Grants Manager (East & Southern Africa + focus) Full Time

What we are looking for:

Join NRC as a Grants Manager (East & Southern Africa + focus)!

In this dynamic role, you’ll take the lead in managing multi-country, regional, and high-risk/high-value grants, ensuring full compliance with donor and internal requirements, driving quality reporting, and shaping strong, competitive proposals. You’ll be the go-to expert for NRC’s Project Cycle Management (PCM) approach, providing strategic support to country offices and ensuring everything runs smoothly from grant revisions to external communications.

Working as part of our global Grants Management team, you’ll help refine systems, boost compliance, and build capacity across the region through training and mentorship. With a focus on the East and Southern Africa (ESA) portfolio, you’ll play a key role in securing funding, supporting quality programming, and influencing positive change across the region. Ready to lead from the centre of it all? This is your opportunity.

The ideal candidate must have the right to live and work in Kenya. NRC is unable to support with visa applications.

What you will do:

Some of your general responsibilities include:

• Lead the process of developing concept notes, proposals and reports (donors and internal reports, narrative and project budgets) for multi country and regional based grants and other projects in the designated portfolio to ensure accurate, transparent and timely delivery of narrative and financial documents, in line with NRC PCM framework and donor’s rules and regulations through working collaboratively with country, regional and global colleagues.
• Ensure compliance to NRC’s PCM Framework and facilitate relevant PCM activities, including the inclusion of cross-cutting programme elements, MEAL, Finance and other support functions throughout all stages of the project cycle. This can be go/no go consultations, proposal planning, grants opening, review and closing meetings, as well as coordinating relevant revisions and inclusion of partners (consortia or implementing), and liaising with relevant colleagues at CO, Regional, Global and Rep Office level as need be.
• Build collaborative working relationships with programme and grants management teams in country offices in the relevant geographical portfolio, to coordinate and support the full cycle of projects from development of high-quality multi- country, regional and other funding and partnership proposals, using relevant NRC Grant Management tools and guidance, through to implementation and finalisation and reporting.
• Collaborate with the CO finance team and global resources to ensure donor budget lines as per the contract are in line with the financial system (i.e., amounts have not changed as a result of new income instalments at different rates being received), highlight critical financial issues such as under/overspends to project focal points and provide technical support to relevant CO focal points on monitoring issues and budget revision (if required).
• Responsible for providing or organizing training and capacity building of programme and support staff on NRCs grants management, proposal and report writing, donor rules and regulations, and Project Cycle Management (PCM) in coordination with the Grants Mngt pool and based on needs in relevant countries. Work with the Grants Management global function and relevant Institutional Partnership Advisers to contribute to revision and updates to training and capacity building on grants mngt, PCM and internal and donor compliance requirements.
• Coordinate and take overarching responsibility for delivery of timely, quality inputs for each project from proposal, revision, and final reporting stage internally and to donors, including contributing to the review of donor contracts, working with the legal team and flag any points that might challenge NRCs procedures and support contract negotiation, this also includes monitoring grant payment schedules and income requests for respective portfolio, working closely with finance to ensure this is done in a timely manner.
• Act as an internal helpdesk on donor related issues, including donor rules and regulations, proposal and report writing, working in partnership in addition to the PnP and Private Fundraising Departments.
• Maintain overview over all grants in the designated portfolio and ensure a correct and up-to-date grants management information in Cycles and GORS, review data to identify relevant funding trends, donor mapping exercises, and development of Capacity Statements.
• Gap fill or provide specific grant support as per request and availability, depending on workload and other responsibilities, as agreed with the Head of PCM and Grants Mngt and the relevant region/country.
• Compliance and adherence to NRC policies, guidance and procedures, (if a function role) and a specific responsibility for the functions policies and procedures.

Some of your specific responsibilities include:

• Undertake delegated donor representation, including liaising with consortia partners, supporting new business negotiations, and funder reporting in relation to multi-country grants.
• Lead on organisational assessments of Partners as per NRC’s Grants Management procedures and contribute to partner capacity building as required and identified in partner assessment.
• Identify gaps in quality and practice, and common development needs in relation to PCM and grants management within CO’s and the project portfolio and work collaboratively with colleagues in the Grants Mngt function to develop learning initiatives to build skills and capacity.
• Serve as a member of relevant Major Projects Committee or High Value Committees as appropriate.
• Support the roll-out and uptake of Cycles.
• Contribute to the review of donor contracts, working with legal and risk and compliance colleagues, and flag any points that might challenge NRC’s procedures, and support contract negotiations.

