Grants Management Specialist new business initiative - DRC

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse, and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have long term impact. 

Department Summary

Mercy Corps has been operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since August 2007, with a staff of approximately 400 people working in Eastern DRC. Mercy Corps’ national office is in Goma with sub-field offices in North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri provinces. Mercy Corps’ key programming areas include a combination of longer-term development and immediate humanitarian response programs in order to: 1) Improve water service delivery and ensuring equitable access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene services, in urban and rural areas; 2) Improve food security and nutrition; 3) Promote diversified livelihoods, economic recovery and development. Mercy Corps DRC’s humanitarian programs aim specifically to assist populations affected by the conflict and crisis in Eastern Congo with multi-purpose cash assistance and emergency WASH support to displaced and host populations. Currently, the DRC program represents one of Mercy Corps’ largest country programs world-wide.

General Position Summary

The Grants Management Specialist will strengthen business development initiatives and grants management processes for existing and new programs for the Mercy Corps DRC country program. S/he will support the Director of Programs and country leadership in identifying priority growth areas and in making improvements to resource development processes. S/he will build out tools and processes for landscape mapping and design donor engagement plans for strategic focus areas. S/he will contribute to the production of high-quality applications for funding, collaborating with global New Initiatives (NI) colleagues to coordinate large proposal teams. In addition, when requested s/he will support programs in documenting learning and developing communications and advocacy materials as part of donor engagement. 

Essential Job Responsibilities

STRATEGY & VISION

●        Support the Director of Programs in defining priority focus areas for new business in line with the DRC Country Strategy.

●        Improve resource development processes through the development and update of guiding documents such as strategies or SOPs. 

●        Refine or create appropriate team member development materials (training, distance learning, self-study) to support building of capacity in program design and proposal development skills and basic elements of donor compliance as well as to deliver quality reporting.

LANDSCAPE MAPPING & DONOR ENGAGEMENT

●        Help develop and maintain tools, guidelines and templates for donor mapping, competitor mapping and landscape mapping.

●        Maintain accurate pipeline tracker and use analysis to inform senior management decisions.

●        Devise donor engagement plans for strategic focus areas aiming to improve Mercy Corps’ competitive positioning. 

●        Work with the DRC PaQ Team and the Director of Programs to maintain data on capacity and past performance for use in positioning efforts.

●        Collaborate with the DRC PaQ Team and programs to document learning for use in donor engagement.

●        Work with country learning, communications and advocacy focal points to deliver on donor engagement plans, positioning Mercy Corps in strategic focus areas.

●        Build relationships with donors, potential partner organizations and other collaborators.

GRANTS MANAGEMENT

●        Contribute to proposal development processes to ensure timely submission of high-quality proposals that are responsive to donor requirements, applicable regulations, and Mercy Corps’ technical standards.

●        When requested by the Director of Programs, lead in-country coordination of proposal development teams and liaise with NI Team Lead on major proposals to ensure adequate communication and effective teamwork.

●        Support partner identification, negotiation of consortia roles, and review of teaming agreements as part of opportunity pursuit.

●        Contribute to non-technical writing on proposals; integrate inputs from reviewers into proposals.

●        Track proposal submissions; assist with analysis of successes and failures and dissemination of lessons learned.

Accountability

Supervisory Responsibility: None

Reports Directly To: Director of Programs

Works Directly With: Country Director, Programs Directors and Chiefs of Party/Managers, DRC PaQ Team, Program MEL Teams, Crisis Analysis Team, as well as Regional and Global New Initiatives, Corporate Donors and Foundations, and Technical Support Unit teams. 

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 Qualifications & Transferable Skills

●        Bachelor’s degree required. Masters or equivalent in a field related to Humanitarian or International Development or relevant fields is preferred.

●        At least 3 to 5 years’ experience in grants management and/or business development.

●        Very strong writer with expert command of English and French grammar.

●        Demonstrated experience with competitive proposals.

●        Familiarity with USG funding mechanisms and proposal requirements. Experience with non-USG public donors highly desirable (FCDO, ECHO, EU, SDC, SIDA, etc.).

●        Experience using MS Windows and MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint).

●        Experience working in the Africa region and high-risk contexts preferred.

●        Proven ability to work cooperatively with internal and external stakeholders, and to play a leadership role in convening groups. Astute skills in relationship building and coordination.

●        Willingness and ability to travel frequently to Mercy Corps project sites and field locations, including traveling to insecure environments, is required.

●        Excellent listening, interpersonal, communication and networking skills; and the ability to work with diversified stakeholders.

●        Skilled at delivering and facilitating training and capacity building interventions, e.g. coaching, mentorship is an asset.

●        Analytical, problem solver, with strong experience and understanding of project cycle management and coordination.

●        High level of self-awareness and self-development with the maturity to deal with constructive feedback

●        The willingness and ability to adapt leadership and management style as appropriate

●        Fluency in English and French is required.

Success Factors

The successful candidate is an opinionated, fast-thinking, experienced leader. S/he has a thorough understanding of what it takes to deliver impactful programs in challenging environments. S/he is an excellent communicator who can inspire broad and diverse teams towards achieving a shared goal and drive a fast-paced and adaptive program. S/he is able to create a stimulating working environment encouraging innovation and accountability. S/he should have good communication and diplomatic skills.  S/he should be able to facilitate complex team dynamics and achieve aims, have excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, good organizational skills and ability to work independently, with a strong commitment to advancing learning in international development through monitoring and evaluation.  S/he should have strong relationship-building skills and commitment to working collaboratively.

Living/Environmental Conditions

This position is an unaccompanied position. Shared accommodation will be provided in Goma according to Mercy Corps DRC housing policy.

Goma is a provincial capital of over 700,000 inhabitants. Living in Goma is mostly comfortable, although water and electricity can be unstable. Outside Goma, travel can be dangerous and unpredictable due to armed forces and rebel activity.

While conditions in the country are improving, and security is reasonably stable in Goma, there are still pockets of violence and insecurity. Mercy Corps' sub-offices experience variable levels of insecurity, with the situation closely monitored by UN peacekeepers. Air travel is necessary to get from one end of the country to the other. Mobile phones and cellular service are widely available. Internet is available in all Mercy Corps offices. Travel to field sites will be required where living conditions are clean and secure, but basic. There are several health services available with evacuation options for serious illnesses.

There’s reasonable access to most consumer goods, although they can be expensive.

Mercy Corps Team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

Fostering a diverse and open workplace is an important part of Mercy Corps’ vision. Mercy Corps is an Equal Opportunity Employer regardless of background. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment.

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.