Grants Assistant

"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.
Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps works in places of transition, where conflict, disaster, political upheaval, or economic collapse present opportunities to build more secure, productive, and just communities. Providing emergency relief in times of crisis, we move quickly to help communities recover and build resilience to future shocks, and promote sustainable
change by supporting community-led and market-driven initiatives. Recognizing both the great potential and the complex challenges faced by the Middle East, since 1989 Mercy Corps has been implementing a range of humanitarian assistance and development programs tailored to the specific needs of the region and of those communities where we
work.
General Position Summary
The Grants Assistant, a member of the Grants Management Unit, plays a critical role in coordinating grants management, compliance, learning, and adherence to minimum program management and administration standards at all points in the program cycle. In service of that role, s/he will improve and maintain existing grants management platforms and processes. S/he should develop an understanding of compliance and reporting format requirements for each donor, participate in reporting tracking with the program teams and ensure documentation is properly stored since project identification. It is critical that the Grants Assistant is an excellent English communicator (written and spoken), who is supportive and solution focused. The Grants Assistant needs to be highly motivated, self-driven and able to support diverse complex programs with limited daily support and direction.

Essential Job Responsibilities
GRANTS MANAGEMENT AND DONOR REPORTING
● Schedule and document frequent grant management meetings (including program kick off meeting and 90-day closeout meetings), take notes of meetings, track action points for follow-up and record/document lessons learned;
● Maintain the grant management system, ensuring compliance with PM@MC 2.0 minimum standards;
● Manage the grants tracker (active, pipeline and closed); update and share with mercycorps.org

ESMT as a representation of the current country office portfolio.
● Ensure program teams’ compliance with PM@MC minimum standards for program management, in conjunction with the PaQ Director and Proposal Development and Grants Manager
PROGRAM REPORTING AND COMMUNICATIONS
● Supports the Grants Management Unit to maintain a reporting tracker and share regularly with Program, MEL and HQ Teams.
● Supports the formatting and edition of different reports and documents, including but not limited to monthly, quarterly and annual reports and work plans.
● Support in retaining proof of submission and filing final versions.
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
● In collaboration with program staff and IT, maintain program folders on the shared drive as per the Record Retention Policy including onboarding new program staff, auditing files throughout the life of the program and archiving files at the end of the program.
● In collaboration with the PaQ team and Communications Specialist, highlight information for internal and external sharing through encouraging the adoption of internal communications tools and knowledge management platforms
(Workplace, Globe/Hub, Digital Library, MC.org/research) to increase coordination and visibility of activities internally and to relevant stakeholders
● In collaboration with the PaQ Director conduct spot checks of programmatic files to ensure that all program teams are adhering to the record retention policy
● Document and disseminate minutes of meetings, such as bi-weekly program meetings, after action reviews and other related meetings.
● Support the programs and technical teams in sharing needed documents and templates
● Support sub-grants department in developing and update a database of partners including subgrantees, consultants in coordination with Subgrants team and Program Managers
● Facilitate program learning / after action meetings to immediately capture learning from proposal development, donor visits and other related situations that aligns with adaptive management
ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING
● As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit
5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.

ACCOUNTABILITY TO BENEFICIARIES
● Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Supervisory Responsibility
None.
Accountability:
Reports Directly to: Grants Coordinator
Works Directly with: Director of Programs, Finance and Compliance teams, Director of Program Performance and Quality, M&E Advisor, Proposal Development and Grants Manager
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 Qualification & Transferable Skills
• Bachelor’s degree required. Masters or equivalent in a field related to Humanitarian or International Development or relevant fields is preferred.
● 1+ years of experience providing coordination or management support to program implementation in a relevant field of expertise
● Managing work plans.
● Understanding and experience of adaptive management.
● Excellent writing and communications skills required.
● Fluency in English is required.
● Ability and willingness to learn and follow donor reporting and compliance requirements
● Excellent experience in using Microsoft tools and Google Applications (sheets, docs and drive).

Success Factors
A successful candidate will have a demonstrated ability to communicate in English effectively with team members and other stakeholders of varied work styles and cultures, follow procedures and meet deadlines with flexibility. S/he can efficiently assist with the Grants Management Unit with grants management tasks. S/he will have a proven ability to learn quickly, multi-task, prioritize, and take initiative. The most successful Mercy Corps team members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions
The position is based in Amman, Jordan or other Middle East Mercy Corps locations and it requires up to 40% travel to support country programs, which may include travel to insecure locations where freedom of movement is limited and areas where amenities are limited. Housing for this role is in individual housing and staff will have access to good medical services and the living situation is of a high standard.
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.
Safeguarding & Ethics
Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

RECRUITMENT SCAMS & FRAUD WARNING
Mercy Corps has become aware of scams involving false job offers. Please be advised:
Recruiters will never ask for a fee during any stage of the recruitment process.
All active jobs are advertised directly on Akhtaboot.
Official Mercy Corps emails will always arrive from a @mercycorps.org email address.
Please report any suspicious communications to ((integrityhotline@mercycorps.org))
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