Venezuela Partnership Liaison

Job Description

Requisition ID: req2231
Job Title: Venezuela Partnership Liaison
Sector: Program Administration
Employment Category: Fixed Term
Employment Type: Full-Time
Location: Colombia-Cucuta

Job Description

BACKGROUND:
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC works with people forced to flee from war, conflict and disaster and the host communities which support them, as well as those who remain within their homes and communities. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.

IRC COLOMBIA
A combined two decades of economic mismanagement, a drop in oil prices, deterioration of democratic institutions has resulted in a humanitarian crisis inside Venezuela. Insecurity has manifested following protests in April 2017 against the president and his government, particularly for failing to address the growing inflation rate which lead to large-scale food insecurity. The demonstrations were initially peaceful but grew in severity of violence as time passed. Venezuela’s economic devastation worsened in the last half of 2017. This caused a massive migration of Venezuelans into neighboring Colombia in search of affordable food, medicine and work. The number of Venezuelans living in Colombia has increased to more than 550,000 people.

Cúcuta is the capital of Northern Santander department (Norte de Santander), it is a major access point for Venezuelans’ coming into Colombia. It is also located in one of the regions of the country most affected by a number of pre-existing stressors including: armed groups; drug cultivation, processing, and trafficking; trafficking of goods/people across the border; high unemployment and natural disasters. This complicated dynamic in Cúcuta goes back decades and has nearly exhausted the capacity of the Colombian government to respond to the needs of its citizens in the region.

In response, the IRC’s Emergency Unit has launched emergency programming in Colombia, focusing on an integrated response involving child protection, women’s protection and empowerment activities, primary and reproductive healthcare, and cash transfer programming. The IRC is in the process of delivering these and future activities directly in Colombia, and in partnership with local civil society organizations in Venezuela.

JOB OVERVIEW/SUMMARY:
The Partnership Liaison will work under the supervision of the Deputy Director for Cross Border (DDXB) and closely with the Deputy Director for Programmes (DDP) and the Senior Grants Manager in developing strategic relationship between IRC and local partners inside of Venezuela. The Partnership Liaison will help in building institutional capacity of identified partners and support ongoing programs that are aligned to IRC’s interest in the sectors of Health and Child Protection. The Partnership Liaison will also identify and cultivate new partnerships opportunities to expand the scale and reach of humanitarian aid across Venezuela.

The Venezuela Partnership Liaison will be based in Cucuta, Colombia, with frequent regional travel.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:
* Partnering relationships and Capacity Building Support
* Develop and sustain strong relationships and cooperation with partner organizations, other relevant organizations and actors through regular communication, and joint decision-making when appropriate.
* Assess capacity development needs of partner organisations, and create capacity building approach in line with IRC best practices, technical capacities and core competencies.
* Work with partner staff, implement capacity building plan to ensure that key gaps are identified and addressed in a timely and effective manner
* Support partners in creating an organization development plan in line with identified needs
* Work with the programmes team to identify new potential partners in line with the programme and funding strategy
* Promote coordination and learning between IRC partners, based on principles of learning and exchange of vital information.

Sub Grant Support and Follow-up
* Work with Senior Grants Manager to ensure appropriate supervision, support, follow up and reporting for partner sub-grants.
* Monitor partner compliance with IRC and donor rules and guidance throughout the project lifecycle including communicating any issues to partners and assisting them in resolving issues of noncompliance;
* Review partner interim and final reports for compliance criteria, prior to submission.
* Manage internal preparations for each new funding year, including coordinating updates and approval of pre-service questionnaires, budget templates, staffing charts required of sub-awardees for funding and coordinating updated program and finance reporting templates.
* Coordinate pre-assessment of potential sub-awardees, including completing all relevant pre-award paperwork, completing due diligence, managing all communication with potential sub-awardees and scheduling and attending pre-award assessment meetings
* Assist with updating internal program budgets upon receipt of new donor awards.
* Draft and coordinate the review of sub-awards, sub-award amendments and service contracts through IRC Colombia and HQ. Ensure agreements and contracts are appropriately signed and all parties have copies.
* Update the sub-award tracker to ensure current allocations and process are documented. Ensure DDXB, Senior Grants Manager and Senior Finance Manager have accurate and up-to-date information on sub-awards as needed to inform their work.
* Review and conduct desk verification on all non-financial documents/ forms received by the partners.
* Manage the sub-award close out process.
* Work with Senior Grants Manager to ensure OTIS is updated with all necessary documentation.

Programme Management- Quality, Implementation,
* Work closely with the Deputy Director for Programmes and Technical Coordinators, immediately raising any areas of concern in relation to partners’ performance or project implementation so appropriate action can be taken.
* Support partners with all reporting requirements and feed lessons learned into capacity building plans
* Manage training and TA efforts of the Venezuela team through coordination of the semi-annual training calendar development process, including convening staff to plan the training, releasing the training calendar, ensuring logistics for training webinars, or other planning as needed
* Develop a calendar for program review, facilitate program review meetings between programs, and track review process.
* Develop and implementation of non-program specific trainings for partners based on identified needs (Finance, HR, Operations, Grants, Logistics, etc.)
* Ensure beneficiaries seeking services from targeted communities are able to access services for which they are eligible
* Develop monitoring, evaluation and accountability framework in line with IRC standards and in collaboration with programmes and accountability teams.
* Support partners to ensure that feedback mechanisms for services provided are set up and appropriately monitored, including regular revision of programme implementation in line with feedback provided
* Manage Venezuela Partnership monitoring and evaluation activities by developing monitoring schedule, coordinating development and approval of monitoring tools with technical leads and directly communicating monitoring-related information with agencies.

Community and Stakeholder Engagement
* Lead planning efforts and manage all logistics for ad-hoc stakeholders meetings
* Assist DDXB with all necessary communication with key community stakeholders and contacts

External Representation and Advocacy
* Develop a sound understanding of the IRC’s programs to be able to professionally represent the IRC to implementing partners, and relevant local and international actors
* Liaise regularly with relevant actors including local and international NGOs to coordinate activities and approaches.
* Act as the focal point for program-related communication between IRC partners inside Venezuela and the IRC Colombia country office.
* As requested, support the senior management team to identify funding opportunities and track them in collaboration with the technical teams.
* Oversee programmatic inputs to advocacy efforts both in-country and globally.

REQUIREMENTS:
* Master’s degree in Development Studies, International Relations, Social Sciences or a similar field;
* Minimum 4-5 years of management experience working in a humanitarian or development setting with a minimum of 3 years of INGO program management
* Demonstrated experience working in partnership with local organizations required
* Experience in external representation in complicated contexts required
* Sub-grant, budget development and monitoring, and programme management experience strongly desired.
* Familiarity and experience with donors reporting and project cycle management required.
* Proven ability to manage projects to completion on time, within budget, and with the anticipated results.
* Proven ability to respond to multiple priorities in a timely manner, producing high-quality outcomes.
* Experience with Cross-border or remote management programming strongly desired.
* Experience working in complex security environments
* Strong leadership, motivational and team-building skills strongly desired;
* Background supporting programming in Health and/or Child Protection strongly desired
* Proven fluency in English and Spanish a must

Working Environment: Venezuela Partnership Liaison will be provided with individual accommodation in Cucuta and accommodation in hotels during travel. Significant local and regional travel expected.

About the Organization

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 27 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure.