Grants & Reporting Officer – Tunisia

Description

*This is a 6 months assignment*

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.

The Program / Department / Team

Mercy Corps is operating in Tunisia since 2011, with programs focusing on support to civil society organizations, youth led economic opportunities and local governance, the goal of Mercy Corps in Tunisia is to empower vulnerable groups and communities in marginalized areas to develop productive initiatives that build a secure and just environment.  With funding from AFD, EC, USDOS, CSSF, OFDA, ECHO, Mercy Corps has been able to work together with communities in Tunisia to respond to displaced and conflict affected population and to empower local actors, vulnerable individuals and groups in marginalized areas to develop productive initiatives that build secure, just and inclusive communities.

General Position Summary

The primary responsibility of the Grants and Reporting Officer will be to ensure the production of timely, accurate and analytical donor reports and to assist the program staff in developing donor proposals. They will work closely with the Program Managers and be responsible for the planning and delivery of regular reporting.

Essential Responsibilities

Program Quality

• Ensure program teams are utilizing the filing system in accordance with Mercy Corps Minimum Standards and donor audit requirements and that the filing system is functional.
• Support program teams in ensuring that Mercy Corps programs comply with Mercy Corps internal system of PM@MC minimum Standards.
• Contribute to the global and regional conversation around Program performance and Quality, (PaQ) unit strategies and functions, as well as global program quality initiatives such as Mercy Corps internal systems of PM@MC, gender minimum standards, adaptive management, data protection, TOLA etc.
• Support program teams as they carry out program start-up, 90-day inception check-ins, quality audits, lessons learned and end of program transitions.

• Contribute to the monthly update of GRM (grant review meeting) and ensure smooth and regular communication with HQ.

Proposal  Development, Reporting and Communication

• Understand donors’ guidelines, reporting procedures and requirements;
• Support the Country Team in the design of cost-effective, innovative and high-quality programs, ensuring relevance to stakeholders and agency strategy
• Coordinate proposal development processes, following agency best practices and donor compliance.
• Work in close coordination with the Program Managers and field staff involved in the implementation of projects, to collect input and data and to develop and incorporate solid monitoring and evaluation components in reports;
• Assist in preparing statistical reports and analysis (post-distribution monitoring; outreach database);
• Assist in editing case studies, human interest stories and other in-house publications;
• Ensure that key contributing staff and partner staff have a clear understanding of donor requirements and expectations;
• Provide capacity-building and training in the field in the areas of proposal development and report writing;
• Oversee maintenance of appropriate trackers, such as reporting tracker, and grants tracker (that details current and future/pipeline programming) etc.
• Serve as a lead writer on proposals.

Information sharing /data collection

• Assist the Country Director to develop external communication tools as relevant for donor visits/meetings/reports
• Ensure comprehensive grant files are maintained up to date and are available for use by uploading them in shared drive (Document Management/Storage System).
• Ensure copies of all documentation (grant proposals, reports, budget etc.) are made available to share electronically with all Program Managers/Coordinators
• Develop and maintain a database of lessons learned from previous and ongoing programming from internal Monitoring &Evaluation tools, Third Party Monitoring and Evaluation, Complaints Response Mechanisms and audits. Ensure that these are regularly shared with Program Managers and incorporated into ongoing programming improvements, and future programme development.

Supervisory Responsibility

None

• Accountability
• Reports Directly To: North Africa Country Director
• Works Directly With: Program Managers

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 degree or equivalent in related field. Graduate degree preferred.
• 1-2 years of experience related to humanitarian and/or developmental work
• French and English fluency at native or academic level, with strong writing skills and ability to edit with a critical eye to detail (French &English)
• Ability to produce and edit documents under deadline pressure
• Ability to coordinate funding proposals and progress reports from key institutional donors (USAID, DFID, ECHO, UN Agencies).
• Experience working in a multi-cultural setting
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to communicate clearly to diverse groups
• Demonstrated flexibility and creativity in planning and problem solving
• Ability and willingness to learn and follow donor reporting and compliance requirements.
• Internationally recognized qualification in project or program management highly preferred
• Advanced computer skills in MS Office programs and Google Suite
• Ability to work effectively with an ethnically diverse team in a sensitive environment. 
• Knowledge of the North Africa context is a plus

Success Factors

The successful Grant and reporting officer will be good at problem solving and have the ability to work out methods to deliver successful programs. They will maintain strong cooperative relationships with other departments and interact effectively with international and national personnel both in a training capacity, while demonstrating the ability to multi-task, meet deadlines and process information in support of changing program activities. The candidate must possess excellent organizational skills and have a flexible and analytical approach. The most successful Mercy Corps staff 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 Tunis, Tunisia and requires up to (10 %) travel to Gafsa, Medenine and Jendouba. 

Housing for this role is in individual housing, 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.