Back Regional Grants Coordinator - Middle East Office

Background : 

After a phase characterized by protracted displacement in fragile contexts, but relative stability, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is experiencing a severe deterioration of the security situation, skyrocketing humanitarian needs and new waves of displacement.

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has been a leading humanitarian actor in the region since 2006, responding to the needs of people affected by displacement through legal assistance, shelter, education, water, sanitation, and hygiene, protection from violence, food security and livelihoods opportunities, and advocating for their rights. 

Located in Amman, Jordan, NRC MENA Regional Office oversees operations in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen and provides strategic guidance and oversight across core programme, advocacy and support functions. The Regional Grants Coordinator (RGC) function is part of the Regional Programme Department and is managed by the Regional Grants Manager (RGM). 

What you will do : 

The Regional Grants Coordinator will contribute to achieving quality programming by closely supporting the Regional Grants Manager in ensuring effective regional grants management. This includes meeting internal and donor compliance requirements, ensuring timely and high-quality proposal development and reporting, and serving as the focal point for key mandatory activities under NRC’s Project Cycle Management (PCM) for the regional portfolio, including the Human Mobility Hub. S/he ensures NRC programme/support teams are informed of relevant donor compliance regulations and NRC procedures, manages donor and other external reporting, and coordinates grant revisions. 

Generic responsibilities

1. Ensure adherence to NRC policies, guidance, and procedures;
2. Support the development of donor proposals and reports, as well as ensuring donor compliance and quality control;
3. Document, analyse, and share learning from proposal and reporting processes;
4. Coordinate the overview and maintenance of grants, donor requirements, rules and regulations, and internal and external deadlines for reports and revisions;
5. Contribute to PCM procedures and usage of the NRC PCM framework for Regional Grants, including Grant Opening meetings, Progress review meetings and Grant closing meetings;
6. Work closely with the finance team to ensure consistency across narrative, log frame and budget .
7. Ensure strong coordination between different stakeholders involved in the grants management, including maintenance of donor communication for aspects related to the management of regional grants; 
8. Assist the Grants Manager in continuously improving internal grant management systems.
9. Provide an internal help desk on donor-related issues, including donor rules and regulations, and guidance on proposal and report writing .
10. Support the teams in their engagement with implementing partners as per NRC’s Grants Management procedures and relevant donor regulations;
11. Representation with relevant partners/donors (if requested).
12. Promote the rights of displacement-affected people in line with NRC’s advocacy strategy;
13. Perform other duties in line with the Programme Support Unit ToR and as assigned by the Line Manager.

    Specific responsibilities

    Funding Identification and Proposal Development

    1. Be updated on donor priorities and trends, maintain and update the Funding Opportunity Follow-up tool to track relevant funding opportunities, and compile essential information from these opportunities to distribute to the appropriate teams;
    2. Lead the coordination of regional prioritization exercises by collecting and compiling CO inputs, organizing prioritization scoring meetings, and acting as the region's focal point for communicating the results with the head office;
    3. Initiate the go/ no-go discussion for identified Regional funding opportunities and record discussions and completed checklist, and organize proposal planning meetings;
    4. Organise proposal planning meetings for Regional opportunities and coordinate proposal development, as delegated by the RGM;
    5. Ensure consistency between budget and proposal documents, ensuring compatibility with donor compliance requirements.

       Grant Agreement

       1. Support the RGM in reviewing donor contracts using NRC checklists, flag any points that might challenge NRC’s procedures, and support contract negotiations;
       2. In close coordination with the RGM, summarize in writing, key reporting and donor compliance requirements including issues to be raised during Grant Opening Meetings;
       3. Organize and facilitate Grant Opening Meetings within 30 days of the grant being activated and update/share a schedule of mandatory PCM activities to be conducted for each project. 

