The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world's largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you're a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.
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IRC has been operating in Mali since April 2012 in response to the consequences of armed conflict and political instability. These events led to the massive displacement of populations toward the central and southern regions, significantly worsening the living conditions and livelihoods of the most vulnerable households. Despite the fact Humanitarian access remains a continuous challenge, IRC is active in the northern, central, and southern regions of the country, implementing multisectoral programs in health, nutrition, education, water, hygiene and sanitation, protection, economic recovery and development, governance, and emergency response. All activities are carried out with a strong emphasis on community engagement and participation to ensure the relevance, effectiveness, and sustainability of its interventions.
In Burkina Faso, IRC launched its first phase of emergency response programming in the city of Djibo in April 2019, with mainly WASH activities. Then, IRC acquired funding from various donors to cover humanitarian assistance to people affected by the crisis in several regions: Sahel, North, Boucle du Mouhoun, East and Centre. The sectors covered so far are health including environmental health and nutrition, child protection, women's empowerment and economic recovery.
About the project
The project is implemented in Burkina Faso (Gourma, East region), and Mali (Douentza, Douentza region and Koro, Bandiagara region) and will aim at ensuring crisis-affected, hard-to reach populations in targeted border areas in Burkina Faso and Mali are able to survive crisis, recover from shocks effectively and with dignity, develop economic resilience, and experience reduced vulnerability to withstand future crises independently. In addition, the project will provide emergency assistance and access to basic services to the most vulnerable, hard-to-reach and crisis-affected populations, strengthen crisis-affected communities' abilities to anticipate, manage and reduce the impact of shocks and foster sustainable economic resilience in crisis-affected communities.
Job overview
IRC is looking for a dynamic leader to fill the position of Senior Project Coordinator (SPC). The SPC will work closely with the country project teams, regional support teams, and the steering committee to oversee and coordinate all aspects of the project, including leading strategic planning and decision-making, managing the activities of sub-awardees, and overseeing project performance and spending. He/she will serve as a key liaison with local and international implementing partners, the governments of Mali and Burkina Faso, and other stakeholders. The PC will also establish and maintain an integrated vision between the different actors while ensuring adherence to all project objectives, performance requirements and donor regulations.
Main responsibilities:
The Senior Project Coordinator will contribute to ensuring the effective implementation of project activities, partnership management and due diligence of consortium partners and building strong and sustainable partnerships. He/she will work with Deputy Director Programs and coordinate with the program coordinators the day-to-day management of the project as well as the life cycle of the sub-allocations in accordance with the IRC Partnership of Excellence for Equality and Results system (the \"PEER system\" or \"PEERS\"). He/she will work closely with the Project MEAL Coordinator and the Project Finance Analyst to ensure project performance and spending are on track.
Quality of the program / implementation
• The Senior Project Coordinator is responsible for coordinating the project in the two countries.
• Leads and supervises project planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting.
• Liaises regularly with field coordinators/project managers/partners to provide project updates, discuss emerging challenges and collaborate on the design of new programs or modifications to existing programs.
Budget management
• Participates in internal Budget versus Actual meetings as well as meetings with partners to ensure that the grant is on track and that all under- and over-spending are handled with adequate planning.
• Works closely with finance, grants and regional support teams to revise and adjust budget as necessary.
• Works with the grants department and regional support teams to ensure that the project is implemented in accordance with donor guidelines and that reporting requirements are met.
Monitoring, evaluation, quality assurance and reporting:
• Maintains an effective monitoring, evaluation and learning system, and collaborates with the Project MEAL coordinator throughout the project.
• Responsible for all internal and external programmatic reports, including donor reports.
• Coordinates evaluations and reviews of programs, ensures documentation of lessons learned for reporting and program preparation.
• Ensure that IRC and international humanitarian action quality standards are met throughout the project management cycle.
• Ensures that gender, protection and environmental impact issues are mainstreamed in all programs under direct responsibility.
Coordination of partnerships and subcontracts
• Ensure that Consortium partners follow the IRC PEERS which defines effective and responsive processes, delineates clear roles and responsibilities, and articulates the IRC's strategic approach to partnerships.
• Mobilizes, trains and provides ongoing technical support to technical focal points of consortia and program teams on working with partners.
• Encourages overall program cohesion through coordination and information sharing with and among partners by facilitating knowledge sharing, best practices and harmonized tools
• Strengthens relationships for other partnerships (e.g., with government entities).
