Partnership And Capacity Building Manager

 “This position is contingent on funding”  PROGRAM/DEPARTMENT SUMMARY: Mercy Corps exists to alleviate suffering, poverty, and oppression by helping people build secure, productive, and just communities. The agency pursues its mission through emergency relief services, sustainable community development, civil society and economic development initiatives. Mercy Corps has been present in the Middle East since the 1980s and currently has offices in Yemen, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Egypt and Libya. Working in Lebanon since 1993, Mercy Corps has implemented community development programs focused on promoting economic development and increased opportunity for disadvantaged communities, while responding to emergencies as they emerged in the country.  In 2012, the program portfolio shifted in response to the massive refugee influx from Syria and Mercy Corps in Lebanon has solidified its emergency response programming while integrating longer-term development programming by focusing on key sectors: Protection, Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Governance and Conflict, and Livelihoods.    PROGRAM/ DEPARTMENT SUMMARY:  The sub-grants management unit is a new unit within MC Lebanon that aims to assess and evaluate potential local partners including challenges and areas of improvements in order to help MC determine the suitability and risks associated in partnering with them. The sub-grants management unit will also be responsible for building the capacity of local partners by designing the appropriate programs and applying the necessary measures within the sub-grants in question. This unit is part of the Finance Department and will report directly to the Finance Director and Finance Manager   GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY: The sub-grants manager’s role is to assess and evaluate potential local partners, identify areas of improvement and build capacity building plans. He/She will be the focal point for all sub-grants issued by MC Lebanon.   ESSENTIAL JOB RESPONSIBILITIES: -        Ensure compliance with Mercy Corps and donors regulations related to subgranting, including issuance, management and monitoring of subawards as well as training team members on processes and guidelines, -        Develop a toolkit for Mercy Corps Lebanon local subgranting processes and procedures, including assessment, selection of potential partners, subgrant management (reporting, monitoring) and close-out that will define steps and responsibilities within the team, -        Maintain partnership tracking and issues log with input from Finance Officer – subgrants and Programs department and report on a monthly basis to Senior Management Team, -        Review monitoring and close-out visits reports and follow up on all subgrant compliance issues and audits and document resolutions. -        Assess the capacity of existing and potential MC partners with emphasis on financial and operational review. Identifying areas of improvement for partners to work on and include in their implementation plans. -        Coordinate with MC programs team on the technical assessment component of the potential sub-grant and include in pre-award survey. -        In close coordination  with Program Managers, develop capacity building plans based on identified areas of improvement and help partners achieve that plan, -        Liaise with MC of Finance and programs to prepare subgrant agreements, ensuring necessary clauses are added, subgrant documents are complete and reviewed. -        Have a leading role in preparing for and facilitating sub-grants kickoff meetings and sub-grants close-out meetings, -        Participate in BVA meetings as required to discuss with Program Managers and other support department on subgrants’ status for each grant, -        Map/Identify resources needed for capacity building of local partners, internal and external resources, assist Programme and Operations team in procurement of services as required. -        Help implement PM@MC minimum standards with partners, -        Guide partnership close-outs, including ensuring that all requirements of the subgrant agreement have been met and that subgrant funds have been properly settled for final sign-off by Finance Director/Manager. -        Ensure subgrant files are complete and up-to-date as per MC subgrant file checklist and MC Programme Management minimum standards, 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 towards 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:  Finance Officer - Subgrants ACCOUNTABILITY: REPORTS DIRECTLY TO: Finance Director WORKS DIRECTLY WITH: Operations Department, local partners, Programme Managers   KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:  Previous experience working with local NGOs and CBOs Experience assessing organizational capacities and conducting pre-award surveys Capacity building and training experience Previous experience managing sub-grants Excellent organizational skills Strong teamwork skills, creativity, and initiative Ability and willingness to conduct site visits throughout the country on a regular basis