General job description
the Grant Manager will ensure :
- timely and quality formulation and submission of Donors’ proposals, in accordance to the annual Volume Objective Signature (VOS)
- high-quality Donors reporting to all Action Against Hunger -Syria projects
- coordination (Mission - HQ) and monitoring of proposals and reports through established tools
- support the Mission and HQ in new and current Donors engagement for funding opportunities.
- design and monitor regularly the Donor mapping for the Mission, in coordination with HQ and DCD, and to support the CD/DCD and PC in analyzing the funding trends and Donors strategies.
- develop grant guidelines, processes and procedures, and training of staff members on these procedures and proposal/report writing.
for more information about our work in Syria please go to https://www.accioncontraelhambre.org/es/oriente-proximo/siria
Key activities
The Grants Manager, in close collaboration with the Deputy Country Director - Operations and the Coordination Team, will ensure regular oversight, monitoring, and support to the management of the Mission’s grant portfolio throughout the lifecycle of all grants, from early discussions with the donor and/or organizational partners, proposal preparation, to grant compliance checks, and reporting.
Objective 1: Identification, coordination, preparation, writing and submission of quality and timely concept notes and full proposals, following Action Against Hunger’s validation processes and taking into account the donor guidelines
- In collaboration with the Deputy Country Director - Operations and Deputy Country Director - Support, he/she will contribute to define the annual Mission-Budget/Volume Objective Signature (V)s.
- In accordance with the annual VOS, under the supervision of the Deputy Country Director - Operations, he/she will develop a roadmap for the annual proposals’ formulation and submission.
- Under the supervision of the Deputy Country Director - Operations, and in close collaboration with the Coordination Team (Program/WASH/FSL/Nutrition and Health/MEAL/Log/Finance coordinators as well as AAH’ international technical advisors) he/she will formulate concept note(s) as first stage of proposal submission to international and local donors.
- He/she will coordinate any donor feedback/issue letter and ensure timely submission of requested feedback and resubmission
- When necessary, under the supervision of the Deputy Country Director - Operations, and in close collaboration with the Coordination Team (Program/WASH/FSL/Nutrition and Health/Advocacy coordinators and managers), he/she will analyze and capitalize assessments (Rapid Needs Assessment), baselines, and field observations for needs identification.
- When necessary, under the supervision of the Deputy Country Director - Operations, and in close collaboration with the Coordination Team (Program/WASH/FSL/Nutrition and Health/Advocacy coordinators and managers), he/she will identify interventions to be presented to international/local donors.
- In coordination with CD/DCD/PC, he/she will regularly coordinate with the Advocacy focal point to collect and share inputs on Donor strategies and high-level international and local engagement
Objective 2: Coordinate and supervise the production and submission of quality and timely donor reports
- In accordance with the established Reporting Process, he/she will supervise the coordination of donors’ reports led by the Reporting Officer, validating the final product by ensuring alignment among departments, compliance to guidelines and donors’ requirements, use of proper templates, etc.
- He/she will supervise the Donors’ reporting formulation (monthly, progress, quarterly, intermediate, and final reports) led by the Reporting Officer in close collaboration with the Coordination Team (Program, WASH, FSL, Nutrition and Health, Log, Finance, MEAL coordinators). He/she will be responsible of quality and compliance of the reports prior to their submission to CD/DCD for final validation.
- Liaise with either HQ or donor in following-up/tracking of submitted reports
- In collaboration with the Coordination Team (Program, WASH, FSL, Nutrition and Health, Log, Finance, MEAL/Advocacy coordinators and managers), address any further follow up question/s, comment, etc., to ensure compliant and quick submission of additional and/or revised information required.
Objective 3: Provide Strategic, Technical, and Coordinated support to Grants Management
- Facilitate kick off, review and closing meetings to ensure project objectives are being met and identify and challenges, delays or deviations from the project plan; and communicate with donors, support on any internal or external realignments as appropriate.
- Follow up with Program Managers and Technical Coordinators on Program Implementation and collection of data according to means of verification, from kick-off meeting to contract closure, to allow pro-activeness in the monitoring of the grant and related tasks (such as ad-hoc donor requirements or extension/amendment requests).
- In close collaboration with the Coordination Team (Program, WASH, FSL, Nutrition and Health, Log, Finance, MEAL, Advocacy coordinators), coordinate grant revisions, cost extensions, no-cost extensions, budget realignments, and other modifications as required.
- Develop grant guidelines, processes, and procedures, training staff members on these procedures, and addressing all grant related questions.
- Inform program and support teams on any changes to existing donor guidelines and regulations.
Candidate description
- Degree and/or Master’s Degree in Humanitarian Action or any related field (international relations, political science, law, etc.)
- Excellent experience in proposal and report writing, donor rules and regulations, validation procedures, coordination of processes.
- Experience in Project Cycle Management.
- Ability to write donor reports and proposals in excellent English. Kit log; Kit Finance; FSL/WASH/Nutrition and Health; Theory of Change (ToC).
- At least 3 years as Grant Writer or similar (i.e. Project Officer)
- Knowledge of key institutional donors, including ECHO, USAID (FFP, OFDA), SDC, SIDA, GAC, OCHA, AECID, The Sphere Project (minimum standards), Gender, Protection and conflict sensitivity.
- Proven ability to work independently under minimal guidance, pressure and tight deadlines;
- Solid experience and proven ability in proposal writing, reporting, major donor rules and guidelines;
- Coordination of validation procedures with HQ/DRU/Delegations
- Strong commitment in matching Mission’s objectives (Volume Objective Signature);
- Strong commitment in tracking the results, analyze the status and identify ways forward in collaboration with CD/Coordination Team.
- Communication skills, and a diplomatic, but firm approach to obtain buy in and contributions from a range of staff involved in proposal and report production;
- Capacity building for national staff in reporting.
- English is compulsory, Spanish is desired, Arabic is useful
Remuneration package
We offer immediate incorporation to a dynamic international network with the following remuneration package:
Formal work contract: 12 months contract
- Base: Damascus
- Annual Gross Salary: Starting 47,000 EUR
This packaged includes:
- Expatriate insurance (health, live, repatriation, travel, etc.)
- Break flights/trips to defined area: (break per diem: 215 EUR)
- Yearly holiday return flight ticket
- Accommodation and housing expenses (in shared guest house)
- Travel costs to and from the mission.
- 25 working days of paid leave per year.
- Extra per month and per child (Under 18 years old): from 100€ to 225€ monthly (according to standard list of Action Against Hunger -Spain)