Sub-award and Partnership Advisor

Description

Complex Program

Sub-award and Partnership advisor, Mauritania

Location: Nouakchott, MR

Position Status Full-time

Program Summary

General Position Summary

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within.

Mercy corps Started in Mauritania in 2022 with Nafoore Program, the goal of Nafoore is to increase resilience capacities of vulnerable Mauritanian youth to resist radicalization and recruitment by VEOs. To achieve this goal Nafoore will work across three objective areas:

• Objective 1: Increase youth economic potential
• Objective 2: Strengthen youth belonging and agency in their lives and communities
• Objective 3: Expand and strengthen youth-serving organizations and networks

Recognizing that drivers of risk and vulnerability are multi-dimensional, Nafoore takes a peer learning cohort approach, ensuring that youth participants strengthen multiple key dimensions of resilience across the objective areas. The Program will sign sub-award agreements with 24 Local youth-serving organizations (YSOs) in remote areas to train youth participants in a cohort modality set-up. Each cohort will progress through a series of curriculum modules and activities, including training and capacity building, and hands-on opportunities to put newly learned skills into practice. The cohort curriculum is sequenced to ensure key foundational capacities are built prior to completing modules in conflict management, civic engagement, and agency and finally launching into economic pathways.  Additionally, within each module, and through ongoing activities at the youth center, the program has been designed to sensitively address social divisions and increase cohesion and youth agency.

Essential Responsibilities

The advisor will be responsible for managing sub-award operations, serving as the primary liaison between the program and the finance department. This includes supporting the program throughout the entire process of sub-award setup, implementation, and monitoring of YSO activities. The advisor will ensure that all aspects of grant management, including compliance with contractual obligations, are effectively managed. Additionally, the advisor will collaborate closely with both the finance and compliance departments to ensure alignment with financial processes, procedures, and regulatory requirements. This role will involve overseeing the grant management function and providing ongoing support for both program and finance teams.

Review all RFAs and liaise with CoP/DCoP and Mercy Corps Global (MCG) for approval.

• Oversee the grant management function, ensuring timely submission and approval of

reports and advances to partners.

• Draft all Requests for Grant Approval from the donor, as required by the contract.

• Oversee the development of sub-partner grants and contracts, advising on the most suitable

grant/contract mechanism for each partner.

• Ensure activity or milestone budgets are developed and implemented accurately, providing

support to the Grants Officer in cooperation with technical teams, maintaining a master

collation of partner budgets.

• Provide leadership during grants close out and partner’s asset disposition.

Partnership Building:

• Lead relationship and partnership building focus with identified program partners to develop strong understanding, communication, responsiveness, and alignment on the objectives, scope, MEL, communication, budget, reporting, and compliance expectations.
• Support if needed the development, negotiattion and finalization ofScopes of Work, Program Descriptions, and budgets for all subs.

Development of Sub-Awards:

• In alignment with Mercy Corps guidance and following a comprehensive pre-award assessment process, the advisor will be instrumental in designing and establishing the sub-award management system. This includes advising on the most suitable sub-award or service contract structure for each partnership, as well as developing and implementing the necessary systems, processes, and frameworks to effectively manage sub-awards throughout the program lifecycle. The advisor will ensure that all aspects of sub-award setup, compliance, and monitoring are properly addressed to support successful program implementation.
• Coordinate planning and implementation of all pre-award, sub-award agreement, and sub-award implementation requirements as outlined in the Sub-award Financial Management Manual.
• In coordination with HQ Sub-award Compliance Officer, assume the in-country lead on drafting, negotiating, and finalizing the sub-award agreements with selected sub-recipients.  Draft program-specific sub-award manuals or templates (if necessary).
• Ensure that all sub-awards are executed in alignment with the prime award agreement and the applicable USAID regulations.
• Lead the development of sub-award monitoring plans, in coordination with the program field team.
• Onboard local sub-recipient organizations to their award agreement. Provide compliance guidance and consultations to sub-recipients.
• Establish sub-award files in accordance with the Field Finance Manual.
• Communicate any noted sub-award compliance risks.

