The Program and Award Advisor plays a vital role within the Regional Program and Award Support Team overseeing an award portfolio of humanitarian relief and post-crisis recovery programs. The Program and Award Advisor liaises with country programs, HQ departments and donor contacts to ensure high quality guidance and support to country offices throughout the award lifecycle. The role works with country offices to ensure compliance with donor rules and regulations and IRC systems and processes and leads on the review and submission of high-quality donor deliverables. The Program and Award Advisor represents the region and country offices to internal and external stakeholders and manages donor relationships.

Scope and Authority

Line management of Program and Award Officer.

Key Working Relationships

Reports to Director, Awards Management. Works closely with all Regional 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 and partner point of contact as applicable per region.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Awards Management and Compliance

• Oversee a portfolio of awards for the Asia region. Main donors in portfolio will include USAID/BHA, PRM/DOS, GAC, and UN but may also include other donors as assigned.
• Serve as the first point of contact for country office Grants and Partnerships teams and provide guidance and support on matters related to donor compliance and communication, project management (e.g. project cycle meetings), OTIS and partnerships (PEERS).
• Participate in in regular meetings with country offices to provide support and collaborate with country program teams on issues related to donor compliance, submissions of reports and other post award deliverables, and/or monitoring/awards management.
• Guide country offices 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-grant/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 counterparts in alignment with internal processes.
• Guide country offices, in partnership with other relevant departments, in the development and submission of award amendments/modifications, ensuring high-quality, compliant submissions.
• Supervise Program and Award Officer(s) in the review and submission of donor reports and other deliverables, ensuring input from relevant technical and financial staff..
• Provide support to and monitoring of projects to ensure progress against objectives and compliance with donor guidelines and IRC internal requirements. Monitoring of awards can take the shape of monitoring visits, participation in project implementation meetings and other regular calls.
• Maintain a strong relationship with regional and AMU leadership and escalate issues of concern as needed
• 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 PAAs from other regions 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 regional Program Development team, support business development in the region by providing effective proposal support, ranging from proposal management to comprehensive support and quality assurance for UN and non-European donors 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 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 country 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 regional Program Development team.

Donor Liaison and Representation

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

Staff Management, Learning & Development

• Supervise and mentor direct report, including communicating clear expectations, providing regular and timely performance feedback, document/discuss performance issues if needed, and deliver high-quality documented annual performance reviews.
• Support direct reports in achieving annual objectives, acting as a trusted and accountable manager, mentor and professional resource, including promoting collaboration, enabling adequate resourcing and ensuring accountability.

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.

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