Build grant management capacity of field staff by facilitating training, and providing one-on-one follow-up support, in report writing, proposal development and other topics.
• Ensure all managers are aware of key compliance regulations

Information management, data collection, and communications

• Distribute and share with key IRC staff copies of all documentation (grant proposals, reports, budget etc) related to their specific programs. Ensure comprehensive grant files are maintained up to date and are available for use by key staff
• Act as an information resource on Cameroon. In connection with the Deputy Director of Programmes, be able to provide informative and varied articles from several sources regarding the current political, socio-economic, security situation in the country
• Provide briefing papers and support development of external communication tools as relevant for donor visits/meetings on IRC Cameroon as a whole and IRC Cameroon programs in particular
• Produce external communications materials for use in in-country advocacy and business development efforts
• Attend coordination meetings when Deputy Director of Programmes and/or sector coordinators are not available to collect and share information on program work and security information in Cameroon
• Manage the proposal submission approval process through IRC's electronic proposal database, OTIS, and coordinate revisions to the proposal, agreements and amendments in the system, based on HQ feedback

Program and strategy development

• Contribute to strategic evaluation and decision-making regarding the direction and priorities of the country program
• Participate in internal program strategy meetings with senior management team
• Participate in meetings with in-country donor representatives to discuss ongoing and future programs
• Keep informed of any media and advocacy opportunities, and work closely with the communication and advocacy team at HQ (US and UK).
• Support opportunities for Lake Chad Basin grant collaboration

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree in relevant field
• Excellent oral and written reporting skills and demonstrated ability to write and edit reports under deadline pressure.
• Ability to write clear and concise reports and proposals and to meet required reporting deadlines
• Working knowledge of budget development and management
• Ability to contribute to assessment planning and analysis, and to gather and synthesize information from a range of internal and external sources
• Experience working in a multi-cultural setting
• Competence with Windows, Microsoft Office
• Ability to work in unstable security environments
• Previous experience and familiarity with working with international partners, in particular UN and USG donors
• Ability to work in unstable security environment and abide with the security policies.
• Fluent written and spoken English and French required

WORKING ENVIRONMENT:

Security: Maroua is security level III (orange) and the IRC has a curfew in place. Lodging is in a shared IRC guesthouse.

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

This is an unaccompanied position.

Please follow this link to apply: http://www.aplitrak.com/?adid=a2F0cmluYW1pbGxlci4wNDQxMS4zODMwQGlyYy5hcGxpdHJhay5jb20