Grants Management Coordinator – Kampala

Mercy Corps Uganda 

Present in Uganda since 2006, Mercy Corps Uganda’s aim is to catalyze change through the Ugandan private sector, civil society, and government to create resilient, economically inclusive, healthy, and secure communities by 1) strengthening market systems that enable inclusive growth and resilience; 2)strengthening governance; 3) promoting health and nutrition outcomes; and 4) meeting the immediate needs of refugees and host communities while strengthening market systems and resilience capacities.

We have 10 programs across Uganda with a total portfolio value of $80 million, including support from FCDO, USAID, French Development Agency, Conrad Hilton Foundation and other private sector foundations. With a strong presence across the country, we have offices in Kampala, Rhino Camp, Yumbe, Gulu, Moroto, Kotido, Amudat, Kaabong, Karita, and Karenga.

The Position

The Grants Management Coordinator will support the program department as the point person for communicating Mercy Corps’ program activities through donor reports. This includes collation of information from each program department into concise and clear narratives, supported by statistical evidence and case studies. The Grants Management Coordinator must develop and possess an understanding of compliance and reporting format requirements for each donor and communicate those to program teams as needed. They will also serve as the focal point to ensure compliance with Mercy Corps internal systems of Program Management @ Mercy Corps (PM@MC) and must possess a basic understanding of internal standards in monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) and accountability. They are an integral part of the Mercy Corps team working in Uganda and are expected to have a strong operational understanding of all activities and strategy. The Grants Management Coordinator will lead the process of development of proposals, including conducting desk research, coordinating the drafting of the narrative and the development of the budget, in close collaboration with the Senior Program Development and Quality Manager. As such, the Grants Management Coordinator is expected to liaise across all departments. The Grants Management Coordinator should develop a strong understanding of donor guidelines and support in identifying new funding opportunities. Finally, they will be the primary contact for internal communications within Mercy Corps on key program activities, success stories and other useful updates for the broader Mercy Corps audience.

The Grants Management Coordinator will work under the direct supervision of the Senior Program Development and Quality Manager, and works with relevant Program, MEL, CARM, Operations and Finance teams and in coordinating all grants management, proposal development and reporting-related tasks. Additionally, the Grants Management Coordinator will coordinate closely with the Regional Program Team in Mercy Corps’ headquarters.

Essential Responsibilities 

Grants Management:

• Coordinate across program, Program Performance and Quality (PaQ), finance and support functions, as well as HQ offices throughout the grant cycle to ensure appropriate set up of new grants, ongoing reporting and close out of grants.
• Coordinate the preparation of accountable donor and internal reporting in compliance with internal and donor requirements, ensure timely inputs from program, PaQ, finance and operations teams, and ensure review and signoff processes are thorough and adhered to.
• Maintain an up-to-date grant filing system that meets minimum PM@MC and donor standards.
• Update project management tools, including funding trackers, grant trackers and dashboards.
• Work closely with the Senior Program Development and Quality Manager on effective coordination and management of grants to ensure they remain on time, on scope and on budget. This includes:
  • Providing regular information on project progress and burn-rates;
  • Working closely with the program managers, to ensure accurate forecasting, flagging challenges and opportunities;
  • Coordinate and document all program kick-off, review and close-out meetings, track action points for follow-up and record/document all lessons learned;
  • Coordinate monthly budget vs actual (BvA) and quarterly grant management meetings including updates from PMs, CARM, MEL, and support departments.
• Ensures compliance with Mercy Corps’ and donor branding guidelines.

