The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world's largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you're a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

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Since the early 1980s, Niger has consistently ranked at the bottom of the United Nations Human Development Index. More than half of the population experiences chronic food insecurity, and one in ten people faces extreme food insecurity. Niger is also highly disaster-prone, regularly affected by food crises and vulnerable to floods, cholera outbreaks, and locust infestations. Access to healthcare and education—particularly for women and girls—remains very limited. In addition to the vulnerability of a large proportion of the Nigerien population, Niger also hosts refugees from Mali and Nigeria.

IRC’s vision for Niger is for individuals, households, and communities to be resilient, self-reliant, and able to thrive in a changing context. IRC Niger operates in the Tillabéri, Agadez, and Diffa regions, implementing programs in Environmental Health (EH) and Shelter and Non-Food Items (SNFI), including the Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM), as well as Protection (GBV and Child Protection), Education, Nutrition, Health, and Livelihoods.

Job overview

The Grants & Business Development Coordinator, in collaboration with the Deputy Director of Programs (DDP), will provide strategic and operational leadership and will lead resource mobilization efforts to achieve annual funding targets, while supporting the diversification of institutional donor income and non-traditional funding sources in line with IRC’s strategic objectives.

The post holder will serve as a member of the Extended Senior Management Team (E‑SMT), providing direct support to strategic growth opportunities and contributing to the strengthening of systems, processes, relationships, and staff capacity related to the development of high-quality proposals.

With two Grants Managers reporting to the role, the Grants Coordinator will act as the focal point for proposal development, donor reporting, and the management of donor communications. Reporting to the DDP, the position will provide essential support in programmatic and budget tracking, compliance with IRC and donor rules and regulations, and will undertake other key responsibilities as required.

Key responsibilities

The Grants & Business Development Coordinator will maintain a strong competitive position for institutional donor funding, focusing on competitive funding mechanisms. The role oversees and updates the country program funding pipeline, ensuring IRC Niger is well-positioned to pursue relevant opportunities. With a primary focus on leading the production of high-quality funding proposals for donors and ensuring compliance with specific donor requirements, this position will also provide specialized support across other aspects of the grants management cycle, communication, and partnership, including:

• Monitoring donor trends, including private sector and non-traditional donors, with HQ support
• Supporting SMT engagement with current and prospective donors
• Support the SMT in developing strategic alliances and/or coalitions with other organizations, and organize/lead the management of sub-grants.
• Support the SMT in developing strategic alliances and/or coalitions with other organizations, and organize/lead the management of sub-grants.
• Lead the planning and development of proposals and concept notes.
• Lead the drafting of proposals and concept notes in close collaboration with program coordinators.
• Supervise grants management and compliance.
• Oversee the country Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) system, with support from the Regional “Monitoring for Action” Coordinator.
• Strengthen the integration between M&E and proposal design, in collaboration with the DDP and technical coordinators.
• Contribute to the development of a country program partnership strategy and build IRC Niger’s strategic partnerships.
• Effectively manage the Grants Team

Specific responsibilities

Pre-positioning
• Research, analyze, and plan the pursuit of new funding opportunities and IRC Niger’s competitive positioning in a timely manner, in coordination with the Regional Program Director.
• Support effective internal communication and information management processes to ensure access to and use of Business Development information by relevant stakeholders across the organization, including maintaining an up-to-date opportunity tracking matrix.
• Lead the monitoring and analysis of the country program opportunity pipeline.
• Work closely with the Deputy Director of Programs (DDP), national technical coordinators, and regional colleagues to identify international partners and negotiate IRC’s role within proposal consortia, ensuring a competitive positioning for IRC Niger that aligns with partnership principles and the organization’s strategic direction.
• Support country program staff in developing and maintaining key relationships with donors, partner organizations, and private sector actors for opportunity identification, shared value creation, and the formation of strategic alliances.

Proposal and Concept Note Development
• Support or lead proposal development processes, including facilitating project design workshops with DDP (including field-based workshops). Identify and request additional proposal development capacity as needed.
• Prepare high-quality proposals in close coordination with technical coordinators and technical advisors, ensuring that IRC’s Strategic Action Plan (SAP) priorities are reflected in each proposal.
• Be prepared to act as lead writer for concept notes and proposals as required.
• Conduct internal reviews of narrative proposals and budgets prepared by other staff, assessing clarity, presentation, and compliance with donor requirements, in coordination with Programs and Operations teams.
• Manage the review, approval, and submission process for proposals through IRC’s electronic grants management system (OTIS), and coordinate proposal revisions based on HQ feedback.
• Review budgets at a basic level to ensure consistency with the narrative and clarity of presentation.

