Roving Humanitarian Partnership and Fundraising Advisor – Ukraine At Alianza Por La Solidaridad

Background

Alianza por la Solidaridad-ActionAid Spain (Alianza-AA SP) is a member of ActionAid (AA) International, a global federation working with more than 41 million people in over 70 countries around the world. We want to see a just, fair, and sustainable world, in which everybody enjoys the right to a life of dignity, and freedom from poverty and oppression. We work to achieve social justice and gender equality and to eradicate poverty.

Since February 2022, Alianza-AA SP has been leading the regional humanitarian response to the Ukraine crisis on behalf of the ActionAid federation, together with the federation’s International Humanitarian Action and Resilience Team (IHART).

Since then, Alianza-AA SP has been working with partner organisations in Ukraine, Poland, Romania and Moldova to protect the dignity and promote the rights and participation of the most excluded and vulnerable affected people by the war in Ukraine (women, youth, minorities and intersectional identities), through an intersectional approach, empowering them and increasing their resilience.

Our strategy in Ukraine and the region focuses on:

1. Women’s Rights and Leadership: Providing protection and essential services to the most marginalised affected population with an intersectional, de-colonial and anti-racist approach, by supporting and accompanying frontline feminist organisations in the humanitarian response to the Ukraine crisis.
2. Empowerment of Young People: Addressing the specific needs, protecting the rights of young people and providing protection and essential services to the most marginalised populations affected by the Ukraine crisis, by supporting formal and informal youth-led organisations in Ukraine and neighbouring countries.
3. Addressing immediate needs and protection issues as they evolve, centring on the people most affected by the Ukraine crisis, and ensuring their protection, with a focus on women, girls and the most marginalised and vulnerable populations.
4. Supporting CSOs and reinforce their capacities to claim their space in their societies and play an active role in the new national and regional scenarios.
5. Transformative participation and accountability: Ensure effective transformative participation of the affected population, and transparency and accountability by AA and our partners to affected populations.

Currently, Alianza-AA SP is working with 9 Ukrainian partner organizations, in line with AA’s focus on shifting the power in humanitarian crisis to local and national, women- and youth-led actors. Our office is based in Kyiv and is made up of a team of 9 Ukrainian and international staff members, supported by a team of 4 roving staff members, and Alianza-AA SP and IHART’s teams internationally.

Role Overview

The Roving Humanitarian Partnership and Fundraising Advisor will be based in Kyiv, Ukraine, with travel to the neighbouring countries of Poland, Romania and Moldova.

In Ukraine, the position holder will be responsible for a team of 2 people, consisting of a MEAL Officer and a Programmes Officer, and will report to the Ukraine Humanitarian Manager.

At the regional level, they will also have a close day-to-day working relationship with the Country Management Team in the neighbouring countries and will report to Alianza-AA SP’s Humanitarian Program Coordinator.

The position holder will also have a close working relationship with partner organisations, and the fundraising teams of other AA members.

The main responsibilities and activities of the role are as follows:

Partnership:

1. Lead the program team in ensuring the timely and quality implementation of, and reporting on projects and programs led by partners.
2. Identify, develop and manage partnerships with Alianza-AA SP’s partners, including preparing and reviewing grant applications, proposals, and reports of partner organisations, in line with our strategic objectives.
3. Play a critical role in expanding our reach, increasing the quality of programs, and creating mutually beneficial relationships with partners, donors and other stakeholders.
4. Provide technical inputs for programmes in the Ukraine Response, remaining up to date on the evolution of the crisis and how it impacts affected populations, particularly women, youth, minorities and intersectional identities.
5. Conduct outreach and regularly engage with civil society organizations and other stakeholders to inform Alianza-AA SP’s regional Ukraine crisis response strategy, and grant making priorities.

Fundraising:

1. Lead on the updating and implementation of a high-quality Fundraising Strategy and Donor Engagement Plan.
2. Coordinate all proposal development including being the lead writer on the development of high-value or complex proposals or bids, ensuring the highest quality product.
3. Work with AA fundraising affiliates and associates to maximise fundraising opportunities from all donors in their markets for the regional Ukraine response.
4. Identify, research, and disseminate information on new funding opportunities from bilateral, multi-lateral and other private and institutional donors.
5. Participate in key donor meetings and initiate donor contacts to foster longer-term collaboration and engagement.
6. Scope and explore the potential for local fundraising in Ukraine and the region.
7. Set up systems for effectively managing fundraised income (e.g., contract management etc.).

Main Activities

Partnerships:

1. Program Planning: Develop comprehensive program plans, including scope, objectives, deliverables, timelines, and resource requirements.
2. Team Leadership: Lead and manage a cross-functional team in Ukraine, consisting of a MEAL Officer and a Programme Officer, providing guidance, coaching, and support to ensure the successful execution of projects within the program.
3. Risk Management: Identify potential risks and issues and develop mitigation strategies to minimize disruptions to project timelines and budgets.
4. Stakeholder Communication: Establish and maintain clear and effective communication channels with internal and external stakeholders, ensuring alignment with program goals and objectives.
5. Quality Assurance: Ensure the delivery of high-quality project outcomes by implementing and overseeing quality assurance processes.
6. Reporting and Documentation: Prepare regular progress reports, documentation, and presentations for executive leadership and other stakeholders.