Please download the detailed job description to learn more about the position.

What you will bring:

• Minimum 4 years of experience of donor relations and grants management within a relevant context (e.g., with institutional humanitarian and development donors).
• Knowledge of institutional donors’ rules, regulations, priorities, and compliance requirements – Norad, Sida, GFFO, SDC, ECHO etc.
• Track record of report and proposal development, or similar in funding or partnerships, working with multiple donors and consortia.
• Experience from working in complex and volatile contexts, with preference for previous experience working with displaced populations.
• Strong planning and organisational skills, including ability to coordinate the inputs of self and others to meet a variety of deadlines for different proposal, budgetary and reporting requirements.
• Good interpersonal skills, and ability to build collaborative working relationships with a wide range of colleagues internally and externally.
• Good cultural awareness and sensitivity.
• Highly proficient computing skills, including all Microsoft office (word, excel, ppt), online/cloud-based information management and sharing systems, and databases.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English. French is a definite asset. (Other languages such as Arabic, Spanish is positive).
• Ability to build staff capacity in grants management in country offices.
• Willingness to travel to field offices and work in difficult environments as required
• Fluency in English, both written and verbal. French is a specific asset.
• Ability to work under pressure, independently and with limited supervision.
• The post holder enjoys shifting between leading others, developing things individually and contributing to work of others, and has excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Significant experience in managing coordination and communication within multipart or complex environments, alongside excellent interpersonal abilities.
• Knowledge about the regional context is highly desirable.

What we offer:

• Duty station: Nairobi, Kenya. Right to work in Kenya is essential, but NRC is unable to support with visa applications.
• Contract: 2 years.
• Travel: Up to 30%
• Salary/benefits: grade 9 on NRC’s Resident salary scale, with accompanying terms and conditions.
• NRC is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to diversity without distinction to age, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, and physical ability.
• We think outside the box, encourage ideas, and give responsibility to all employees at all levels. You will have many opportunities to be heard and take the initiative.

Find out more about the benefits of working for NRC

Important information about the application process

• For Internal candidates: To apply as an internal candidate, log in with your official email or click on Opportunity MarketPlace.
• When creating your profile, include your full name as given on your passport. Complete all the system-required fields for experience, employment history and education.
• Submit your application and CV in English, taking care to attach your latest CV.
• Applications that do not meet the minimum standards in terms of experience or qualifications will generally not be considered. Unsolicited applications not related to this specific job advertisement will not be considered.
• We receive many applications for each vacant position and so only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

If you have any questions about this role, please email [email protected]with the job title as the subject line.

Why NRC?

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is an independent humanitarian organisation helping people forced to flee. Our 15,000 staff work in crises across 40 countries, providing life-saving and long-term assistance to millions of people every year.

Watch this short video to see NRC in action.

We are looking for people who are passionate about helping refugees and people forced to flee. Are you one of those people? If you are, NRC offers you the opportunity to:

• do demanding and professional work, often in challenging contexts.
• join a work culture that empowers every employee to share ideas and take responsibility.
• be part of a welcoming and supportive community committed to human dignity.

About Us

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is a global humanitarian organisation helping people forced to flee.

Join us in assisting millions of people in areas where others cannot, tackling some of the world’s most dangerous and difficult crises. Bring your skills and dedication to an organisation recognised for providing high quality aid and for defending the rights of refugees and internally displaced people.

At NRC, we give responsibility to employees at all levels and foster professional growth and innovative teams. You can expect a supportive culture and an open dialogue with management. We are committed to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Together, we save lives and rebuild futures.

Safeguarding is central to NRC’s work. We expect all employees to:

• treat everyone with respect and dignity

• contribute to building a safe environment for all

• never engage in any form of exploitation, harassment and specifically sexual exploitation, abuse and sexual harassment (SEAH)

• always report. NRC has a zero-tolerance approach to inaction against exploitation, abuse and SEAH

Tagged as: Kenya, Norwegian Refugee Council