The Danish Refugee Council (DRC), an international non-governmental organization (NGO), has been providing relief and development services in the Horn of Africa since 1997. DRC promotes and supports solutions to the problems faced by refugees, internally displaced people (IDPs), and migrants. The organization has offices across the region, and has been operational in Ethiopia since 2009.  With funding from bilateral and multilateral donors, DRC is currently implementing a range of activities across Ethiopia and Djibouti, including WASH and shelter provision, child and youth protection, Gender based violence response, awareness-raising of migration risks, protection monitoring of migration routes, and livelihoods support for returning migrants or those at-risk of migration.

OVERALL PURPOSE OF THE ROLE:

DRC has committed to prioritization of implementation of humanitarian programs in Ethiopia through local partner NGOs. The empowerment and capacity development of DRC’s partners is fundamental to our vision and approach to supporting the humanitarian response for displaced and vulnerable persons affected by crisis in Ethiopia. The Grant Partnership Coordinator will play a key role in supporting Program teams and Senior Management to ensure prioritization and value of partnership across the Country Program and promote the partnership approach in DRC ’s operations. This includes advising and facilitating specific partnership processes as well as institutional development with a focus on expanding DRC’s ability to implement programs inside Ethiopia through local partners. The Grants Partnership Coordinator will report to the Program Development and Quality Manager and work closely with the grants team, field and/or project teams, MEAL team, finance team and with other relevant DRC senior staffs (Head of Programs, Head of Support Services, and Country Director) to provide regular support and guidance through effective partnership and grants management for the overall country program in line with DRC Ethiopia Strategic Plan 2022-25.

The Grants Partnership Coordinator will oversee the implementation of DRC’s partnership management system, ensuring that DRC identifies, appropriately allocates and effectively mitigates programmatic, operational, financial and reputational risk, establishing a strong foundation for strategic partnerships that extend beyond program implementation to incorporate mutual capacity strengthening and broader collaboration. The Grants Partnership Coordinator will be key in fostering and promoting a culture, attitudes, values and skills conducive to collaborative partnerships throughout the DRC Ethiopia teams, based on a clear and shared understanding of DRC’s strategy, role and approach, and partnership principles.

Responsibilities:

Partnerships Identification and Subgrant Reviews and Processes

• Lead the mapping of potential partners for prospective programming
• Keep up to date the lists of existing and potential partners
• Facilitate internal sub-award proposal review and approval processes
• Draft, compile, review, and coordinate the review process of sub-award agreements
• Ensure high-quality implementation through organizing kick off, review, and closure meetings
• Ensuring donor compliance by working very closely with the Program Development and Quality Manager and Support Service team

Partnership Management and Capacity Development

• Coordinate and assist in the operational, financial, and programmatic monitoring and support of all partners. This includes leading the coordination of monitoring visits and partner meetings to ensure deliverables are well met
• Achieve the development and maintenance of a strong partnership with an effective mix of different partner types that can maximize the impact delivered by DRC’s program strategies, and specific interventions
• Assure strong partnership by conducting a partner assessment and then supporting partners in developing and implementing action plans, SOPs and training materials directed at enhancing the capacities of their own organization, as well as identifying their potential role in the overall portfolio.

Partner Performance Monitoring and Reporting

• Accountable for the management of projects implemented through partnerships and coordination of partner performance on agreed program activities, evaluating their alignment with approved proposals, budgets and technical quality standards
• Monitor partners through periodic reviews, field visits and on-site verifications for donor compliance and progress against objectives, contributing to the development of monitoring tools as needed.
• Provide support and coordinate the timely submission of partners’ inputs to accurate financial and narrative reports of sub-grantees, ensuring compliance with all donor requirements (including branding and visibility)
• Identify gaps and provide capacity building training to project/field teams on quality reporting and communication for effective and efficient partnership  management
• Establish key administrative system for reporting processes to fulfil DRC’s internal and donor accountability and compliance requirements

Documentation, Recording, and Knowledge Management

• Maintain comprehensive electronic partner files, ensuring they are streamlined and well organized
• Coordinate with the relevant technical teams, review periodic reports, compile and submit partner reports into overall donor report, and support government reports/agreements as needed/requested
• Support data analysis of existing sub-grant portfolio and potential future partner commitments
• Ensure that DRC’s grant management system (Dynamics) and sharepoint is up-to-date with reports, and ensure all essential project documents are uploaded properly and timely
• Develop learning and knowledge products, as it relates to partnership portfolio management, that meet standards and enable organization-wide learning and sharing by documenting approaches, project and program designs and lessons, case studies and other knowledge products. Seek and leverage existing knowledge products in order to increase efficiency and effectiveness.

Grants Management

• Support the development of new proposals involving partnership including support in drafting and finalizing technical narratives and budgets for new proposals
• Participate in Project Review Meetings as well as monthly/regular BFU/Performance Review Meetings and ensure proper follow-up of issues raised.
• Identifies priority partners for grant and other resource mobilization opportunities, develops teaming, scope of works and sub-award agreements, and manages partner performance on grants.

External relations

• Builds and manages relationships with government, foundations development organizations, corporations, local authorities, and the general public to increase DRC’s visibility, profile, and credibility Identifies and pursues opportunities for new collaborations and/or partnerships. Support the development and provision of notes/briefings to external bodies requesting information on DRC Ethiopia project activities.
• Support the senior management in organizing and facilitating organization level meetings, workshops, trainings, etc. internally, with external stakeholders and partners
• Participate in external meetings/workshops by representing DRC as needed

Internal relations

• Provide regular updates to the Head of Programs and SMT on progress to meeting strategic partnership commitments
• Serve as Lead for the DRC Ethiopia Country Office Partnerships Strategic Task Force
• Work closely with grants, program, finance and field teams to gather timely information for grants management administrative tasks.
• Work with the Head of Programs, Program Development and Quality Manager and Grants management Coordinator in organizing project kick-off and close-out meetings and ensure proper coordination of the events

Others

• Other relevant duties as directed by the line manager.

Requirements

Experience and technical competencies:

• Master’s degree from a recognized university in relevant social sciences, (Development Studies, International Management, Sociology etc) with at least three years of relevant work experience; or Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field and minimum of five years of relevant work experience,
• At least three (3) years of INGO experience, strong preference will be given to candidates with previous experience in partnership management, consortium/network management or sub-grant/partner identification and management.
• Strong analytical, writing, communication and editing skills with the ability to make complex information and data accessible to non-experts.
• Demonstrated ability and experience on coordination of multiple partners (internal and external)
• Demonstrated experiences on facilitating sub-grants, including proposal review, agreement development, and monitoring strongly desired
• Proven experience on program development, including development of key project documents such as logical frameworks, monitoring tools
• Good communicator and proven diplomacy with all types of stakeholders
• Experience of managing budgets and multiple partner and donor contracts, particularly with BRPM, SIDA, DANIDA, UNOCHA, EU, ECHO, UNHCR, UNICEF, BHA
• Fluent and articulate in spoken and written English
• Ability to work independently, but also coordinate effectively as part of a team.
• Strong/advanced computer skills
• Ability and willingness to work and live in diverse, challenging and potentially unstable environments.

Education: (include certificates, licenses etc.)

• Master’s degree from a recognized university relevant field with at least three years of relevant work experience; or
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field and minimum of six years of relevant work experience,

Languages: (indicate fluency level)

• English (proficient in both writing and speaking)