Fundraising:

1. Lead on the updating and implementation of a high-quality Fundraising Strategy and Donor Engagement Plan.

• Work with the regional Ukraine response team to identify programme response areas of work that require funding.
• Ensure that programme activities are clearly budgeted for fundraising purposes.
• Work with programme, finance and policy team members to ensure adequate resource allocation for the response and maximise fundraising opportunities.
• Ensure that funding plans take national capacity and resources into consideration.
• Regularly update the funding plan and keep it dynamic as programme needs change, and funds are raised.

1. Work with AA fundraising affiliates and associates to maximise fundraising opportunities from all donors in their markets for the regional Ukraine response.

• Regularly communicate the updated funding plan to federation fundraising affiliates/associates and IHART.
• Identify fundraising priorities and communicate these to fundraisers.
• Act as main point of contact for fundraisers, responding to funding enquiries.
• Ensure fundraisers can effectively communicate funding needs to their donor markets.

1. Scope and explore the potential for local fundraising in Ukraine and the region.

• Maximise existing relationships with fundraising contacts in country and in the wider region to scope potential funding opportunities, and match these with funding plan requirements.
• Build on existing national donor relationships by sharing information on the response e.g., through key communications products like case studies etc.
• Ensure that all funding opportunities for the response are identified and considered in relation to the funding plan.

1. Coordinate all proposal development including being the lead writer on the development of high-value or complex proposals or bids, ensuring the highest quality product.

• Develop and disseminate concept notes based on the funding plan.
• In coordination with the programme and policy response teams, write funding proposals for specific donors and projects, ensuring compliance with donor requirements.
• Respond to queries from donors and fundraising affiliates/associates as necessary.

1. Set up systems for effectively managing fundraised income (e.g., contract management etc.).

• Set up and manage a system to log all incoming funds for the emergency response.
• Regularly update the system for managing reporting requirements to donors.
• Ensure that Alianza has adequate financial systems set up (in collaboration with head of finance and financial manager for the response) to meet donors’ financial contractual obligations.
• Monitor compliance of donor requirements in projects, and support compliance with additional systems where necessary (in line with downward accountability work and working closely with impact assessment staff).

1. Others

• Adhere to Alianza-AA SP’s security protocol for Ukraine and the neighbouring countries.
• Adhere to and respect the internal policies of the organisation, particularly Sexual Harassment, Exploitation and Abuse and safeguarding policies.

Essential requirements

• Bachelor’s degree and MA/MSc in international development/humanitarian aid, or a related field.
• At least 3 years of relevant experience in fundraising, donor relations and grants management (e.g., with institutional and private donors such as the UK Disaster Emergency Committee, ECHO, the Spanish Agency for Cooperation and International Development (AECID) and other donors.
• Proven skills and experience in proposal development, report writing and working with multiple donors.
• Good understanding of various donor rules and regulations as well as NGO operations and the dynamics of the humanitarian sector.
• Willingness to travel to area offices and work in difficult environment according to requirements.
• Excellent spoken and written English.
• Good networking and relationship management skills, with ability to represent Alianza-AA SP with external actors.
• Ability to meet deadlines and work under pressure with limited supervision.
• Self-starter, requiring little support to get tasks done.
• Good people skills and ability to work as part of a team.

Desirable

• Knowledge of Ukrainian, Russian and/or Spanish.
• Previous experience of working in Eastern Europe and/or Ukraine.
• Experience of working in an emergency response situation.
• Hostile Environment Awareness training (HEAT) certificate.

In addition, as an Alianza-AA SP employee the position holder will be expected to have:

• A strong commitment to AA’s vision, mission and values, especially the rights-based approach and the principles of equal opportunity as outlined in ActionAid’s Code of Conduct.
• A strong commitment to embedding feminist leadership and ActionAid’s humanitarian signature.
• A strong commitment to adhering to and promoting ActionAid’s approach to Sexual Harassment, Exploitation, and Abuse and other Safeguarding concerns (including child abuse and abuse of adults at-risk).
• Consultative and empowering working style and willingness to learn from others.
• Understanding of and commitment to women’s rights and cultural sensitivity.
• Understanding of and commitment to humanitarian principles and minimum standards for disaster response, the NGO/Red Cross Code of Conduct, the People in Aid Code of Conduct, ActionAid’s human security in emergencies and crises strategy and approach, and security and policy procedures.
• A commitment to the importance of downward accountability to rights-holders and transparency in humanitarian response.
• Willingness to travel as required.

Conditions

• Type and duration of contract: Full time, Spanish labour contract until 31/08/2024, with the possibility of extension if funding is available.
• Salary: Gross salary of 48,000 EUR gross per year.
• Benefits: Accommodation and other benefits provided by the organisation.
• Insurance: Full life and health insurance coverage.
• Starting date: As soon as possible.
• Location: Kyiv, Ukraine, with travel to Poland, Romania and Moldova.