Technical Specialist, Partner Institution Strengthening

PRIMARY FUNCTION/PURPOSE: The Technical Specialist, Partner Institution Strengthening,

provides technical advice to strengthen the operating capacity of our global portfolio of

implementing partners. The Technical Specialist will monitor, assess and advise partners on

both existing and potential capacities, with an attention to strengthening partners’ policies,

systems and practices of internal controls, governance, personnel management and grant

compliance. The Technical Specialist will accompany partners in the development of institution

strengthening and risk mitigation plans that enhance partners’ performance, specifically their

ability to manage and move programs to scale. The Technical Specialist will collaborate with

the Director of ISRM, focus area teams and the finance compliance team to inform project

specific grant allocation decisions and partnership expansion strategies aligned to Episcopal

Relief & Development’s grant making requirements, core values and strategic plan.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Provide technical advice for the improvement of partners’ operating systems and performance through cyclical monitoring, assessing and advising on partner-specific capacity strengthening and risk mitigation strategies and plans.
• Identify and track partner-specific capacity strengthening needs and capacity improvements, informed by annual due diligence and compliance reviews, and/or third-party systems reviews and analysis of strengths and gaps.
• Engage and advise Program Officers and Partner Teams on key areas for partner-specific capacity strengthening to advance grantee partners toward meeting our annual fund eligibility and minimum standard operating requirements.
• Develop annual partner-specific institution strengthening objectives, activities and budgets to ensure critical prioritization and resource investment in partner-specific annual MOUs.
• Review and provide technical recommendations for the improvement of partners’ foundational policy and procedural documents, including but not limited to the areas of governance, finance and administration, anti-fraud, anti-terrorism and human resource management.
• Coach partner teams to foster greater understanding of standard and generally accepted operating and accounting principles and procedures, and promote good oversight and internal accountability from their governance structures.
• Coach partner teams in the use of our annual budgeting, expenditure, foreign currency exchange and cash status reporting templates.
• Plan and lead ISRM-focused meetings, webinars and community of practice (COP) sessions with diverse audiences, including our program team and partner program teams.
• Identify opportunities and support the development and logistical execution of partner-focused learning opportunities, including but not limited to partner-to-partner peer-to-peer exchange visits, third-party training courses
• Develop and/or refine our collection of capacity strengthening tools, including but not limited to templates for systems review assessments, policy review checklists, and boiler-plate policy text and procedural forms.
• Recruit and manage the contracting of third-party ISRM-focused consultants, including but not limited to the development of requests for proposals, results-oriented terms of references, consultancy agreements and payment of invoices.
• Collaborate with the Director of ISRM and focus area teams to ensure institution strengthening plans are accurately represented in our annual planning and budgeting processes.
• Build and maintain strong relationships within the organization and with implementing partners. Perform other duties as assigned.

SUPERVISORY REQUIREMENTS:

While there are no direct supervisory responsibilities, the position will require:

• Engagement and oversight of key deliverables of external consultants, vendors and/or interns.
• Coordination and accountability for internal working groups.

EDUCATION:

• Master’s degree in accounting, finance or non-profit management or equivalent experience preferred.

EXPERIENCE:

• A minimum of five (5) years of experience working in finance, administration and/or grant
• compliance in a non-profit organization. At least three (3) years’ experience working with grantees (partners) in a coaching or capacity focused manner.
• Experience working with an international grant-making organization, with field-based grantee
• governance, administration and/or financial capacity building experience a plus.
• Experience developing and applying partner (grantee) focused risk assessment tools and
• checklists that strengthen partners’ policies, audit readiness, governance guidelines, human resource management and project management.
• Familiarity with the Partnering Initiative tools and/or the use of partnership and project management tools like Synergy Indicata is a plus.

RELATED SKILLS:

• Strong communication, learning facilitation and coaching skills.
• Strong critical thinking, problem-solving and action planning skills.
• Ability to manage multiple capacity strengthening initiatives and timelines, and to maintain records that demonstrate both plans and results.
• Ability to exercise tact and diplomacy in complex situations and to maintain relationships, establish trust and drive results across varied teams.
• Detail-oriented with strong organizing, prioritizing, goal-setting and time management skills for effective self-management, task execution and personal accountability
• Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and experience working in Gmail and Asana
• project management a plus.
• Cross-cultural communication skills and experience working with multicultural, multilingual
• teams.
• Fluency in English essential; Spanish, Portuguese and/or French preferred.
• Passionate about grantee (partner) capacity strengthening and Episcopal Relief &
• Development’s mission and impact.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS:

• Ability and willingness to travel up to 15% of time in diverse and under-resourced

environments.

• May be required to work long hours and a varied schedule including evenings and weekends.

• While this is a full-time position, arrangements can be made for remote and agile work

schedules.

How To Apply:

To be considered for the Technical Specialist, Partner Institution Strengthening position,

please email your resume and cover letter to careers@episcopalrelief.org with the

subject line " Technical Specialist, Partner Institution Strengthening ".