Country capacity building

• Support and strengthen the program and finance and compliance on Subaward management
• Facilitate clear and regular communication between all sub-recipients and MC Subaward team.
• Facilitate coordination with the program team to ensure alignment and effective collaboration on all aspects of sub-award implementation and monitoring.

Ensure that all sub-recipients are fully informed of their deliverable requirements, financial reporting obligations, and the processes for requesting modifications to the sub-award agreement.

Capacity Strengthening of Local Partners: Lead the capacity assessment and development process for local partners, with a focus on strengthening their organizational systems and ensuring they are well-equipped to manage the sub-award effectively. This includes conducting thorough assessments of their financial management systems, monitoring and evaluation capacity, and internal policies. Based on these assessments, collaborate with local partners to design and implement tailored capacity-building plans that may involve training, technical assistance, and the development of key policies and procedures to enhance their ability to comply with the terms of the grant and achieve the expected outcomes.

Establish and maintain a comprehensive quarterly sub-award monitoring plan in collaboration with the program, sub-award, and finance teams. This plan will ensure that all sub-award activities are effectively tracked, compliance is maintained, and any emerging issues are identified and addressed in a timely manner.

Organizational Learning

• Capture lessons learned to improve future Complex Programs' management and localization approach in Mauritania.
• Contextualize the present subaward manual to the local context where possible aligning with program needs.

Supervisory Responsibility: None

Accountability

Reports Directly To: COP

Works Directly with HQ Sub-award Compliance Officer, MEL team, the country office program, finance, Ops and grant compliance team members, and HQ Finance & Compliance.

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

The educational levels of the participants are often such that additional efforts are required to fully understand the use of the tools made available to them.

The climatic conditions in the intervention areas often require efforts to work in places of extreme heat and dust.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

• A BA/S or equivalent in accounting or finance preferred.
• Four to six years of relevant field or grant management experience of complex, multi-dimensional programming including administering small sub-awards in an international environment.
• Good understanding of USAID sub-award and financial regulations required.
• Demonstrated understanding of program management principles and minimum standards, including project management best practices and methodologies.
• Strong organizational and work-planning skills.
• Demonstrated attention to detail, meeting deadlines and working and problem-solving independently and cooperatively.
• Excellent interpersonal and relationship building skills. Strong team player and solutions oriented.
• Effective English verbal and written communication. French and Arabic highly desirable.
• Ability to work across departments to achieve results in a short period of time.

Success Factors

The successful Complex Programs Sub-Award/Partnership advisor is an effective leader who can help to build and motivate a team of people from a variety of departments under pressure and with limited time. S/he is very well organized, communicates clearly, and uses strong interpersonal skills to navigate challenging organizational political situations.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

This position is based in Nouakchott, Mauritania, unaccompanied.

While conditions in the country are generally stable, there are still pockets of insecurity, particularly in remote regions, and petty crime is present in urban areas. Mercy Corps' offices operate under variable security conditions, with the situation monitored closely. The country's infrastructure faces challenges, with years of underdevelopment and limited investment. Air travel is necessary for efficient travel between distant regions, given the vast and sparsely populated terrain. Mobile phones and cellular service are widely available in urban centers, though coverage can be sparse in remote areas. Internet access is limited but available in all Mercy Corps offices. Travel to field sites will be required, where living conditions are clean and secure but basic, reflecting the realities of rural Mauritania. Health services are available in larger cities, with evacuation options for serious illnesses. There is reasonable access to most consumer goods, especially in Nouakchott and Nouadhibou, though availability diminishes in more isolated areas.

Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

Fostering a diverse and open workplace is an important part of Mercy Corps’ vision.  Mercy Corps is an Equal Opportunity Employer regardless of background. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment.

Ongoing Learning

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme**.** We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and

values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

Keywords

Sub-awardPartnershipAdvisorProgramManagementFinanceComplianceGrantMonitoringCapacity BuildingRelationship BuildingSub-award ManagementFinancial ManagementProgram ManagementCompliancePartnership BuildingCapacity Strengthening