          Donor Compliance 

          1. Ensure high-quality management of grants by being familiar with NRC organizational and donor compliance requirements, meeting all donor deadlines;
          2. Identify and report any risks of non-compliance with donor requirements to the Regional Grants Manager (RGM);
          3. Advise and support programme colleagues on donor compliance queries, ensure the availability of appropriate donor templates, and provide training and capacity building on NRC grants management/donor compliance and PCM as required;
          4. Assist compliance and finance teams in ensuring donor documentation is available during audits, following NRC SSD guidelines;
          5. Coordinate and follow up on Reconciliation of Deliverables (RoD) from MENA Country Offices, perform tri-annual quality checks, liaise with stakeholders for scoring, and provide feedback and recommendations.

             Donor Reporting and Monitoring/Review:

             1. Provide monthly overviews of upcoming donor reporting deadlines;
             2. Coordinate and consolidate the development of donor reports and revisions/modifications, ensuring consistency between narrative and financial reports and adherence to NRC and donor quality standards;
             3. Track key PCM activities and organize quarterly review, ad hoc, and grant closure meetings in collaboration with COs, ensuring donor rules and regulations are communicated to the team, meeting minutes are filed, and action points are recorded.

                Regional Grants Helpdesk

                1. Lead the creation of a comprehensive Regional Grants Helpdesk, ensuring consistency and usability across all Country Offices;
                2. Work closely with Grants staff in various Country Offices (and other regions when relevant) to identify and integrate effective grants tools, templates, and best practices that benefit the entire region;
                3. Compile a wide array of grants-related resources, regularly update the toolkit/database with new and relevant information, and ensure it remains current and useful;
                4. Distribute the toolkit/database to all relevant stakeholders, ensuring easy access and usability for Country Offices and other regional teams;
                5. Provide training and ongoing support to Country Office staff on the use and application of the toolkit/database, facilitating its effective implementation across the region.

                   General Administration

                   1. Ensure all essential grant documents are available within Grants filing system, adhering to standardized information management and filing systems;
                   2. Proactively update the Grants Trackers;
                   3. Assist the Regional Grants Manager as needed, including representing and attending meetings, and coordinating with teams to follow up on action points;
                   4. Manage the grants portfolio as assigned by the line manager, with potential variations over time;
                   5. Perform other duties as assigned periodically. 

                       

                      Professional competencies, Qualifications & Skills required:

                      • Bachelor degree in Business administration , public management , international relations or any relevant field .
                      • Minimum of 2 years experience preferably within non-profit organizations Local NGOs / or International  (INGOs) or related sectors.
                      • Proven administrative skills preferably related to office management or executive secretarial,
                      • Resourceful: Able to follow up on key tasks without detailed supervision. 
                      • Research skills and experience.

                        Context related skills, knowledge and experience: 

                        • Three years of relevant experience in donor relations and grants management within a relevant context;
                        • Experience working in complex environments and with displacement-affected people;
                        • Good understanding of donor rules and regulations. Knowledge of institutional donors’ rules, regulations, priorities, and compliance requirements - NMFA, SIDA, SDC, BHA, BPRM, ECHO, GIZ, GFFO etc;
                        • Proven skills and experience in report and proposal development and working with multiple donors;
                        • Good personal organizational skills, including time management, and ability to meet deadlines and work under pressure;
                        • Willingness to travel to area offices and work in difficult environments according to travel requirements;
                        • Excellent written and oral communication skills in English.
                        •  

                          Context related skills, knowledge, and experience: 

                          • Good communication and interpersonal skills;
                          • Strong organisation and team working skills;
                          • Good cultural awareness and sensitivity;
                          • Ability to work under pressure, independently and with limited supervision;
                          • Excellent written and oral communication skills in English;
                          • Knowledge of NGO operations and the dynamics of the humanitarian sector in the Middle East;
                          • Above average computer skills, particularly in Microsoft Windows Word and Excel;
                          • Holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, holds the team accountable to deliver on their responsibilities. 

