Awards, Grants and Partnership Manager

Position description

Relief International (RI) is an international non-profit organization that partners with communities impacted by conflict, climate change and disaster to save lives, build greater resilience and promote long-term health and wellbeing.

Our team of more than 4,000 staff and local volunteers work in 14 countries across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, providing Health and Nutrition, WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene), Education and Livelihoods programming that creates the foundation for community resilience.

We do this by working with local actors to develop safe and inclusive local programming that is evidence based, conflict sensitive, climate smart, and reaches those in need.

Job Profile

Relief International has been operational in Sudan since 2004 and in Chad since 2024, implementing programming focused on Health, with integrated services in Protection, WASH, Nutrition and Livelihoods both through direct implementation and with partners.

The Awards, Grants, and Partnership Manager for Sudan and Chad plays a central role in the strategic development, management, and growth of Relief International's portfolio across both countries. The position leads the full awards management cycle from business development and proposal design through implementation, reporting, compliance, partnership management, and close-out. The role ensures adherence to donor regulations and RI policies while strengthening organizational systems, supporting quality programming, and fostering effective partnerships.

Operating in a rapidly evolving humanitarian context, the post-holder serves as a key liaison with donors, partners, and internal stakeholders, providing strategic oversight of awards, grants, compliance, and partnerships across Sudan and Chad.

The position requires the ability to manage both strategic priorities and operational details while supporting the continued growth and quality of the country portfolio.

Key Responsibilities

Accountability and Complexity

• Accountable for balancing multiple priorities simultaneously while ensuring timely and accurate delivery of assigned tasks.
• Lead and coordinate awards, grants, and partnership management across Sudan and Chad throughout the award lifecycle.
• Ensure compliance with donor regulations, contractual obligations, RI policies, and audit requirements.
• Manage competing priorities and deadlines across a complex multi-donor portfolio.
• Provide strategic advice to senior leadership on portfolio performance, compliance risks, donor engagement, and business development opportunities.
• Serve as a principal focal point for donor communications related to award management, implementation, reporting, and modifications.
• Strengthen systems, processes, and coordination mechanisms that support effective awards and partnership management across both country programmes.

Awards Management

• Oversee the full award lifecycle for all grants and contracts in Sudan and Chad, ensuring compliance with donor and organizational requirements.
• Maintain accurate awards tracking systems, reporting schedules, and grant documentation.
• Lead award start-up, regular monthly reviews (Awards review Meeting), modification, and close-out processes, ensuring timely completion of all donor and organizational requirements.
• Coordinate internal award review processes and facilitate cross-departmental collaboration to address implementation challenges and compliance risks.
• Support audit readiness and ensure implementation of audit recommendations and corrective actions.
• Ensure effective records management, documentation, and archiving of all award-related files and communications.
• Provide technical guidance to program and support teams on awards management tools, procedures, and donor regulations

Donor Compliance

• Act as the primary resource on donor regulations, compliance requirements, and RI awards management procedures.
• Ensure proposals, budgets, reports, modifications, and implementation processes comply with donor and organizational requirements.
• Monitor compliance risks and recommend corrective actions to maintain award performance and accountability.
• Promote a strong culture of donor compliance and quality assurance across programme and support functions.

Donor Reporting and Communication

• Oversee donor reporting processes across Sudan and Chad, ensuring high-quality and timely submission of all deliverables.
• Coordinate and quality assure donor reporting, consolidating inputs from programme, MEAL, finance, and support teams.
• Maintain effective communication with donors regarding program progress, reporting requirements, amendments, and approvals.
• Coordinate donor visits, meetings, presentations, and briefing materials in collaboration with relevant teams.
• Ensure reporting schedules and donor communication records remain accurate and up to date.

Proposal Development

• Lead the development and submission of high-quality proposals, concept notes, and strategic funding opportunities for Sudan and Chad.
• Coordinate design processes involving programme, technical, operations, finance, and HQ stakeholders.
• Support donor engagement, opportunity tracking, and portfolio growth in alignment with country and organizational priorities.
• Ensure proposal packages are technically sound, operationally feasible, evidence-based, and donor compliant.
• Support value-for-money approaches and promote effective programme design and resource allocation.
• Facilitate Go/No-Go decision-making processes and contribute to strategic funding positioning efforts.

Partnership Selection and Management

• Lead partnership management processes across Sudan and Chad, including partner identification, mapping, selection, due diligence, contracting, monitoring, and close-out.
• Serve as the primary focal point for partnership coordination and localization efforts.
• Ensure partner agreements comply with donor and organizational requirements.
• Strengthen relationships with national and international partners, government institutions, and other stakeholders.
• Support partner performance monitoring, capacity strengthening, and organizational development initiatives.
• Ensure effective partnership documentation, compliance monitoring, and risk management throughout the partnership lifecycle.

Capacity Building and Information Data Management

• Strengthen staff understanding of awards, compliance, partnership, and donor management processes.
• Deliver training and mentoring to programme and support teams on key donor requirements and RI procedures.
• Support effective award monitoring, financial oversight, and information management.
• Establish and maintain robust filing, documentation, and knowledge management systems.
• Promote continuous learning and the sharing of donor guidance, tools, templates, and best practices across Sudan and Chad.

People Management & Capacity Strengthening

• Provide effective leadership, supervision, mentoring, and performance management for direct reports.
• Foster a collaborative, accountable, and high-performing team culture.
• Promote cross-departmental coordination and strengthen teamwork across programme and support functions.
• Support staff professional development and capacity strengthening initiatives.

Safeguarding, Gender & Inclusion

• Uphold and promote Relief International's safeguarding commitments and policies.
• Ensure all activities are implemented in accordance with safeguarding, protection, and Do No Harm principles.
• Maintain a safe and accountable environment for communities, partners, and staff

Behavior and Conduct

• Will ensure the highest standards of behavior inside and outside of work promotes the values in RI’s code of conduct and safeguarding policies
• Will be a model for ethical conduct standards for other team members
• Will ensure own actions and the actions of the teams’ members they manage do not impact on the safety of the RI team and the vulnerable communities we serve
• Will ensure external stakeholders are aware of RI conduct and reporting mechanisms
• Report any concerns

Person Specification

Skills, knowledge and expertise required for the role.

Essential criteria

• Relevant Bachelor and/or Master degree.
• Minimum five years of progressively responsible experience in awards, grants, compliance, business development, and partnership management within humanitarian or development organizations.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex multi-donor portfolios and funding mechanisms.
• Strong knowledge of major institutional donors, including US Government donors, European donors, UN agencies, and other institutional funding bodies.
• Proven experience leading proposal development, donor reporting, and awards management processes.
• Experience managing partnerships, sub-awards, due diligence, and partner capacity strengthening initiatives.
• Strong understanding of donor compliance requirements, risk management, audit preparedness, and internal controls.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience working in complex humanitarian or conflict-affected environments.

Desirable criteria

• French and Arabic Language
• Previous experience in Sudan or similar complex context

RI Values

Guided by the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, as well as “Do No Harm,” Relief International Values:

• Integrity
• Adaptability
• Collaboration
• Inclusivity
• Sustainability

Application instructions

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