Senior Grants Coordinator (Applications will only be accepted if submitted through the URL link provided below)

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps exists to alleviate suffering, poverty, and oppression by helping people build secure, productive, and just communities. The agency pursues its mission through emergency relief services, sustainable community development, partnering closely with civil society, and facilitating economic development. Mercy Corps has been present in the Middle East since the 1980s and currently has offices in Yemen, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq. Working in Lebanon since 1993, Mercy Corps has implemented community development programs focused on promoting economic development and increased opportunity for disadvantaged communities, while at the same time responding to emergencies as they occur in the country.  In 2012, the program portfolio shifted in response to the massive refugee influx from Syria. Since then, Mercy Corps Lebanon has solidified its portfolio, integrating emergency response programming with longer-term development programming by focusing on the following key sectors: Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Local Governance and Conflict Mitigation, Agriculture, Livelihoods and Economic Development, and Food Security.

Program / Department Summary

The Performance and Quality Unit (PaQ) collaborates with program teams, supporting departments and partners to use evidence to design and deliver relevant and impactful programs that improve the lives of program participants. The PaQ unit supports team development and assists teams to manage grants and reporting, as well as to design and implement robust monitoring, evaluation, and accountability systems that prove impact, inform areas for improvement, and ensure accountability to the principles of good program management, as well as to our end participants and other stakeholders. The PaQ unit also actively contributes to the development of new programs. The PaQ unit consists of the PaQ Manager, the Country MERL Advisor, the Information Management Coordinator and the Accountability and Reporting Coordinator.

General Position Summary

The Mercy Corps team in Lebanon is looking to hire a Senior Grants Coordinator to support the Program Performance and Quality (PaQ) team. The primary function of this role is to assist with grants management, reporting and proposal development, while also refining and strengthening the grants management processes currently in place. Working closely with the PaQ Manager, they will be responsible for 1) supporting teams in making sure that all programs comply with program minimum quality standards; 2) building on current systems and identifying gaps and developing new tools and processes accordingly; 3) ensuring program information is systematically and safely stored; 4) coordinating report revisions and information gathering for external coordination mechanisms and 5) coordinating and contributing to proposal development activities as needed.

Essential Responsibilities

GRANTS MANAGEMENT

• Update and maintain Mercy Corps Lebanon’ grants management systems and ensure program information for existing and new grants is systematically and safely stored
• Work with program teams and HQ colleagues to compile required donor documents in a compliant and systematic manner
• Lead the joint completion of the document retention tracker check on a quarterly basis and manage the review process with program and support departments
• Support the organization of program initiation meetings, program close out meetings and monthly Budget vs Actuals (BVA) meetings and ensure documentation is done accordingly
• Support the PaQ team to ensure that all program teams comply with Mercy Corps Program Quality minimum standards and lead the development and maintenance of a program health tracker for each program
• Support program teams during the close out phase to ensure all documentation (electronic and hardcopy) is in place and is filed appropriately
• Maintain and manage access for the centralized program filing system for Mercy Corps Lebanon, and ensure all new programs adapt the suggested folder structure to respond to their needs, in compliance with Mercy Corps’ global systems and minimum standards
• Support the Program Development and Quality Unit with other tasks as assigned;

REPORTING

• Compile and maintain the reporting tracker for all active and recently closed grants, and coordinate with program teams on timelines and requirements for reporting
• Coordinate report revisions and support program teams, the PaQ unit, and HQ colleagues to review program reports promptly and accurately and make necessary revisions based on feedback to ensure timely and quality submissions
• Coordinate information gathering and lead on ensuring regular and thorough reporting for external coordination is completed in a timely and accurate manner (e.g. inter-agency coordination, ActivityInfo indicators, LCRP, LHIF, sectoral working groups)

PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT

• In close coordination with the Director of Programs and the PaQ Manager, actively support the coordination of proposal development processes, including identification of opportunities, partnership development, design processes, and ensuring that a workplan for proposal development is established and the proposal development team is on track
• Actively contribute to the writing of concept notes and proposals, including well-sourced context and background sections, as well as coordination with the program team, MEAL, finance, technical advisors, lead writers and consultants
• Coordinate proposals revisions based on donors’ feedback
• Provide donor-specific advice to the programme staff, while also linking with procurement and finance departments during concept note and proposal development
• Update and maintain the ProDev tracker and actively contribute to weekly ProDev check-ins
• Coordinate the development and regular update of a donor engagement strategy for MC Lebanon

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY:  None

ACCOUNTABILITY:  Reports directly to the PaQ Manager

WORKS DIRECTLY WITH:  Director of Programs, Country MERL Advisor, Information Management Coordinator, Program Managers, Accountability and Reporting Coordinator and program team members

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

• BA in international development or other relevant social science (MA preferred).
• 3+ years of experience working in international relief and development programs, preferably in both humanitarian and development programs
• 1+ years of experience with grants management and reporting for an NGO
• Good understanding of program design process, including capacity to prepare coherent and consistent documents (including log frames, workplans and budgets)
• Knowledge of key donors and their requirements, including the AFD, GAC, ECHO, BHA, BPRM, UN agencies and OFDA/USAID, is a great asset
• Demonstrated experience writing and reviewing quality English products under tight deadlines
• Ability to analyze and summarize information, evaluate options and to think and plan strategically
• Experience with coordinating between different teams both at the national level and HQ level
• Experience with NGO proposal development processes
• Excellent organizational skills, great coordination capacities and ability to work autonomously
• Ability to work calmly under pressure in a rapidly changing, multi-cultural context, whilst adhering to strict deadlines
• Good interpersonal, communication and presentation skills
• Willingness and ability to travel frequently to Mercy Corps program sites and field locations, including traveling to insecure environments, is required.
• Fluency in written and spoken English and Arabic required

SUCCESS FACTORS: 

The successful Senior Grants Coordinator will be bright, energetic, hard-working and eager to learn.  They will take a deep personal interest in humanitarian and development assistance.  They will be attentive to detail and able to carry out assigned tasks in a timely manner and according to a very high standard of quality.  They will be creative and flexible, contributing to developing and encouraging new and innovative solutions, but at the same time will not have any difficulty in adhering to systems and procedures.  They will strictly follow all protocols related to safety and security, and holds self accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modeling Mercy Corps’ values

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is based in Beirut, Lebanon. The country is currently going through an important economic crisis that has some effect on the living conditions, access to basic services and infrastructure.

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 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. 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.