Grants Management and Donor Compliance
• Develop and maintain grants management tools, including funding trackers, reporting calendars, reporting templates, and compliance guidance documents, and ensure the team is aware of donor reporting deadlines.
• Support the DDP and Program teams in facilitating IRC Project Cycle Management (PCM) meetings, ensuring timely grant/project opening, implementation, and close-out meetings.
• Supervise Grants Managers responsible for donor reporting and ensuring project compliance with donor regulations.
• Support the production of donor reports, ensuring high quality and timely submission.
• Support the preparation of external monitoring visits, reviews, and audits.
• With support from IRC HQ grants staff, respond to donor compliance questions from IRC Niger program and finance teams to ensure alignment with donor regulations.
• Support Program and Operations teams in the preparation, review, and amendment of Memoranda of Understanding and grant agreements, liaising with relevant HQ units as needed.
• Establish and maintain electronic files for each funded project.
• Conduct routine programs and grant compliance reviews.

Collaboration with Partnerships Teams and Sub-grant Management
• Work closely with the Senior Partnerships Manager responsible for partnerships and sub-grants management, as well as the two Grants Managers, to ensure effective coordination and information flow.
• Contribute to quality assurance for partnership and sub-grants management in line with IRC’s Partnership Excellence for Equality and Results System (PEERS).
• Support partnership teams across all phases of the partnership cycle (start-up, implementation, monitoring, and close-out), ensuring alignment with donor requirements and IRC standards.
• Track, in coordination with relevant teams, the status of partner deliverables and ensure timely review of contractual reports and provision of feedback.
• Participate in and contribute to partnership opening, review, and close-out meetings with partners and relevant IRC units to support compliance with donor-approved work plans and logframes.
• Support the processing of partnership agreement amendments by facilitating coordination across relevant IRC units for inputs and approval processes.
• Provide advisory support on the interpretation of donor requirements and applicable terms and conditions of partnership agreements, in close coordination with technical and support teams.
• Contribute to the development and monitoring of capacity-strengthening plans for local partners, in collaboration with Programs, Finance, and Support departments, and support their implementation within agreed timelines.

Communication

In addition, the Grants Coordinator will oversee grants- and donor-related communications through functional supervision of the Communications Manager. This includes guiding the development and dissemination of donor-facing communication products in line with donor visibility requirements and IRC communication standards. The role will also ensure timely and effective internal information flow related to funding, reporting, and key milestones, and maintain alignment between programmatic priorities, donor commitments, and external messaging throughout the grant lifecycle.

Job requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, with experience in non-profit organizations in administration, grants management, and proposal writing.
• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in grants management and business development roles, preferably with an NGO.
• Prior experience in grants management and strong knowledge of regulations, procedures, and compliance requirements of US donors (USAID/BHA, BPRM), Canadian donors (GAC), European donors (FCDO, ECHO, SIDA, AFD, EuropeAid), and UN agencies (UNHCR, UNFPA, UNICEF, WFP).
• Proven experience coordinating funding proposals and donor progress reports for institutional and private donors.
• Demonstrated experience as a proposal writer, with the willingness to take on lead writing of proposals and concept notes when required, based on close consultation with the DDP and technical coordinators.
• Strong interest in and commitment to working with local partners.
• Ability to effectively manage competing priorities and meet tight deadlines.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to draft and edit high-quality documents under time pressure.
• Strong writing skills.
• Practical knowledge of budget development and management.
• Experience working in multicultural environments, preferably in Africa.
• Proficiency in Windows and Microsoft Office.
• Ability to work in insecure and volatile security environments.
• Fluency in written and spoken English and French.

Security Context and Accomodation
The Grants Coordinator will be based in Niamey and may travel within the country, including to insecure locations. The security situation in Niger remains volatile. This is an unaccompanied position, and the post holder will live in shared accommodation with other colleagues.