                            Behavioral Competencies 

                            • Planning and delivering results
                            • Working with people 
                            • Communicating with impact and respect
                            • Analysing
                            • Influencing
                            • Handling insecure environments

                              Critical Interfaces :

                              By interfaces, NRC means processes and projects that are interlinked with other departments/units or persons. Relevant interfaces for this position are: 

                              📚 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝗝𝗼𝗯 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗡 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯! 🌍🤝 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗡 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗨𝗡𝗛𝗖𝗥, 𝗪𝗙𝗣, 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗘𝗙, 𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗦𝗦, 𝗨𝗡𝗙𝗣𝗔, 𝗜𝗢𝗠 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀! 🌐

                              ⚠️ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐰: 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐍𝐎𝐖!

                              • At MENA Regional Office level: Regional Director, Regional Programme Director, Regional Risk Management and Compliance Unit, Regional Core Competency Advisers, Regional M&E, Regional Head of Finance, Regional Logistics, Regional Head of HSS, Regional Head of Advocacy and Communication.
                              • At HMH level: HMH Director, Capacity-Sharing Programme Development Managers, M&E Coordinator, Partnerships Coordinator.
                              • At MENA Country Office level: Head of Programmes, Grants and M&E staff, Finance, Country Director, Logistics, Head of Support, CC Specialists, Access and Partnership, Protection, M&E, Advocacy and Communication Unit, Area Managers, Area Programme Managers, Area Support Managers, and Project Managers.
                              • Focal points with donors, partners and other relevant stakeholders.

                                Performance Management

                                The employee will be accountable for the responsibilities and the competencies, in accordance with the NRC people system Goals and Performance. The following will be used for performance reviews: 

                                • The Job Description
                                • Goals and Performance on NRC People 
                                • NRC  Competency Framework

                                  What We Offer

                                  NRC is an equal opportunities employer and aims to have staffing diversity in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, nationality and physical ability.

                                  We offer an opportunity to match your career to a compelling cause and a chance to meet and work with people who are the best in their fields.

                                  Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply and join our work culture that empowers every employee to share ideas and take responsibility: At NRC we think outside the box. We encourage ideas and give responsibility to all employees at all levels, to help solve the complex issues that we face. You will have many opportunities to be heard and take initiative.

                                  We are also looking for people who share our values:

                                  • To be dedicated in what we do;
                                  • To be innovative with our solutions;
                                  • To act as one unified and inclusive team;
                                  • To be accountable to the donors that make our work possible; the people we exist to serve, and to each other… the members of our NRC family.

                                    Additional Important Information:

                                    Grade:                             Grade 7.  

                                    Reports to:                      Regional Grants Manager. 

                                    Duty station:                    Amman, Jordan

                                    Travel:                           Up to 30% (possible travel to Iraq, Lebanon,    Libya/Tunisia, Palestine, Syria, Yemen)

                                    Type of contract:            National Jordanian Fixed-Term Contract.

                                    Duration: till 31 Dec 2024 with the possibility of extension (subject to funding availability, business need, and satisfactory performance)

                                    PS: This position is open to candidates who have the legal right to work in Jordan. Please note that we are unable to provide work permits or visa sponsorships for this position.

                                    We invite applications from all qualified and interested candidates. Send in your application no later than 24 August 2024. 

                                    Please ensure you attach your CV, Cover letter & copies of your academic and professional certificates.

                                    ABOUT US

                                    The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is an independent humanitarian organization helping people forced to flee. We work in crises across 40  countries, providing emergency and long-term assistance to millions of people every year. We stand up for people forced to flee, advocating their rights. NORCAP, our global provider of expertise, helps improve the international and local ability to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from crises. NRC also runs the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre in Geneva, a global leader in reporting on and advocating for people displaced within their own country.

                                    We protect displaced people and support them as they build a new future. We started our relief efforts after World War Two. Today, we work in both new and protracted crises across 40 countries. We specialize in six areas: food security, education, shelter, legal assistance, protection from violence, and water, sanitation and hygiene.