Partnership Coordinator

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.

The IRC was present in Sudan from 1981 to 2009. In November 2019, the IRC re-registered in Sudan and opened a main office in Khartoum, with programming beginning in 2020. It is currently operational in Khartoum, River Nile, White Nile, Gadaref, south Kordofan and Blue Nile states, including a satellite office in Tunaydbah (Gedaref) and administrative office in Port Sudan-Red Sea state. The IRC’s impact groups are vulnerable individuals impacted by conflict and crisis, including women, children, the elderly, persons with disabilities, refugees, mixed populations, and host communities.

Specific responsibilities

Based in Port Sudan, The Senior Partnership Coordinator will be a key member of IRC Sudan’s Awards Unit and will report to the DDP (then Sr.Program Coordinator when hired). The position will supervise the Partnerships Managers and Finance Partnership Manager. Occasional travel to field sites may be required. The Senior Partnership Coordinator will work collaboratively with all members of the Awards Unit, including the Grants Managers/Coordinator as well as with technical coordinators, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and the finance and operations teams. The Senior Partnership Coordinator will be responsible for building and maintaining strong local partnerships across geographic areas where IRC Sudan works, and for ensuring effective management of partnerships and support grants management within the Sudan country office. They will coordinate and manage the sub-award lifecycle in accordance with the IRC’s Partnership for Excellence and Equality System (PEERS), including conducting due diligence, ensuring partners understand applicable donor regulations, and managing receipt and review of partners’ deliverables. They will also contribute to overall grants management efforts and work to ensure adherence to donor regulations and compliance across grants and sites.

Specific responsibilities within each functional area are as follows:

Partnership Building & Management

Partner Identification & Mapping

• Contribute to development of a clear framework on identification of local partners/organizations, and maintain clear, accessible documentation of identified organizations.

• Prioritize engagement with local partners/potential partners and lay the groundwork for long-term relationships with partners, rather than project- or funding-specific engagements, with the aim of ensuring there is a mutual, collaborative effort by IRC and partners.

Partner Vetting

• Lead the partner engagement process according to the IRC’s Partnership Excellence for Equality and Results System (PEERS) including: (1) partner capacity analysis (PCA), (2) anti-terrorism checks (ATC), (3) partner identity and background review (vetting) (4) preparation of the required partnership documents such as the internal signing memorandum, draft partnership agreement, monitoring schedule, or other, and (5) review partner’s proposal documents.

Review Requests for Proposals & Partner Submissions

• Prepare and/or review solicitations and requests for proposals from Program team(s) before publishing to ensure compliance with IRC policy and donor rules and regulations.

• Lead in drafting sub-grants/partnership agreements and modifications for compliance with donor rules and regulations, act as focal point with HQ for review and approval and facilitate signature by IRC and partner.

Support Partnership Agreements / Project Cycle Management

• Provide oversight and coordination of all IRC Sudan Partnerships according to IRC’s PEERS methodology, ensure needed support is provided to partners, and act as focal point during the project cycle. Sub-grant related administrative processes and procedures should be standardized and consistently implemented throughout the project cycle, such as for disbursements, reporting and monitoring. This includes organizing, participating in, and facilitating partners’ financial and technical monitoring and verifications led by the IRC, as well as tracking of partner deliverables.

• Support IRC Sudan program and operations staff to ensure any emergent compliance concerns are addressed during the term of the partnership/sub-grant agreements.

Partner Capacity Building

• Support IRC Sudan program and operations staff in assessing partner’s capacity building needs and coordinate discussions with partners to develop a capacity building/development plan which is based on the outcome of the assessment (PPCR). Ensure the plan is tailored, targeted, and responsive to their organizational needs and priorities.

• Design tools to effectively monitor progress made against the agreed upon partner capacity building plans to best support partners in their organizational development.

Sub-grant Tracking

• Maintain a sub-grants tracker for all partnership/sub-grant agreements including basic sub-grant details, funds disbursed, and liquidations received. Contribute sub-grant updates to the country program’s monthly internal financial report template (FM01) and provide analysis of all current Partnerships, as required.

General Grants Management/Administration

Business Development (Proposal Development)

• Support the GC to Facilitate internal Go/No-Go meetings to ensure an informed and participatory decision for new funding opportunities.

• Support proposal development processes, including drafting and producing high quality concept notes and proposals; reviewing budgets; preparing annexes; and quality assurance/compliance checks.

• Support the submission of timely grant amendment and extension requests, closely adhering to contractual terms and processes.

• Strengthen organisational capacity in business development, including enforcing clear and structured processes and providing trainings.

Donor Reporting

• Support the development and preparation of high-quality, timely reports for donors and partners on implementation progress, ensuring all donor reporting requirements are met and demonstrate IRC’s capacity in Sudan.

• Manage reporting workflows, processes, and deadlines between programme, MEAL, and finance teams to ensure the timely and quality development and review of reports.

• Support other program initiatives / work streams / tasks as assigned.

Qualifications

Education:

Bachelor’s degree in relevant subject area, master’s degree preferred.

Experience:

• A minimum of four years of working experience in sub-award management for European and US public donors’ humanitarian or development programs.

• Experience living and working in complex humanitarian environments preferred.

• Previous successful experience developing projects and writing proposals to donors.

• Previous successful experience working with and monitoring partnerships.

Skills and abilities:

• Strong proposal writing and budgeting expertise.

• Proficient in IT and related technologies.

• Excellent communication and writing skills.

• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to collaborate effectively in team settings.

• Ability and willingness to travel to remote locations.

• Skilled in prioritizing and managing high volumes of work under tight deadlines.

• Fluency in both English and Arabic, with excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Policy compliance – IRC way policies:

• Ensure any violations of the IRC Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Code of Conduct are reported to technical coordinator or other member of IRC team. The reporting of violations is an obligation on the part of all IRC employees, including temporary hires and consultants.

• Assist where necessary in undertaking activities that aim to prevent the occurrence of sexual abuse and exploitation of beneficiaries by IRC and other humanitarian workers.

**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.

Commitment to Gender, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: The IRC is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, respectful, and safe work environment where all persons are treated fairly, with dignity and respect. The IRC expressly prohibits and will not tolerate discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or bullying of the IRC persons in any work setting. We aim to increase the representation of women, people that are from country and communities we serve, and people who identify as races and ethnicities that are under-represented in global power structures.