Gerente Senior de Grants, Business Development, Partnership

The Senior Manager of Grants, Business Development, and Partnership will be responsible for overseeing grants processes, business development, and partnerships with local organizations in El Salvador and Honduras. The role involves supporting donor engagement, proposal development, grant management, compliance, and partnership coordination to ensure effective program implementation and resource mobilization.

Responsibilities

• Support Country Director in planning positioning and capture of new funding opportunities.
• Develop and lead program growth strategy in El Salvador and Honduras, including positioning and capture planning.
• Research and analyze donor priorities and propose engagement opportunities aligned with IRC strategic objectives.
• Design and lead IRC positioning efforts in El Salvador and Honduras.
• Coordinate with regional leadership and senior management to meet donors, UN agencies and NGOs to explore partnerships and build relationships.
• Coordinate development of quality proposals ensuring collaboration with Program, M&E, Finance, Operations and Regional Program Support Team.
• Review donor agreements and coordinate with IRC headquarters for approvals.
• Ensure grants/contracts are well managed and implemented in compliance with donor regulations and IRC procedures.
• Work with operations, finance and program departments to ensure donor guidelines are followed for all grants.
• Ensure timely, high-quality, well-written reports meeting donor and IRC requirements.
• Serve as focal point for communications with headquarters compliance and grants administration functions.
• Monitor and analyze IRC performance against strategic ambitions and promote effective partnership approaches.
• Support pre-award responsibilities including partner identification, due diligence and vetting processes.
• Support project leads in partner agreement drafting and coordination with internal units and headquarters compliance.
• Facilitate competitive and non-competitive partner selection processes.
• Promote partner collaboration in program design, resource allocation and decision-making.
• Manage vetting and partnership capacity assessments including risk management and mitigation.
• Determine appropriate partnership agreements and draft agreements for headquarters review and donor approval.
• Lead monthly grant follow-up meetings to ensure compliance, financial management, operational accuracy and program monitoring.
• Work closely with MEAL team to develop and maintain program monitoring and evaluation tools.
• Monitor use of management tools such as Budget vs Actual for program tracking and early warning.
• Contribute to Project Cycle Meetings initiative implementation across grants.
• Support development of data collection, monitoring and evaluation plans including logical frameworks and indicators.
• Assist field staff in monitoring grant and contract activities as needed.
• Develop grant management capacity of field staff through training and personalized support.
• Conduct monitoring visits to field locations as security protocols allow.
• Ensure quality grant information management including file maintenance, reporting calendars and internal documentation.
• Maintain updated data in OTIS, shared drives and printed copies for proposals and grants.
• Act as custodian of institutional knowledge documentation and program activities in coordination with supervisors and sector coordinators.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in International Relations, Social Sciences, Business Administration, Political Science, International Development or related fields.
• Master's degree required in International Development, International Cooperation, Business Administration (MBA), Public Policy, Project Management, Development Studies, Humanitarian Action or related disciplines.
• At least 5 years of experience leading business development, grants management, and strategic partnerships functions with direct responsibility for institutional and private financing identification, capture, and management.
• Proven track record of success in resource mobilization and competitive proposal development, including securing funds from bilateral, multilateral donors, UN agencies, foundations, and private sector.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex, high-value proposal development processes, coordinating multidisciplinary technical teams, and ensuring compliance with quality standards and deadlines.
• Strong knowledge of donor regulations, policies, and financing mechanisms including USAID/BHA, PRM, UNHCR, UNICEF, ECHO/EU, SIDA, FCDO, UN and private donors, with experience in contractual compliance and risk management.
• Proven ability to develop and implement growth strategies, institutional positioning, and donor and strategic partner relationship management.
• Extensive experience managing multi-donor portfolios and full grant lifecycle from funding opportunity to project closeout.
• Solid understanding of results-based management principles, theory of change, logical frameworks, monitoring and evaluation, and program design in humanitarian and development contexts.
• Experience supervising and developing high-performing teams, promoting interdepartmental collaboration and strengthening institutional capacities.
• Excellent negotiation, communication and influencing skills with ability to represent the organization to donors, partners, government authorities and key stakeholders.
• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously, work under pressure and respond effectively to changing environments and complex operational contexts.
• Knowledge and experience working in Central America, particularly Honduras and/or El Salvador, highly valued.
• Full professional proficiency in Spanish and English, both oral and written, with excellent writing, editing and presentation skills in both languages.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office tools (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), collaboration platforms and grant management systems.
• Availability for frequent travel within Honduras, El Salvador and other countries in the region as needed.

Skills

• Grants Management
• Business Development
• Strategic Partnerships
• Resource Mobilization
• Proposal Development
• Donor Compliance
• Contract Compliance
• Risk Management
• Growth Strategy Development
• Donor Relationship Management
• Donor Portfolio Management
• Grant Lifecycle Management
• Result-Based Management
• Theory of Change
• Logical Frameworks
• Monitoring and Evaluation
• Program Design
• Team Supervision
• Cross Departmental Collaboration
• Negotiation Skills
• Microsoft Office Suite
• Grant Management

Languages

Spanish, English