Liberia: PACS Partnership Coordinator

BACKGROUND

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. The IRC's global 2020 strategy commits our organization to creating measurable, meaningful change in the lives of people we serve, focusing on outcomes linked to their health, safety, power, education, and economic wellbeing. The IRC has worked in Liberia since 1996 and is one of the largest humanitarian actors in the country. Guided by its 2015 - 2020 Strategic Action Plan, the IRC implements innovative health and women and children's protection projects in Nimba, Lofa, Bong, Montserrado, Maryland, River Gee, Grand Bassa, and Margibi counties.

SCOPE OF WORK

The IRC has entered into a cooperative agreement with USAID to implement the Partnerships for Advancing Community-Based Services (PACS) project in Liberia. The PACS project - a consortium consisting of IRC, Population Services International and Global Communities - is supporting sustainable country ownership of community-based health, social welfare, and WASH services through technical assistance and capacity building of relevant ministries. PACS is also working directly with local civil society organizations (CSOs) at the county and community level, providing them with funding opportunities and building their technical and operational capacity to play a key role in community service delivery.

PACS Implementation Overview

PACS is working in USAID's six priority counties, Lofa, Bong, Nimba, Margibi, Grand Bassa, and Monsterrado, to assist in the decentralization process and ensure that county and community-level systems are equipped to deliver high quality community-based services in line with key national county-specific strategies. PACS staff will work alongside county officials, strengthening their capacity to effectively supervise and coordinate community-based health, social welfare, and WASH services.

The IRC is seeking a Partnership and Consortium Coordinator to oversee the PACS approach for supporting local civil society groups as well as assure that the PACS consortium works together efficiently and effectively. This includes: 1) providing technical assistance in the health sector for local civil society groups, 2) working closely with these partners to strengthen organizational capacities and expertise, 3) issuing and managing sub-grants to partners, and 4) assuring that the PACS Consortium upholds compliance, reporting, and program design standards. The Partnership and Consortium Coordinator, under the direction of the Chief of Party will lead the PACS Partnership team (made up of a capacity building specialist and a sub-grants and compliance manager) to pursue the organizational development process of the local civil society organization in developing organizational development plans, in implementing them, and mentoring them to make progress against indicators defined in those plans. In addition, the Partnership Coordinator will be responsible for coordinating partner activities implemented under the PACS project and recommending actions to the Chief of Party as needed. Lastly, s/he will oversee a Sub-Grants Manager and a Capacity Building Specialist who are members of the partnership team. This position is anticipated to be phased out in Year 3 of the project.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategy and Vision

• Lead or co-lead the development of key documents such the development of the annual implementation plans and the drafting of the reports;
• Monitor regularly the implementation of the annual implementation plan for PACS;
• Coordinate with IRC sector and department heads to ensure partner-friendly practices and processes throughout PACS; and
• Contribute to PACS strategic direction and project action planning by serving as a key member of the management team.

Partner Support and Capacity Strengthening

• Coordinate and support Planned Parenthood Association of Liberia (PPAL) and Young Men's Christian Association of Liberia (YMCA) in conducting the organizational development process of local CSOs engaged in health, social welfare, and WASH in target counties;
• Make sure that YMCA and PPAL are also benefiting from the organizational development process;
• Oversee the management of partnership agreements between IRC and participating CSOs from each tier, outlining each organization's commitment to the capacity building process and its broad objectives.
• Coordinate with Partnership Team specific technical trainings and mentoring services for CSO staff designed to assist them in delivering services;
• Coordinate trainings for CSO staff on any newly introduced service packages ensuring CSO staff are fully trained to successfully implement their activities in compliance with emerging MOH standards and resources.
• Facilitate and lead Partnership Team, in supporting local partners in conducting an internal self-assessment process, using the tools adapted to the Liberian context;
• Lead Partnership Team in guiding the Partner CSO's in developing their performance improvement plans, which will consist of a concrete set of organizational development goals, specific indicators or milestones, and proposed interventions/actions aimed at strengthening organizational weaknesses, filling priority capacity gaps, and gender mainstreaming;
• Coordinate the Partnership Team in formalizing mentoring, coaching and support to partners to meet self-identified goals and priorities as outlined in capacity strengthening plans, in job descriptions and partnership agreements;
• Supervise and monitor on-the-job coaching by Partnership Team to the partners, and oversee the introduction of peer support activities through coordination mechanisms.
• Coordinate the development and adaptation of various simple-to-use and practical resource materials that will directly enhance local CSO staff's project management skills.

Team Management

• Lead the PACS Partnership Team to serve as a consistently available point of contact for local CSOs, walking them through a series of self-driven steps for performance improvement and eventual graduation to direct USAID management in alignment with the PACS organizational development approach.

Sub-Grant and Compliance Management

• Work with the Partnership Team to make sure that the sub-awards for the local organizations are managed in accordance with the IRC and USAID rules and regulations;

Consortium Coordination

• In coordination with other partners, lead the development of the PACS AIPY3, ensure timely submission of the Partnership's unit proposed activities;
• Facilitate a workshop with partners, including the MOH and CHT to finalize the AIPY3;
• In coordination with the Senior M&E Advisor, compile the PACS quarterly progress reports and annual reports and submit them to COP on time.

Requirements:

• Advanced degree in International Development, Project Management, Organizational Development, or other relevant field;
• Three to five years of organizational development or relevant capacity strengthening experience, ideally in West Africa;
• Strong commitment to staff professional development; at least two years' experience in supervising and mentoring national staff across different field sites;
• Good understanding of working in consortia and partnership, including proven ability to effectively collaborate, negotiate, represent, and facilitate complex discussions.
• Experience designing and overseeing partner mapping processes, ideally focused on civil society's role in service delivery;
• Proven capacity building expertise in organizational development, including the ability to tailor and target support for different levels/ sizes of civil society groups;Extensive knowledge of participatory organizational capacity assessments and methodologies; experience working with partners to identify prioritize organizational growth and development goals based on results of assessments;
• Ability to design and deliver trainings, provide on-the-job coaching or mentoring support, and facilitate workshops to support partners' capacity development priorities;
• Demonstrated ability to train and support staff in the use of capacity assessment tools and delivery of relevant trainings to partners;
• Extensive Familiarity with knowledge of USAID rules and regulations as they pertain to sub-grantees; familiarity with USAID Forward preferred a must;
• Experience with developing and managing sub-grants mechanisms and processes, including issuing requests for applications, overseeing reviews and approvals of applications, and negotiating and finalizing sub-agreements;
• Ability to coordinate across departments and units to ensure timely review of sub-grantees' financial reports and disbursement of funds;
• Strong communication and inter-personal skills; must be a strong team player with a participatory and inclusive management style;
• Highly capable in staff management, problem-solving, multi-tasking, and time management, particularly in a multi-cultural environment;
• Able to respond rapidly to changing environments, yet remain productive, focused, and inclusive of staff and partners' input;
• Experience with project start-up, especially in rural environments, a plus;
• Excellent written and verbal skills in the English language; and
• Willingness to travel frequently to remote program locations, often for an extended period of time.

Please follow this link to apply: http://www.aplitrak.com/?adid=a2F0cmluYW1pbGxlci4wMDc1My4zODMwQGlyYy5hcGxpdHJhay5jb20