Technical Excellence and Grant Operations & Analytics Team
At the IRC, we define and measure our success as positive changes in people’s lives in relation to five outcome areas: health, education, economic wellbeing, safety and power, while helping to narrow the gender gap. To achieve these outcomes – to drive our impact – our programs must be based on the best available evidence and aligned with our theories of change; adapted to context; responsive to client needs and preferences; and continuously improved by generating evidence, measuring what we do, and acting on what we learn. The Technical Excellence (TechEx) team supports the delivery of this.
Established in April 2021, the Grant Operations & Analytics Team (GOAT) brought together grants, business development, finance, and analytics functions and staff from each TechEx Unit to one centralized team to increase efficiency, effectiveness and quality control across the department’s grants and business operations. The primary purpose of this team is to harmonize capacity and capabilities and drive efficiencies by establishing consistent, high-quality standards and best practices to the service of improved budgeting, grants & contracts management, partnership management, business development, and data collection and analytics. GOAT strives to build a diverse and inclusive team at all levels who as individuals, and as a group, create a working environment characterized by critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity for us to achieve our aspirations as a team and deliver the best possible service to our clients!
The Role:
The Sr. Officer, Finance & Partnerships is responsible for providing oversight and day-to-day financial management of the partners (including subcontractors) and provide support on financial management more broadly. This position acts as the focal point for financial compliance of our partnerships, including ensuring high-quality budgets, financial reports, and monitoring. This position is also responsible for any financial capacity sharing, guidance and training to partners identified throughout the partnership.
Additionally, the role will be responsible for providing the quality assurance of GOAT and TechEx finances, reviewing journal entries, program budgets, and monthly transactions. They will work with GOAT members by providing feedback and financial support, ensuring that all financial work is at the highest quality.
Specific Responsibilities
Partnerships Finance (50%)
Promote Effective Partnerships
oPromote and apply the IRC’s Partnership Excellence for Equality and Results system (PEERS). Contribute to building a strong understanding of PEERS throughout TechEx, and to ensuring the organizational principles, skills and approaches are applied by staff across programs and projects with partners.
oFacilitate systematic partner feedback on IRC’s management of the partnership relationship, including the documentation of, and response to partner feedback.
Program Delivery
•Member of Partnership Working Group (PWG), and co-responsible for delivering the functions of the PWG.
•Lead on financial aspects of the due diligence processes including audit review and completing relevant tabs of the Partner Capacity Analysis (PCA) and collaborative partnership risk management.
•Work collaboratively and supportively with partners to develop and finalize budgets and amendments, and (in the case of milestone-based partnership agreements) in determining the costing of each deliverable
•Review draft partnership financial agreement terms.
•For cost-reimbursable partnership agreements, agree with partners the specific documentation required to support each type of cost, adjusting standard requirements to the operating context and the partner.
•Work collaboratively with partners to ensure the timely provision of funding to partners in accordance with the partnership agreement to ensure program continuity, ensuring clear communication with the partner and efficient resolution where for whatever reason this is not possible.
•Participate in PCM, including to review successes, challenges, and lessons learned with the partner, and capture effective finance practices for future partnerships.
•Collaborate with partners to ensure completeness, correctness, and accuracy of financial reports and cash requests.
•Review partner financial reports (and narrative reports for consistency) to ensure compliance with the partnership agreement, donor regulations and IRC policy, and provide feedback to the partner as appropriate.
•Monitor partner budgets and actual spending in collaboration with technical coordinators, identifying issues and working proactively and collaboratively with partners to resolve them.
•Participate in monitoring and reflection including the leading on the review of partner financial report support documents and identifying appropriate follow up actions.
•Assist in the closeout of partnership agreements, including in relation to financial verification and asset confirmation.
•Participate in the review of the performance of the partner, of the IRC, and of the partnership, including successes, challenges and lessons learned.
Program Support & Capacity Sharing
•Provide finance and accounting training and mentoring support to partners, in accordance with partner project support plans, with a focus on supporting the partner to strengthen financial management systems and capacities that are responsive to the needs of the partner (rather than replicating IRC’s systems and policies).
•Coach, train, and mentor internal with the aim of strengthening their technical capacity, exchanging knowledge within the team and providing professional development guidance.
Other
•Any other duties as assigned by the Sr Partnership Adviser
Finance (50%)
Review & Ensure Quality Assurance of GOAT Finances
•Review TechEx journal entries/invoice journals in Integra (Microsoft Dynamics 365), ensuring that reclassifications are corrected before submitting for approval from the Associate Director, Program Finance
•Review program budgets in Integra before submitting for approvals
•Review award proposal budgets and realignments and obtain approvals the Finance Dept for submission to donors
•Review and approve of cost center accounting codes of all TechEx timesheets in TETRA (Time & Effort tracking system), ensuring that HQ and country program payroll will process correct cost center
•Assist GOAT Sr. Finance Officer in tracking country program TechEx allocations (TU2%) and transactions, ensuring that our TU2% BvA is as accurate as possible
Financial Management
•Review unrestricted expenses monthly, preparing reclassifications to correct cost center coding errors
•Coordinate with gift processing in the fundraising departments, ensuring that TechEx gifts are coded to the correct accounting codes and budgets, ensuring that the funding is captured and budgeted
•Assist in drafting the departmental Operating Budgets by inputting financial data from various funding streams, ensuring that financial data align with restricted award spending plans.
•Prepare and submit reclassifications as needed.
Financial Training & Support to GOAT
•Provide training and guidance to GOAT staff on financial issues as needed
•Work with the Pre and Post Award team to ensure that financial and other internal processes are followed
Key Working Relationships:
Position Reports to: Senior Partnerships Adviser and the Deputy Director of Business Operations
Position directly supervises: N/A
Other Internal and/or external contacts:
Internal:
•Regular contact with Finance, Technical Units, Global Supply Chain team and the Awards Management Unit
•Collaborate closely with country program staff.
•External: Interact with donors, partners, vendors, contractors, and consultants.
Job Requirements
•Minimum 4 years of progressive work experience in a non-profit setting overseeing finances. Experience with managing partners’ projects funded by major institutional donors required.
•Experience of working collaboratively with partners
•Experience in training, capacity building, and mentoring of staff, NGOs/CBOs.
•Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to present to groups of all sizes; exhibiting tact, patience, diplomacy, and appropriate assertiveness
•Self-starter and solutions-oriented, with ability to work independently and part of a team.
•Demonstrated ability to work effectively under pressure and handle multiple simultaneous tasks and demands coming from multiple sources.
•Hard-working, sharp and detailed oriented.
•Proficiency in MS Office software suite including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.
•Experience working with databases and/or other tracking systems.
•Fluency in English required, other language skills a plus
Compensation:
Posted pay ranges apply to US and UK-based candidates. Ranges are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget. Exact offers are calibrated by work location, individual candidate experience and skills relative to the defined job requirements.
US Benefits:
The IRC offers a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. All US employees are eligible for sick time, a 403b retirement savings plans: up to 4.5% immediately vested matching contribution, plus an 3-7% additional IRC contribution, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support in times of crisis and mental health struggles.
In addition, full-time employees are eligible for 10 US paid holidays, 20-25 paid time off days, disability & life insurance, medical, dental, and vision insurance (employee contribution starting at $135, $7, and $5 per month respectively) and FSA for healthcare, childcare, and commuter costs. Part-time employees are eligible for a proportionate amount of paid time off. These additional benefits apply to employees who work at least 6 months within a 12 month time period.
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