Senior Awards Manager

TEAM/PROGRAMME: Award Management Team
LOCATION: Kathmandu, Nepal with some travel to field locations
GRADE: 7+    
CONTRACT LENGTH: 12 months

CHILD SAFEGUARDING: 
Level 3:  the role holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once a week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work in country programs; or are visiting country programs; ore because they are responsible for implementing the police checking/vetting process staff.

ROLE PURPOSE: 
The Senior Award Manager will provide the primary award management inputs in the Nepal emergency response programmes, and ongoing support to develop best practice emergency award management procedures and processes.  The role has three main aspects to it: 

• Lead the emergencies award management team; 
• Build staff capacity in their award management professional development and contribute to the development and advancement of policy and procedures; 
• Provide short term interim award management and/or capacity building support. 

Award Management in Emergency Responses  

• Provide strategic support to the Humanitarian Director on all aspects of award management including funding pipeline management, award contracting and donor compliance.
• Provide on-going assessment of the emergency funding strategy, making recommendations and flagging issues to the emergency management team and Save the Children members as appropriate.
• Ensure accurate and up to date information on the funding pipeline and award portfolio is readily available to the response management teams and members.
• Support the finance team on master budget development, cost allocation, monitoring of award budgets, phasing and forecasting, in particular ensuring alignment between the master budget and funding tracker.
• Ensure that at all stages of the response the control framework of the operation is consistent with the situation and ensure that necessary risks are taken knowingly with appropriate mitigating actions.  
• Identify, assess, input, recommend on the existing and desired reconciliation process (reporting assurance mechanism) between Finance, Procurement, Logistics, Distribution, M&E that will ensure accountable reporting to donors on all humanitarian inputs (items delivered to beneficiaries).
• Ensure that the Award Management System (AMS) is effectively maintained, up to date and accurately records the audit trail (data and process) for all awards and sub-awards.
• Recruit, train and manage award management staff and/or work closely with existing country award management staff & ensure a good handover at end of mission. 
• Build and maintain relationships with the local representatives of donor organisations, working closely with relevant members to ensure consistent communications to donor organisations at all levels.
• Build and maintain relationships with relevant networks and award management staff of similar organisations in country.

Donor compliance

• Ensure all donor requirements are complied with and complete audit trial of the implementation and reporting for all awards. 
• Ensure that key contributing staff have a clear understanding of donor requirements and expectations at the proposal, kick off, amendment, reporting, close out and audit stage of awards.
• Ensure that key processes are in place so that proposals, formats, eligibility, compliance, reporting, M&E and quality assurance receive optimum attention at the various stages of the award life cycle with a view of securing donor satisfaction.  
• Work with the finance team and provide technical advise to strategic donor costs allocation with a view to minimise compliance requirements where possible (timesheets, co-financing etc.)
• Ensure potential issues and amendment requests are flagged promptly to donors via the relevant Save the Children member. This may include developing business cases where donor waiver/derogation requests need to be more thoroughly articulated or negotiated with donors.
• Ensure that all new staff into the response are adequately inducted in SC emergencies and award management processes and systems, and donors’ compliance requirements consistent with their various roles. 
• Work with internal and external auditors as necessary. 

Partnerships

• Work with relevant program staff to ensure all implementing partners for the response operations undergo legal vetting prior to commencing work with Save the Children, are engaged with appropriate agreements and effective monitoring systems are in place so that partner delivery meets donor expectations and requirements.
• In rapid onset emergencies, work with program staff to ensure capacity assessments and induction into Save the Children policies are undertaken for all new partners within 4 months of their engagement and any actions needed as a result of this (e.g. capacity strengthening of partners) are taken within an appropriate timescale.
• Work with program staff to ensure relevant donor requirements are effectively communicated and understood by implementing partners.

Accountability

• Ensure that Save the Children’s commitment to improving quality and accountability in humanitarian work is upheld, through reference to the Sphere Project Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards, the NGO Code of Conduct, and other relevant tools. 

Capacity Building: 

• Coaching staff in their award management professional development and contributing to the development and advancement of policy and procedures 
• Support the award management team to strengthen the knowledge and capacity of staff across all functions to manage awards and comply with donor requirements as relevant to their role by providing, induction, training and coaching consistent with their various roles and responsibilities.  
• Contribute to ongoing award management policy revisions and maintain and continue the ongoing development of the Program Operations Department’s guidance on tools for award management in emergencies. 

Support to ongoing emergencies, Fragile States and/or country/regional programmes: 

• Provide interim support to a country or regional programs which lack award management resources in various roles (Country Award Manager, Regional Award Manager, etc). 
• Upon countries or region request, provide country programme staff with award management induction, training and coaching into SC policies, procedures and tools and on major awards compliance issues.

General:

• Deliver high quality results in line with the agreed ToR and develop effective relationships with country programme staff.
• Comply with all relevant Save the Children policies and procedures with respect to child protection, health and safety, equal opportunities and other relevant policies and procedures.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Essential

• Extensive experience, including first phase responses, with NGOs in an international emergency environment or in fragile states with increasing responsibilities including a proven experience of establishing and running the award management function in the field.
• Master' Degree with 5 years of experience in award management procedures and processes
• Knowledge of the requirements and experience managing awards from the major emergency donors including budgeting, eligibility issues, compliance management, and reporting.
• Experience of engaging with donors at country strategy levels
• Experience of and well developed skills in staff management and supervision.  Proven strong coaching and capacity building skills.
• Proven track record of active contribution to a senior management team, and providing strategic support across multiple sectors and/or regions 
• Good attention to detail and analytical skills
• Computer literate (i.e. WORD, advanced Excel, Outlook, Internet Explorer, financial systems).
• Cultural awareness and ability to build relationships quickly with a wide variety of people
• Patient, adaptable, flexible, able to improvise and remain responsive and communicate clearly and effectively under pressure
• Excellent planning, management and coordination skills, with the ability to organise a demanding workload comprised of diverse and challenging tasks and responsibilities
• Strong communication (written and spoken), and interpersonal skills in English, with experience in managing multicultural teams

Desirable 

• Experience with Save the Children award management Policies, procedures and systems and Save the Children’s Award Management System (AMS)
• Understanding of how to produce financial reports from Save the Children’s overseas accounting software  (Agresso)
• Experience of Project Management, M&E Management or Funding Coordination would be a appreciated