Program and Award Advisor- Global

BACKGROUND

Over the past 80 years, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has developed unparalleled expertise in responding to emergencies and helping uprooted communities to rebuild. 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 International Rescue Committee is a global network with its headquarters in New York. The IRC is on the ground in more than 40 countries, providing emergency relief, relocating refugees and rebuilding lives in the wake of disaster.

The IRC is committed to a culture of bold leadership, innovation in all aspects of our work, creative partnerships and, most crucially, accountability to those we serve. The IRC is a tireless advocate for the most vulnerable.

IRC UK

IRC UK was established in 1997 to support the organisation’s global activities and particularly to diversify its donor/client base and be able to better advocate with policymakers on behalf of the people we serve. Since its establishment IRC UK has grown rapidly and now comprises approximately 170 staff. In Europe, the IRC also has offices in Berlin, Bonn, Brussels, Geneva and Stockholm.

The Awards Management Unit (AMU)

Established in January 2016, the Awards Management Unit (AMU) is a global department with the responsibility for identifying, securing, and managing all funding from statutory/government donors. The department includes the following teams: Program and Award Support, Strategic Partnerships, Compliance and Policy, Business Development, and Training.

The Program and Award Support (PAS) team is a bridge between donor/client s and program implementing units: providing expert technical advice to the program implementing teams, while maintaining portfolio-level visibility to ensure consistency and compliance, and manage risk. This unit ensures that donor compliance policies and procedures are implemented consistently, and supports all staff working across the award management cycle for all restricted funding from global government sources.

The Crisis Response, Recovery and Development (CRRD) Department

The Crisis Response, Recovery and Development (CRRD) Department has a growing portfolio of humanitarian relief, post-crisis recovery, and development programs under their remit. This work focuses support in five key areas: ensuring safety from harm, improving health, increasing access to education, improving economic well-being and ensuring people have the power to influence decisions that affect their lives. In all these programs, there is a drive to address the unique needs of women and girls (who represent the majority of those displaced) – and the universal barriers they face.

The CRRD works across 6 regions globally, including West Africa, East Africa, Great Lakes, Middle East and North Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The PAS Global Team supports all other implementing units that are not supported by the 6 CRRD regions. These include Technical Excellence (TEx), Airbel (R&I), and Emergencies and Humanitarian Action Unit (EHAU), among others. The PAS teams are the links between program implementing departments and key HQ departments, and aim to support and provide advice to program implementing departments with a range of issues from strategic planning, business development, to compliance, awards management, and partnerships management.

Purpose of the Role

The Program & Award Advisor plays a vital role within the Program and Award Support Team overseeing an award portfolio of humanitarian relief and post-crisis recovery grants and commercial contracts. The Program & Award Advisor coordinates with Technical Excellence, Airbel, EHAU, and other program implementing departments, HQ departments and donor contacts to ensure high quality guidance and support to CRRD throughout the award lifecycle. The role works with program implementing departments to ensure compliance with donor rules and regulations and IRC systems and processes and supports on the review and submission of high-quality donor deliverables. The Program & Award Advisor represents the program implementation teams to internal and external stakeholders and manages donor relationships as appropriate.

Key Working Relationships

Reports to Deputy Director – Technical and Global Awards. Works closely with all Global Program and Award Support team members, and across all teams within Awards Management Unit, Crisis Response Recovery and Development Department, Global Partnerships and Philanthropy, Global Supply Chain, Finance, Office of General Counsel, Technical Excellence, and other key departments within IRC. Donor/client and partner point of contact as applicable. Engages with the Senior Contracts Specialists as escalated support for complex or high-risk contractual scenarios.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Awards Management and Compliance