• Management of partnerships and subcontracts
• Reviews changes to sub-allocation agreements, if any, and follow IRC's internal review process for all sub-allocation documents.
• Work effectively with supply chain and finance partner teams to ensure underfunding mechanisms are PEERS compliant.
• Coordinates the start-up of partnerships/sub-awards. This includes preparing and facilitating partnership/sub-award opening meetings in accordance with IRC's PEERS, in coordination with support functions and program teams, to ensure projects start with clear expectations from all parties.
• Coordinates quality monitoring of the implementation of partnerships/sub-awardees. This includes but is not limited to preparing and chairing partnership/sublease review meetings according to the schedule determined during the pre-award assessment; reviewing partners' performance against the program, work plans and budget forecasts, as well as reviewing partners' compliance with procurement, human resources management, financial management and other requirements outlined in the partnership agreements and its specific terms and conditions, in accordance with the IRC PEERS.
• Prepares and chairs partnership/subaward closing meetings, as required, and oversees the overall closure of partnerships/subaward, in accordance with IRC's PEERS; This includes, but is not limited to, integrating reflection, lessons learned and future planning; preparing closing letters for underfunding and ensuring that all requirements of the underfunding agreement have been met.
• Leads, organizes and participates in the planning, organization and participation in technical and financial monitoring visits of partnerships/sub-awardees to assess partners' performance and compliance with their partnership agreement, donor regulations and overall program plans, in accordance with IRC PEERS. This includes coordinating contributions prior to monthly grant review meetings to ensure that IRC's commitments to the donor are met and working closely with program managers and finance teams to ensure that partnership monitoring schedules are rigorously adhered to, and that supporting documentation is prepared for review.
• Supports the planning and organization of donor monitoring visits, and participates as required, in accordance with agreed schedule.
• Work collaboratively with M&E and program coordinators to provide advice on strengthening monitoring and evaluation with partners, as well as to design tools and create systems to effectively monitor progress against partners' capacity building plans.
• In close collaboration with supply chain units, maintain accurate records of program assets; this includes managing the program asset register, leading the asset disposal process when necessary, monitoring assets during regular partner monitoring visits in accordance with IRC PEERS and donor regulations on asset management.
Reporting
• Ensure that narrative and financial reports are prepared and shared by country programs and their partners.
• Collects and compiles program narrative and financial reports across country programs and ensures timely submission to the regional support team for review
• In collaboration with the finance department, ensures the timely review of partners' financial reports, in accordance with the provisions of their partnership agreements, in coordination with the review of programmatic reports.
Professional Standards
• Consistently and proactively monitors/evaluates the safety and security of the team; promptly report concerns or incidents to the personnel management team, and liaise with community leaders and other external parties, as appropriate, to maintain/improve the security environment of IRC programs.
• Other duties assigned by the supervisor to enable and develop IRC programs.
• All IRC staff are required to adhere to the IRC Way Standards of Professional Conduct and IRC Country Employment Policies.
Job requirements:
• A graduate degree from an accredited university in international development or a related field is encouraged.
• 7 years of experience in program administration, grant management and/or project management in an international NGO or similar organization.
• Knowledge and expertise in consortium management
• Knowledge and expertise in the use of project management methodologies and tools, resources and change management techniques
• Programming experience in West Africa.
• Ability to follow and bring together multi-country teams as well as work remotely.
• Strong communication skills, both oral and written.
• Fluency in both written and oral English and French is required.
• Autonomous, able to set priorities independently and solve problems with minimal guidance.
• Demonstrated ability to work successfully in a volatile and multicultural environment, within and across departments/functions and to develop good relationships with staff locally.
• Experience working in conflict and crisis situations and knowledge of humanitarian programs.
• Demonstrated ability to manage budgeting, monitoring and planning of complex projects
• Knowledge of development or nutrition, protection, food security and climate change are a plus
• Knowledge of the regional context, with experience working in Mali and Burkina Faso preferably
• Experience with FCDO / Sahel Regional Fund preferred
Reporting to: Deputy Director Programs and Deputy Regional Director
Supervised: N/A
Work environment:
• Standard office work environment
• The position is based in one of the two IRC Country Offices – Bamako, Mali or Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
**Standard of Professional Conduct:**The IRC and the IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – our Code of Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability, and Equality.