The Organization
We employ approximately 25,000 people across the globe and work on the ground in over 100 countries to help children affected by crises, or those that need better healthcare, education and child protection. We also campaign and advocate at the highest levels to realise the right of children and to ensure their voices are heard. We are working towards three breakthroughs in how the world treats children by 2030:
· No child dies from preventable causes before their 5th birthday
· All children learn from a quality basic education and that,
· Violence against children is no longer tolerated
We know that great people make a great organization, and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children.We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive workplace where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued.
Application Information:
Please apply using a cover letter and up-to-date CV as a single document. Please also include details of your current remuneration and salary expectations. A copy of the full role profile can be found at www.savethechildren.net/jobs We need to keep children safe so our selection process reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.
ROLE PURPOSE:
This role will work collaboratively with the SMT and all departments, Field Offices of the Country office programme and members to ensure smooth management of development awards, sub awards and contracts, focusing on donor compliance and accountability. The position holder will also be required to liaise with all in country donors on awards management issues. He/she will be responsible to provide support to CO with regards to Partnership management. This position will also be responsible to build the capacity of staff and partner organizations. The Awards Manager will be responsible for ensuring that the Office adheres to all its award management obligations internally within Save the Children and externally with partners and donors. This position is responsible for ensuring compliance with SCI award management core processes, donor-specific requirements and make recommendations for improvements. This position is also responsible for supporting the Head of Program Operations and Head of Awards by monitoring and flagging any issue from a compliance perspective to the budget holders and Head of Program Operations. Award Management core processes include proposal development, kick-off, supporting reporting team for the financial and narrative reporting coordination, awards (BVA) monitoring, awards-specific aspects of partnership management, and closeout. This role will work closely with program implementation, PDQ/MEAL, Supply Chain, and Finance.
SCOPE OF ROLE:
Reports to: The Director of Programme Development and Quality (PDQ); Dotted Line reporting to Head of Awards Main office.
Number of direct reports: NA
KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:
Awards Management
- Ensure that award management systems and processes are successfully implemented across the life of an award and key controls are in place to support effective management of the funding portfolio and compliance with the donor requirements.
- Provide coordination to proposal development and review processes, ensuring all staff inputs happen in timely and effective manner and advise on donor compliance requirements to ensure high quality and one-time proposals.
- Play a leading role in Award Kick-Off meetings to ensure that all award information is shared effectively with relevant staff across the country office (including field offices) and partners.
- Establish systems for regular award monitoring across the country office and facilitate regular meetings with key stakeholders to support the Program Implementation Director to ensure that performance on individual awards is tracked effectively, risks and issues are flagged, and action taken as appropriate.
- Support the finance team on master budget development, costs allocation, monitoring of award budgets, phasing and forecasting, in particular ensuring alignment between the master budget and funding tracker.
- Coordinate the processes for donor reporting to ensure that reports are high quality, delivered on time and supported by auditable records. This includes assessing and making recommendations to improve the reconciliation process (reporting assurance mechanism) between Finance, Procurement, Supply Chain, Distribution, M&E that will ensure accountable reporting to donors.
- Maintain effective communications with Save the Children members, providing them with timely updates on their awards and flagging potential issue promptly.
- Provide regular management information to the SMT on the performance of the country office portfolio.
Donor Compliance
- Support all functions to ensure donor requirements are understood and complied with.
- Ensure that all appropriate donor formats are available in-country, and that key contributing staff have a clear understanding of donor requirements and expectations at the proposal, kick off, amendment, reporting, close-out and audit stage of awards.
- Ensure potential issues and amendment requests are flagged promptly to donors via the relevant Save the Children member. This may include developing business cases where donor waiver/derogation requests need to be more thoroughly articulated or negotiated with donors.
- Work with internal and external auditors as necessary.
Partnerships
- Work with the partnership manager and relevant program staff to ensure all implementing partners undergo legal vetting and capacity assessment prior to commencing work with Save the Children, are engaged with appropriate agreements and effective monitoring systems are in place so that partner delivery meets donor expectations and requirements.
- Work with program staff to ensure relevant donor requirements are effectively communicated and understood by implementing partners.
Award Management System (AMS)
- Ensure that all opportunities, proposals, contracts and amendments with donors are processed and approved through AMS and the system is an accurate reflection of current award status at all times.
- Ensure all partners and sub-award agreements are input into AMS.
- Ensure that all adequate attachments appear on AMS and are retained as part of the award audit trail
Capacity Building:
- Carry out orientations and staff trainings for award management procedures, donor requirements etc.
QUALIFICATIONS
Essential
- BAC+3, in business administration, economic and social sciences, finance, project management or other related field.
- At least five (5) years’ experience in capacity building, organizational development and change management.
- Very good experience in grants management and in-depth knowledge of rules and procedures.
- Experience with partnership approaches as part of a localization process.
- Experience with Organizational Capacity Assessment approaches and Organizational Performance Index tools preferred.
- Strong interpersonal communication skills including influence management and coordination, negotiation and coaching.
- Ability to establish and maintain collegial relationships and act effectively as a team member.
- Excellent organizational and document management skills.
- Ability to proactively identify problems and problem-solving skills.
- Excellent time management and planning skills.
- Analytical and conceptual skills and the ability to think and plan strategically.
- Good teamwork skills.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Awards Management
- Understand and follow up on donor agreement requirements and sub-agreement terms with sub-recipients.
- Ensure that relevant donor requirements are effectively communicated/shared and understood by sub-recipients.
- Ensure submission of various reports and other deliverables by sub-recipients including coordination of their review, feedback sharing, finalization and archiving.
- Proofread narrative and financial reports in accordance with contractual obligations, compliance and reporting quality.
- Analyze sub-recipient financial statements in collaboration with the Finance Manager and clearly identify any related risks. Propose resolutions to identified problems in close collaboration with accounting and finance department colleagues.
- Prepare amendments to sub-agreements and record any changes related to donor requirements.
- Ensure that all contractual documents, reports, etc., including key communications (e.g. e-mails) are recorded on the electronic grant management platform (AMS).
- Coordinate and monitor the analysis of information relating to sub-recipients (partner assessment, vetting, capacity-building plans, reporting, annual planning, etc.).
- Contribute to the implementation of SCI procedures and other key donor requirements. Ensure they are shared with other team members in strict compliance with SCI regulations.
- Ensure that sub-recipient requests are processed in a timely manner.
Partnerships
- Establish and maintain good relationships with implementing partners.
- Facilitate the organizational capacity assessment process with project partners in close collaboration with the Local Capacity Building Specialist. Document and report results.
- Identify and assess partners’ organizational development and capacity-building needs, analyze results and collaborate with partners and the project team to formulate action plans.
- Coordinate technical assistance to support partner capacity building, identifying needs and resource persons for support from within or outside the organization (e.g. consultant).
- Organize training sessions, coaching sessions, exchange meetings and other capacity-building activities focused on finance and fund management, governance structures, organizational policy formulation, sub-grant management, human resources systems and best practices, information technology systems, corporate resource planning and mobilization systems, procurement, systematic monitoring of staff performance.
- Availability and willingness to work extra hours.