New Business Development:

• Lead the development of concept notes and proposals, coordinating across departments, with the region and HQ, engaging particularly with the Program Performance and Quality (PAQ) team, technical advisors, program leads and finance to ensure the production of high-quality proposals that are reflective of Mercy Corps and donor strategic objectives, are operationally viable and accurately reflect the cost of doing business.
• Ensure proposals and concept notes are developed in a timely manner and with realistic deadlines, and that these are communicated and understood by stakeholders both internal to the office as well as the region and HQ.
• Coordinate both internally and externally, to ensure that prior to submission all proposals are reviewed and approved by management and HQ, as appropriate.
• Lead on modification of programs in response to changing contexts and implementation realities.
• Support the Senior Program Development and Quality Manager in tracking funding opportunities, including calls for funding progress of proposals, submission deadlines, financing available. Ensure all appropriate donor and Mercy Corps proposal formats are available in country.

Finance & Compliance Management:

• Ensure programs are executed in alignment with the donor agreement and the applicable donor regulations, staying abreast of changes in the regulatory environment related to donor/grant compliance.
• Ensure that key contributing staff and partners have a clear understanding of donor requirements and expectations at all stages of the grant cycle.
• Provide support and training to the field teams to ensure that PM@MC minimum standards for program management, including complex program management, are met.
• In coordination with the Program Leads and Finance, coordinate monthly BvA meetings and quarterly grant review meetings presenting up to date information, identifying issues to be addressed and following up on action points.
• Support the finance team with proposal budget development and ensure consistency with program planning.

Other tasks:

• Produce other information and communications products for both internal and external audiences as required.
• As delegated, act as focal point for all queries and information requests from Mercy Corps and donors.
• Represent Mercy Corps to donors and other key stakeholders, as required.

Supervisory Responsibility

None.

Accountability 

Reports Directly to: Senior Program Development and Quality Manager

Works Directly with: Program teams, Finance team, MEL Manager, Senior CARM Officer, Program Support and Communications Officer, Operations team.

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in a related field. Masters or equivalent in a field related to International Development is preferred.
• Minimum of 3 years of experience providing coordination or management support to program implementation.
• Successful track record in supporting/leading proposal development and fundraising.
• Excellent writing and communication skills required.
• Ability to produce and edit documents under deadline pressure.
• Experience working with key institutional donors (USAID, FCDO, etc) preferred. Ability and willingness to learn and follow donor reporting and compliance requirements.
• Ability to coordinate funding proposals and progress reports from key institutional donors (USAID, FCDO).
• Experience with monitoring and evaluation and other learning efforts.
• Demonstrated flexibility and creativity in planning and problem-solving.
• Ability to efficiently deal with competing priorities.
• Willingness and ability to travel frequently to Mercy Corps project sites and field locations, including traveling to insecure environments, is required.
• Experience working in a multicultural setting.
• PM@MC and/or PMD/ProjectD Pro certified preferred.
• Fluency in English is required.

Success Factors 

The successful candidate will combine exceptional organizational abilities and writing skills with good humor under pressure. They will learn and move between all departments to consolidate essential information for accurately reporting Mercy Corps activities in Uganda. They will be able to capture strategy and planning into concise and clear documents in new proposal development. It is critical that the Grants Management Coordinator is an excellent communicator, who is supportive and solution-focused. They need to be highly motivated, self-driven and able to support complex programs with limited daily support and direction; they will be able to work remotely with internal and external stakeholders to achieve common objectives. They will be a multi-tasker with the proven ability to organize and prioritize competing priorities. The candidate will be organized and maintain a clear electronic and paper filing system. They will ensure donor compliance and best practices are upheld throughout the entire grants management process. The successful candidate will ultimately be able to provide constructive input to large development programs and therefore, must be willing to learn from others. They must be focused on capacity building of staff; have strong program support and information management skills.

Ongoing Learning

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have a sustained global impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct eLearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

Disclaimer: This job description is NOT an exhaustive list of the skills, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.

To Apply:

Interested applicants must submit the following by 16th September 2022

• CV in PDF of no more than 4 pages
• Cover letter. At a minimum, the cover letter must show that the applicant possesses the required qualifications for the position.?

Please note that any application submitted that does not follow the above instructions will be automatically discarded.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Mercy Corps does not charge any fees at any stage of the recruitment process.

 

Qualifications