Duration of the mission:  12 months renewable

Location:  Cox

ABOUT THE MISSION…

SOLIDARITES INTERNATIONAL (SI) opened its mission in Bangladesh at the end of 2007, following cyclone SIDR.

SI’s intervention and strategy in Bangladesh is to address primary needs of crisis affected people in terms of food security, livelihood, disaster risk reduction (DRR), water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH) by making use of inclusive approaches and by taking into account the effects of climate change, whilst working in parallel on mid-long term resilience strategies.

SI supports displaced people and affected communities immediately after a disaster through the distribution of various kits, cash for work, emergency access to safe drinking water) and in the early recovery phase by livelihood activities, reconstruction of dwellings, etc.  SI’s programs build the communities resilience towards future hazard events, this includes how to evacuate people and possessions as soon as possible, how to protect villages and fields by building small-scale infrastructures (dykes, causeways), and how to incorporate adaptive coping strategies for farmers by establishing agricultural practices and livelihoods that are less vulnerable to natural disasters.  Furthermore, SI’s 2020 strategy for Bangladesh has a three-pronged approach focusing on:

• Response to the protracted IDPs crisis with equitable basic services delivery through integrated programming for host and refugee communities;
• Strengthening the resilience of vulnerable communities to recurrent shocks and community-led advocacy for responsiveness, accountability and transparency in the access to resources;
• Enhancing access to services through inclusive programming;

The development and changes within Bangladesh require a variety of interventions. SI will need to retain its capacity to respond rapidly in the face of an emergency whilst focusing on mid-term and longer-term development goals.

ABOUT THE JOB

As part of the coordination team and reporting to the DCD (Deputy Country Director), and working closely with the program and support departments at coordination level, as well as the base teams, the Grant Manager is the mission’s focal point on ensuring accountability to donors. Specifically, he/she is in charge of:

• Contributing to the mission’s strategic development.
• Direct management of the Grants Manager Assistant.
• Contributing to the CD/DCD’s representation with donors.
• Monitoring and identifying funding opportunities in line with SI country and global strategy.
• Oversees the compilation of timely and high quality concept notes, proposals and contract modification requests in compliance with deadlines, donor and internal requirements. Validates Interim and final narrative and budget reports before submission to donor or Consortium lead, in consultation with the DCD/Program coordinator, technical coordinators and support department managers.
• Monitoring compliance between internal and donor procedures and builds the capacity building of new and existing staff on internal guidelines/tools (i.e. GERB) and donor procedures.
• Proactively follows-up on donor contractual obligations, from contracting to closing and archiving.
• Proactively develop and roll-out the mission communication strategy as per identified needs in close collaboration with CD/DCD
• Archiving preparation for external audits and audit report archiving

Main Responsibilities: 

• Donor Relations
• Financing strategy
• Project Development
• Contractual management/monitoring of projects (grant management)
• External compliance
• Program Implementation (compliance with internal/external requirements)
• External Audits

ORG CHART POSITION (reporting and functional relationships)

Line manager: Deputy Country Director

Line management of: Grants Manager Assistant

Functional manager: Desk Grant Manager or Desk Program Manager in the absence of Desk GM; HQ Transparency and Institutional Development Unit (TDI)

Main challenges for the position

This position is key to the functioning of the mission given the existing large donors portfolio and the evolving donors’ landscape as the crisis becomes protracted and the inter-relation between developmental and humanitarian programming evolves. Given the multiple sectors and geographical areas of programming, this is an interesting and challenging post, with the opportunity to work closely with the field team (located close to the coordination office) and a recently strengthened technical team.

Specific stakes and challenges

• Relatively large volume of operations which suffered gaps and internal organizational lacks; it impacted the regular reporting tools inputs but improved practices are being currently set-up.
• Very important reporting and grants management duties linked with the large donors’ portfolio and relatively short projects duration
• Necessity to further develop the mission communication strategy to fit the needs of the country strategy

Priorities for the 2/3 first months

• Projects development in an inclusive way, drawing on lessons learned and strategies being produced by the different departments
• Support in linking the grants management with the department strategies and adapted information management tools
• Support the development of a communication strategy and required tools

YOUR PROFILE

Education: Master’s degree is in a relevant field (social sciences, developmental studies, etc.) or Bachelor’s degree with minimum 3 years of relevant experience.

Experience:

• Previous experience in a similar position in an overseas NGO environment, ideally in both emergency and developmental contexts;
• Previous experience in donor relations/accountability/communications with a wide range of institutional donors
• Experience of program development and reporting in different fields: WASH, food security – livelihood and DRR considered as an asset.
• Experience of coordinating within large teams in multiple locations with various challenges;
• Experience of establishing strong working relationships with colleagues from different functions and cultures;
• Experience leading communications both internal and external

Technical and other desirable skills and competences:

• An ability to reflect on and learn from own performance and the performance of the team; and to act upon that learning;
• An ability to analyze information quickly and accurately;
• A flexible approach to managing and prioritizing a high workload and multiple tasks with tight deadlines;
• Diplomatic and smooth leadership & communication skills
• Strong public relation skills.
• Confident and proficient in the use of MS Office, Excel;
• Extensive report writing and oral skills in English;
• An understanding of and commitment to SI’s mission and values.

SI WILL OFFER YOU…

A salaried post: according to experience from 1980 euros gross per month (1800 base salary + 10% annual leave).

Per Diem of 450 USD.

Social and medical cover: International staffs benefit from an insurance package which reimburses all healthcare expenses (including medical and surgical expenses, dental care and ophthalmological expenses, repatriation) and a welfare system including war risks. Essential vaccination and antimalarial treatment costs are refunded.

Vacation: During the assignment, a system of alternation between work and time off is implemented at the rate of one break every three months. Our policy was just modified: from now on, Solidarités offers you 7 working days ever three months, with a 850 USD allowance for each break. In addition to these regular break, SI adds a day off per worked month. These days off as well as the breaks are not deducted from the paid leaves that are paid every months with your salary as they are offered by the organization.

For further information about Solidarités International, please consult our website:  http://www.solidarites.org/en/

Security context and living conditions:

The office and guesthouse in Dhaka, Cox and Teknaf are comfortable, well located in terms of security, adapted to SI team’s needs, and assuring to international staff the minimum standard in terms of privacy and comfort. The working environment is positive and the context, differently in each location, give some opportunities of social life, especially in Cox’s Bazar, one of the most touristic cities of the country, hosting the majority of humanitarian actors.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Does this description fit you? Please send us your CV and Cover letter in English. CV only applications will not be considered.

NB:  The vacancy may close before the deadline. Thank you for your comprehension