ABOUT ALINEA INTERNATIONAL LTD

Alinea is an international development consultancy providing technical and management expertise that helps people improve their lives. We work with governments, investors, companies and communities to create lasting change. Over 35 years, Alinea has successfully delivered more than 515 projects worldwide.

BACKGROUND

The Terms of Reference outlines the roles and responsibilities for the AHPSU Program Officer. The AHP refers to the overarching program, the AHPSU refers to the team managed by Alinea international that supports the implementation of the AHP program.

The AHP

The AHP is a humanitarian and disaster management partnership between the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and six leading Australian humanitarian NGOs:

• CARE Australia
• Plan International Australia
• Save the Children Australia
• Caritas Australia: Lead consortium partner in the Church Agencies Network Disaster Operations (CAN DO) network.
• OXFAM Australia
• World Vision

AHP focuses on enabling rapid response to sudden onset disasters, providing assistance to protracted crises globally, and supporting disaster preparedness and resilience in the Pacific and Timor-Leste through the Disaster READY program.

For more information: https://australianhumanitarianpartnership.org/

The AHP Support Unit:

The AHP Support Unit (AHPSU) was established at the outset of the partnership. It is funded by DFAT and managed by Alinea International. The AHPSU represents a compact, agile and responsive team that works closely with all AHP NGO partners and local partnerships and networks, DFAT humanitarian and disaster risk reduction sections within the Humanitarian Division and other key humanitarian stakeholders. Core responsibilities of the AHPSU include:

• To facilitate a partnership approach and a whole-of-program perspective in implementation
• To strengthen End of Program Outcomes, by supporting monitoring, evaluation and learning, and promoting innovation and continuous improvement
• To coordinate engagement with other stakeholders and DFAT partners to work towards common objectives
• To provide financial and grant administrative support for DFAT and minimise transaction costs.

The Support Unit is a small team comprising Partnership Director, Operations & Grants Manager, MEL Manager, Disaster READY Coordinator, Pacific MEL Coordinator, Communications & Visibility Manager and Senior Communications Specialist. The AHPSU includes two Program Officers – one focused on Operations support and one focussed on MEL. The roles are expected to collaborate to provide support across all areas for the team.

The role

The Program Officer - Operations will be responsible for grants administration across the AHP portfolio and overall administration tasks to assist the Support Unit with ongoing operational support to the partnership. The Support Unit administers multiple grants to Australian NGOs for the provision of humanitarian assistance and also manages grants for the Disaster READY program.

The role requires a highly competent individual with administration and finance skills who is able to work under direction and independently as required. The role will require drafting of grant agreements and monitoring agreements and reporting requirements including the maintenance of a grants database. The position will be expected to ensure that all grant documentation is up to date and on file, ensure that grants funds are distributed within agreed timeframes, track proposals and reports, and work with the Support Unit specialists to ensure timely technical reviews and inputs to all submitted proposals and reports. In humanitarian situations these timeframes are critical.

The role will also provide key assistance to the Support Unit team including logistics support for events and workshops, keeping minutes of meetings, supporting the analysis of data collected under the Support Unit’s management information system, support the update of reporting templates, and work with the Operations Manager on budget analysis reporting. The role will include support to the broader AHPSU functions with particular emphasis on Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) and Communications.

The AHPSU is small and collaborative team. Based on the candidate’s background and areas of interest, we would look to build capacity and provide opportunities to incorporate duties and tasks into the position related to specific areas of AHPSU operations.

This role would suit someone starting their career in international development with strong initiative and excellent interpersonal skills. The role is a great opportunity to gain an all-round perspective of the humanitarian space in Australia and internationally, develop skills in the international development/humanitarian sector and gain exposure to the work of non-government organisations and DFAT.

Duties and responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Operations and Grants Manager, the Project Officer - Operations primary responsibilities will include:

• Grants management support: Including drafting Services Orders, Grant Orders and Deeds of amendment with DFAT and partner NGOs; ensuring timely payment of all grant funds; maintaining grant documentation and grant database; maintaining grant reporting schedule including upcoming grant tranche payments and grant completions.
• Contract management support: including drafting contract for short term advisers and ensuring due diligence requirements are fulfilled; monitoring STA invoicing and assisting in tracking STA progress against payment milestones.
• Logistics: Including support for AHP regular meetings in Melbourne and Canberra; support for learning events and partnership health checks; support for annual Pacific country and Pacific regional reviews, learning and planning forums as required; minute taking at key meetings and events as required.
• Support to the AHPSU team: including logistics support for workshops, events and media trips organized by the comms team; assistance with website data entry, photo storage, and uploading of case studies etc. Assistance to the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Manager with data management (e.g. data entry, data cleaning, review and analysis of quantitative data) and tagging key outcomes through existing impact systems. The position will also provide support to the AHPSU Partnership Director and other team members as required.
• Grant Management System support: providing ongoing support and oversight of the grant management system with ability to provide data update and analysis on demand.
• Financial Management: Review of proposal budgets and analysis of financial reporting. Administration of AHPSU expenditure in the General Ledger including funds returns and Purchase Orders.
• Risk Management: Assisting with the AHP program risk register and assets register and due diligence: this will include support to the process related to the AHPSU undertaking due diligence spot checks on the AHP NGO grant recipients.
• Other tasks and duties as required under the management and instruction of the Operations and Grants Manager

Key Selection Criteria

Required:

• Demonstrated experience in administration / contract & financial management and / or risk management, preferably in the international aid or other grant management sectors.
• Strong computer and systems skills, including MS Office, particularly Excel and Word. Experience in database or other systems management experience desirable.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to work to deadlines and at times in a high-pressure environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• The ability to work in a small team, work independently as required, and take initiative in completing assigned tasks.
• Academic qualifications in international development, business, organisational management or accounting. Individuals working toward qualifications in these sectors will also be considered.
• Experience working with NGOs and/or with the Australian Government would be beneficial.
• An understanding of Australia's Humanitarian sector and/or aid and development programs would be beneficial.

Additional information

The position reports directly to the AHPSU Operations and Grants Manager. The Program Officer – Operations will support the entire AHPSU team including the Partnership Director, MEL Manager and Disaster READY Coordinator as required. The Program Officer will work in partnership and close coordination with the AHPSU Program Officer - MEL.

The position will require engagement with the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade (DFAT), Australian NGOs (including humanitarian leads and key MEL focal points), Pacific based NGOs and networks, and broader disaster management disaster risk management stakeholders in Australia and the Pacific. On rare occasions, this position may have limited contact with children during participation in field visits.

Position & Salary

The AHPSU Program Officer - Operations is currently funded at 1.0 EFT (5 days per week). Flexible working arrangements will be considered to meet the requirements for selected candidates. A competitive salary will be offered with final remuneration negotiated based on experience.

Location

The candidate will be based in Melbourne or Canberra. The position could involve domestic and international travel.

A position description is attached.