Internews Europe Jobs

Grants and Contracts Officer

Internews works to ensure access to trusted, quality news and information that empowers people to have a voice in their future and to live healthy, secure, and rewarding lives. We envision a world where everyone can communicate freely with anyone, anywhere, and exchange the news and information they need to shape their communities and the world.

 For 35 years and in more than 100 countries, we have worked with our local partners to build hundreds of sustainable organizations, strengthened the capacity of thousands of media professionals, human rights activists, and information entrepreneurs, and reached millions of people with quality, local information, improving lives and building lasting change. On issues ranging from health and the environment to conflict and governance, Internews has developed approaches that harness the power of media and information to create positive change.

Internews is a charity operating internationally, with administrative centres in California, Washington DC, London, and Paris as well as regional hubs in Bangkok and Nairobi. Formed in 1982, Internews currently has offices in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and North America.

Our commitment to a culture belonging: 

Internews is passionate about our core values and about supporting positive change in the world. We pride ourselves on our commitment to innovation and flexibility. We believe that diverse teams are strong teams, and work to support an ethic of belonging, dignity, and justice for all people. Our current team includes a mix of genders, parents and non-parents, the self-taught, and people of multiple races, nationalities, ages, sexual orientations, and socio-economic backgrounds. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourage candidates of all races, genders, ages, abilities, orientations, ethnicities, and national origins to apply, and actively welcome those with alternative backgrounds and experiences.

About the role: 

This is an exciting opportunity for a motivated Grants Officer to join our dynamic organisation. During this maternity cover, Grants Officer will report directly to the Director of Grants, Contracts and Compliance. They will work across all of Internews’ geographies to provide the highest standard of grant management support to partners receiving higher value grants from us. The incumbent will have a unique opportunity to learn about Internews’ work and to contribute meaningfully to the advancement of our missions across the World.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Grant Management and Compliance

· Provide grant management support to Programme Management Units, country offices and partners. Participate in regional portfolio reviews.

· Support start‐ups of partner projects by coordinating project stakeholders and ensuring that all relevant processes and procedures are in place.

· Develop guidance documents and procedures to enable effective and compliant operation of partner projects. Supports project teams in adapting Internews’ standard sub-granting policies, procedures and toolkits to country contexts.

· Review and sign off on alldue‐diligence assessments in preparation for sub‐granting to partners.

· When requested, support project teams and the Business Officers, in monthly spend and burn rate reviews and donor report submissions

· Monitor the compliance from HQ to satisfy organisational and donorrequirements.

· Monitor the implementation of partner projects to ensure the implementation process is in line with grant agreements; and proposes solutions to implementation issues. Quality‐assure partner reporting, and track co-financing liabilities.

· Provide end-to-end management of partnership agreements, including drafting.

· Participate in project close-outs. Contribute to audit; support the audit manager on queries about sub-grants.

· Maintain records on the organisational grant management system.

 

Partnerships and Development

· Design and implement grant management and compliance trainings for partners and Internews staff.

· Identify and document best grant management practices from individual grants, works with M&E colleagues to coordinate debriefings with stakeholders.

· Advise development colleagues on key considerations relating to donor and statutory compliance requirements as related to sub-grants.

· Contribute to the development of partner budget proposals to ensure their appropriateness and compliance.

· Transfer grant-management expertise to country offices

· Support country office leadership teams to identify requirements and recruit grant management staff;

· Deliver trainings for key grant management staff in country offices and PMUs.

Expert advice

· Manage and develop the grants expertise at GC&C team ensuring the highest standards of grant management support to PMUs, country offices and regional and multi-country portfolios as required.

· Provide ongoing feedback to the Director of GC&C on required improvement and updates on donor regulations and contractual obligations to ensure organisational knowledge is built and improved continuously, with particular focus on the consistence and continuous improvement of sub-granting processes.

· Ensure good knowledge management across grants, including key project documentation, to enable all teams supporting the grant to access information and provide a fully auditable trail.

· Contribute to annual work planning and budgeting process.

Essential Skills and experience:

· Demonstrated experience in the context of international non-for-profit.

· Strong experience in the development and implementation of grant management processes and procedures.

· Deep understanding of rules of major European donors, including the European Commission, SIDA, and FCDO.

· Proven track record in conducting due diligence on organisations and their policies, ensuring compliance and alignment with standards.

· Proven track record in grant management training and mentorship for grantees.

· Comprehensive understanding of the setup, governance, and business models of non-for-profit organisations and media

· Exceptional verbal and written communication skills in English, enabling clear and effective interaction with stakeholders.

· Proficiency in interpreting budgets and accounts, facilitating informed decision-making.

· High IT literacy, including proficiency in grant management systems (preferably U4B), Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

· Demonstrated self-motivation and initiative, with the ability to work autonomously.

· Effective organisational skills, including prioritisation, ensuring timely and accurate delivery of tasks and adherence to deadlines.

Personal Characteristics / team culture:

· Flexible problem-solver with a proactive 'can-do' approach, adept at overcoming challenges.

· Excellent interpersonal skills, capable of building rapport with individuals from diverse backgrounds.

· Self-motivated and capable of working independently, while also thriving in a collaborative team environment.

· Dependable and reliable, consistently meeting commitments and delivering results.

· Positive, resilient, and supportive under pressure, maintaining composure and effectiveness in challenging situations.

Desirable:

· Experience in one or several of Internews’ geographies of work: Asia, MENA, Africa, Europe/Eurasia, Latin America and the Caribbean

· Familiarity with the media sector, including trends, challenges, and opportunities.

· Understanding of the unique needs and challenges faced by independent media.

· Proficiency in Arabic, French, Russian, or Spanish.

Vacancy Timeline:

 Deadline for applications: 13 July 2024.

 Please note that applications will be reviewed as and when they arrive. Interviews may be scheduled ahead of the vacancy closing date. 

This role will be located in the UK, therefore the successful candidate will need to be able to demonstrate their right to work in the UK prior to the start date. 

 

PHYSICAL DEMANDS and WORK ENVIRONMENT: 

The physical demands and work environment described here are representative of those that must be met or may be encountered by an employee performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable adjustments may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

The above noted job description is not intended to describe, in detail, the multitude of tasks that may be assigned but rather to give the associate a general sense of the responsibilities and expectations of their position. As the nature of business demands change so, too, may the essential functions of this position.