• Oversee a portfolio of awards for the Global team. Main donors in portfolio will include FCDO, USAID, UN and other donors as assigned.
• Serve as the first point of contact for program implementing Grants/Contracts and Partnerships teams and provide guidance and support on matters related to donor/client compliance and communication, project management (e.g. project cycle meetings), OTIS and partnerships (PEERS).
• Participate in regular meetings with relevant program implementing teams to provide support and collaborate with program teams on issues related to donor/client compliance, submissions of reports and other post award deliverables, and/or monitoring/awards management.
• Guide relevant program implementing teams in managing partnerships with local or international partners, ensuring that IRC’s Partnership Excellence for Equality and Results System (PEERS) is being followed, review and process sub-award/partnership agreements in alignment with PEERS, and coordinate with the compliance team in supporting compliant and effective partnerships as needed.
• Review agreements and lead negotiation of award terms and conditions with donor/client counterparts in alignment with internal processes.
• Guide relevant program implementing teams, in partnership with other relevant departments, in the development and submission of award amendments/modifications, ensuring high-quality, compliant submissions.
• Where appropriate, supervise Program & Award Officer(s) in the review and submission of donor/client reports and other deliverables, ensuring input from relevant technical and financial staff.
• Provide support on private opportunities and awards management, in coordination with the Support Manager and private fundraising team as assigned.
• Provide support to and monitoring of projects to ensure progress against objectives and compliance with donor/client guidelines and IRC internal requirements. Monitoring of awards can take the shape of monitoring visits, participation in project implementation meetings and other regular calls, such as attending Project Cycle Meetings.
• Facilitate and build interdepartmental relationships to address country office needs and solve problems in relation to awards management, partnership management and compliance.
• Maintain a strong relationship with regional and AMU leadership and escalate issues of concern as needed.
• Work with Senior Contracts Specialists to resolve complex or high-risk contractual scenarios.
• Supervise direct reports in carrying out necessary functions as they relate to country program support.
• Stay informed about programmatic issues and security and political developments in the region and how they might affect program implementation.
• Coordinate with regional Program & Award Advisors for information sharing and to establish a coherent program support and backstopping function between headquarters and the field.
• Travel to country offices to provide surge support and monitoring across the areas of programs, awards, and partnerships, including for gap-filling purposes as requested.

Proposal Development

• In collaboration with the Business Development team, support business development by providing effective proposal support, ranging from proposal management to comprehensive support and quality assurance as needed.
• Provide quality assurance and quality compliance support on proposals, leading proposal development and coordination as needed. Ensure responsiveness to and compliance with solicitation documents and with IRC’s requirements.
• Review and advise on internal policy and donor/client requirements, budgets and supporting documentation for proposals in coordination with AMU and HQ Finance Department.
• Facilitate and/or participate in internal post-submission debrief sessions with relevant program implementing teams, technical units, regional team and other relevant stakeholders to collect lessons learned as needed.
• Maintain complete and accurate electronic files, including final submission packages and internal trackers, in coordination with the Business Development team.

Donor Liaison and Representation

• Maintain contact with donor/client s regarding updates, amendments, or key programmatic changes.
• Liaise with donor/clients on ongoing and future opportunities.
• Represent IRC externally to donor/client s and stakeholder networks, as appropriate.
• Participate in representational visits, events and meetings as requested.

Capacity Building and Training

• Mentor and coach Grants/Contracts and Partnerships staff on IRC systems and processes to ensure capacity is built at country level.
• As requested, develop program specific training materials, in reference to core IRC training materials, and deliver training to IRC program staff in coordination with the Directors, Awards Management, Deputy Director, Technical and Global Awards, the Senior Contracts Specialists, and the AMU Training and Compliance team.
• In coordination with the Directors, Awards Management and Deputy Director, Technical and Global Awards develop and maintain work-processes and checklists for awards implementation and reviews, as well as record lessons learned.
• Onboard new country office Grants/Contracts and Partnerships staff and new Program and Award Support team to assigned donor/clients, policies and/or IRC processes.
• Feedback lessons-learned for implementing contracts to the Senior Contracts Specialists, and support institutionalizing the lessons-learned process across contracts within IRC.

Other Responsibilities

• Contribute to AMU and regional strategic priorities and initiatives.
• Liaise with communications and external relations staff to inform IRC media products as needed.
• Participate in special projects as needed and other tasks as assigned.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Essential

Skills, Knowledge and Qualifications:

• Strong background in FCDO and/or USAID commercial contracts.
• Five years of progressive work experience in award management or business development with donor/clients
• Two years of international field experience highly desirable
• Project management experience preferred
• Financial analysis skills preferred
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including experience in speaking on relevant issues with internal and external audiences
• Proven ability to effectively manage relationships (e.g., with internal actors, peers, donor/client s)
• Effective people management skills: ability to lead staff and promote productivity in a pleasant work environment
• Proven ability to manage multiple and complex tasks and thrive under pressure
• Solid organizational and creative problem-solving skills: ability to be flexible and work well under pressure in a fast-paced multi-tasking team environment
• Fluency in English, both spoken and written. Other languages (particularly French, Spanish and German) desirable
• Ability and willingness to travel internationally

Experience:

• Experience in working at a distance and supporting field-based staff
• Experience writing, reviewing and editing narrative and financial reports and excellent attention to detail

Candidates must have the right to work in the IRC location they will be working from.

​The application deadline is midnight 16th September 2022.

​IRC UK strives to be an equal opportunities employer. IRC UK is committed to equality of opportunity and to non-discrimination for all job applicants and employees, and we seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce regardless of gender, race, religious beliefs, nationality, ethnic/national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability.

​IRC UK welcomes applications from all candidates, including underrepresented groups and refugees who have the right to work in the UK.

​IRC UK will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable adjustments to participate in the job application and/or interview process, and for essential job functions if appointed to a role. Please contact us if you may need such adjustments.