United States of America: Vice President, Award Management Unit

Organization: International Rescue Committee
Country: United States of America
Closing date: 03 Feb 2015

IRC is instituting a global grants management unit that will coordinate and streamline the complete awards lifecycle for the organization's public grants. This new Award Management Unit (AMU) will enable clarity of roles and responsibilities, consistency in review and approval processes, as well as accountability for data and decision-making.

The Vice President of the AMU will develop and deliver this field facing structure that efficiently covers the entire awards management cycle at IRC from concept to close out. This unit will bring together teams throughout the entire organization that support all stages of grants working on pre- and post-award issues for all restricted funding from government sources. The post holder will be responsible for building a strong matrix management system across the teams in the US and the UK, driving functional integration between all relevant units and staff, in collaboration with the SVP/Europe. S/he will ensure IRC globally is working to the highest standards in its bid preparation, and reporting to donors. The post holder will directly manage staff in the US, and will have a joint reporting line for staff in the UK office.

Key capabilities of the Unit:

• Development of highest quality standards, policies, guidelines and templates, including the development of an Award Management Manual for international and US field staff
• Centralized production of sub-award agreements
• Donor communication - establishing a communication protocol and accountability matrix
• Ownership of the organization's grants management database, as the system of record and integrated to relevant IRC systems
• Specialized support for program implementation: award related data collection/analysis, processing of sub-awards, technical assistance on grants management, information sharing, best practice for reporting, etc.
• Training and capability development of field offices and HQ staff
• Coordination of award management activities and cycle with all stakeholders (Programs, Compliance Unit, Technical Units, and Europe)

Major Responsibilities:

• Coordinate and collaborate with IRC International Programs and US Programs, Europe, Revenue, Program Quality and Finance Compliance Unit in order to provide IRC field offices with the support they need to successfully bid on grants and contracts from government donors and multi-lateral agencies.
• Coordinate and ensure alignment of IRC institutional funding strategies in order to position IRC as the premier, effective and innovative humanitarian agency in the view of key funding partners.
• Develop a strategy to continue to build IRC' s capacity in winning, managing and reporting on restricted grants and contracts from global government donors; continue to ensure IRC is working according to the highest standard in its bid and reporting to donors; oversee the development of top level policies, procedures and tools.
• Lead the development of high quality tools and systems to manage prime and sub-award agreements and develop key partners' capacity.
• Build a strong global matrix management system and well defined dual reporting process with strong performance management across the teams in the US, in the field and the UK, and drive functional integration between all offices and departments.
  
• Attract, supervise, lead and develop the Award Management Unit's directors and their teams globally to build a highly skilled and efficient unit that provides top quality support and guidance to IRC field offices; work closely with the UK office to ensure the same level of support, supervision and consistency of training across the teams located there.
• Work with regional AMU staff to identify and implement recruitment and retention strategies for field staff engaged in award management.
• Establish a training curriculum that includes updated awards manuals, tools and training material; ensure IRC staff globally is trained to the highest standards of award management.
• Advise senior management on IRC donor developments affecting near and long term funding opportunities and develop strategies and tactics in response to those trends; provide regular performance feedback and forward prospect-centered action for each IRC strategic outcome.
• Develop and maintain strategic partnerships with key donors and institutions, ensuring good relationships and developing strategies for donor diversification and outreach outside of Europe. Work closely with senior staff in the UK charged with developing and maintaining relationships in Europe to ensure that synergies and any cross leverage within the global portfolio are utilized.
• Act as the owner of IRC award system of record; lead system development and integration with other systems; develop and analyze performance metrics to track key success factors that will ensure the highest possible rate of donor awards.
• Support the implementation of IRC's new Global Strategy as it relates to Award Management.

Job Requirements:

Education: Bachelor Degree required, Advanced Degree in international relations, law, or related field preferred;

Work Experience: Minimum 10 to 15 years progressive work experience in grants management and business development;

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

• Successful and extensive track-record of winning and effectively managing 6-, 7-, and 8-figure awards from European, US and international donors
• Demonstrated ability to work in a matrix environment and with dual reporting lines
• Demonstrated leadership skills and ability to manage, develop and engage a diverse and multi-location team;
• International work experience in developing countries preferred;
• Ability to design and implement effective and top-level workflow processes and procedures;
• Proven negotiation skills, and the ability to make sound decisions, and apply creative problem solving;
• Excellent communication skills including written and oral communications, and the ability to express ideas and concepts clearly and persuasively with internal and external stakeholders;
• Ability to work well under pressure in a fast paced team environment;

Working Environment: Domestic and international travel up to 25%.

How to apply:

Please follow this link to apply: http://www.aplitrak.com/?adid=YW5nZWxhdi45ODU5OS4zODMwQGlyYy5hcGxpdHJhay5jb20