Grants Specialist (National)

The Grants Specialist is responsible for supporting grants management for the Venezuela country office portfolio, ensuring donor compliance, timely reporting, and accountability. The role involves coordinating proposal development, contract management, and communication with donors and internal teams.

Responsibilities

• Ensure high-quality contract management in close cooperation with the Grants Management Manager, flagging any issues or potential risks; support contract amendments including cost/no-cost extensions and project revisions.
• Coordinate and facilitate meetings for grant kickoff/opening, review and closing, including monitoring progress against timelines and action points.
• Monitor, update, and ensure the DRC's Grants Management Cards on Dynamics and internal documentation systems (SharePoint) are fully updated and work with HQ focal points and the HQ Grants Management Specialist to address any issues.
• Review and update the grants tracker and ensure regular communication with DRC regional offices, headquarters, and field teams when required.
• Support with the monitoring of the grants portfolio, working directly with the implementation teams, ensuring a sound understanding of contractual obligations and regulations.
• Ensure that contractual obligations and reporting deadlines are known and met by Programme, M&E and Operations team.
• Troubleshoot identified gaps for meeting deliverables in the given timeframe and budget, informing relevant staff and seeking HQ advice on potential solutions.
• Coordinate the preparation of project reports in accordance with donor requirements, working directly with other DRC departments.
• Support with the provision of training in proposal development and reporting for grants and program teams.
• Support the Grants Management Manager to update the donor mapping and funding tracker, keeping abreast of funding trends and donor strategies.
• Support the Grants Management Manager in maintaining active and regular communication with donors, ensuring timely response to communications.
• Participate in external coordination and fundraising-related meetings as delegated.
• Support the Grants Management Manager in the Go-No-Go meetings for new grants and contribute to proposal planning.
• Coordinate with program technical coordinators, base managers, support services and implementing partners to gather input for proposal development and ensure quality standards.
• In collaboration with the MEAL team, ensure project proposal development and donor reporting are informed by reliable organizational data and learning.
• Ensure involvement of DRC HQ in Quality Assurance of reports or proposals when needed.
• Assist on communication, negotiations and coordination with donors and external stakeholders.
• Support with ad hoc tasks such as preparation of factsheets, sitreps/flash reports, capacity statements.
• Promote Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and display respect, care and interest in all employees.
• Perform any ad-hoc tasks assigned by the Grants Management Manager.

Requirements

• University Degree in Social Sciences, International Development or relevant fields.
• At least 3 years of experience in grants management, preferably with an international NGO or other donor-funded organization.
• Knowledge and experience working with multiple sectors including protection, food security and livelihood, WASH.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and other relevant software, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Solid experience in the compilation of donor proposals, modification requests and reports; with practical experience in working with UN donors (UNHCR, WFP, OCHA), ECHO, GFFO, SDC and private foundations.
• Knowledge of donor rules and regulations.
• Demonstrated ability to prioritize large workloads, to consistently meet deadlines and adapt in a complex and challenging work environment.
• Excellent communication, coordination, influencing and interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrate ability in thinking creatively and practically to improve the quality of projects.
• Ability to work within a multi-cultural/diverse team.
• Commitment to Humanitarian principles and DRC values.
• Fluency in English (speaking, writing, reading) is essential.
• Communication skills in Spanish is mandatory.

Skills

• Grants Management
• Donor Proposals
• Donor Reporting
• Donor Compliance
• Contract Management
• MS Word
• MS Excel
• MS PowerPoint
• Donor Rules and Regulations
• Multi-sector Program Knowledge
• Protection Sector Experience
• Food Security Knowledge
• Livelihood Program Knowledge
• WASH Sector Experience
• Working with UN Donors
• Donor Coordination
• Communications Skills
• Prioritization of Workloads
• International Development
• Fluency in English
• Fluency in Spanish

Languages

English, Spanish