Pledge Management Intern / Assistant

Organizational Context

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, with a network of 191-member National Societies. The overall aim of the IFRC is to inspire, encourage, facilitate, and promote at all times all forms of humanitarian activities by National Societies with a view to preventing and alleviating human suffering and thereby contributing to the maintenance and promotion of human dignity and peace in the world.

The IFRC is a part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (Movement), together with its member National Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The work of the IFRC is guided by the following fundamental principles: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality.

IFRC is led by its Secretary General, and has its Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The Headquarters are organized into three main Divisions: (i) National Society Development and Operations Coordination; (ii) Global Relations, Humanitarian Diplomacy and Digitalization; and (iii) Management Policy, Strategy and Corporate Services.

IFRC has five regional offices in Africa, Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, Europe, and the Americas.  The IFRC also has country cluster delegation and country delegations throughout the world. Together, the Geneva Headquarters and the field structure (regional, cluster and country) comprise the IFRC Secretariat.  

Job Purpose

The internship position will be situated in the Strategic Partnerships and Resource Mobilization (SPRM) Unit in the Regional Office for Europe, based in Budapest. The Strategic Partnerships and Resource mobilization Unit is bringing stakeholders together by mobilizing financial, in-kind and pro-bono resources to meet the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable people before, during and after disasters, health emergencies and other crises. The Unit partners with various stakeholders including but not limited to the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, institutional donors, multilateral organizations, major donors and NGOs. It has four teams with the following focus areas: 1. Thematic Funding 2. Emergency Funding 3. Resource Mobilization Capacity Building 4. Strategic Partnerships and Business Development.

The Unit contributes to the implementation of IFRC`s Global Resource Mobilization Strategy 2030 setting out ambitious plans for helping individuals and communities across the world thrive.

The Pledge Management Intern will work under the supervision of the Head of the Unit and in collaboration with team members within the unit, with Movement and non-Movement partners, various functions within Regional Office Europe (ROE) as well as with the respective departments in Geneva. The Pledge Management Intern will be responsible for tracking the development and implementation of pledges in close cooperation with relevant Regional and Country teams within the Europe and Central Asia Region plus Geneva and will ensure SPRM’s effective maintenance of strong relations with existing donors through efficient reporting, pledge management, and relevant and timely information sharing. In addition to pledge management tasks the candidate will gain hands-on experience in strategic thinking and planning, proposal development and donor engagement to maximize the learning and development opportunity the job creates.

Job Duties And Responsibilities

Pledge Management and processing

• Process and register new cash pledges and pledge revisions negotiated with National Societies, governments, multilateral and private sector donors by pledge managers.
• Ensure that the pledges are properly and timely registered and the same shared with the partners pledge managers and relevant colleagues in the Regional Office and in the Headquarters in Geneva.
• Ensure that relevant updates in the ERP system are included, and pledges reflecting agreed criteria are shared with donors and understood by relevant budget holders.
• Ensure that Budget Holders and Finance team are aware and receive information on MoUs and donor requirements in due course;
• In close cooperation with Budget Holders ensure that renegotiation of pledge requirements takes place on time as and when required;
• Ensure timely follow up on the pledge payment arrangements and follow up on any overdue pledge payments;
• Ensure that all prospect funding and hard pledges are duly registered in the ERP system.
• Ensure regular follow up between SPRM, Finance team and Budget Holders of pledge implementation rates and donor requirements to meet quality standards and conditions of specific grants.

Compliance and donor stewardship

• Support the SPRM team in arranging meetings between project managers, finance, PMER and SPRM to review all active pledges and make sure the donor reporting requirements and implementation are on track, and that all donor reports (standard reports and pledge based reports) are prepared to quality standards, that there is compliance with agreed partner/donor conditions and requirements, and to send reports to partners/donors before deadlines.
• Support country and country cluster offices for amendments of grants and grants related contracts;
• Ensure consistency and compliance to grant management procedures in view of achieving quality reporting and accountability.
• Undertake occasional monitoring visits to implementation areas of grants as and when required.
• Ensure conformity with proposal documents and contract requirements and to strengthen the SPRM team representation and positioning vis-á-vis donors
• Review and ensure quality and compliance of grant applications, funding proposals and reports submitted to governments, EU, DG ECHO, USAID, UN agencies, private sector partners and others, as appropriate.
• Manage the preparation and submission of compliance and financial reports to donors. Review and ensure the accuracy of financial reports and compliance documents.

Job Duties And Responsibilities (continued)

Business and Proposal Development

• Support carrying out donor prospect research and actively engaging the donors to contribute towards thematic and emergency funding for the Regional Office Europe.
• Support proposal development and grant management, ensuring alignment with donor requirements.
• Assist in the creation and submission of funding proposals, particularly for thematic and emergency fundraising initiatives.
• Coordinate the development and distribution of marketing materials and newsletters for donor communication.
• Learn and support income registration processes and ensure adherence to compliance procedures.
• Assist in the tracking and recording of incoming funds and grants.

Event Organization

• Organize and set up meetings, contributing to the organization of events, conferences for partners, members, and other stakeholders.
• Assist in the organization of fundraising events, including logistics and participant coordination.
• Support the planning and execution of capacity-building workshops, such as the Diploma in Fundraising and the Regional SkillShare in Fundraising and Communication.
• Facilitate the organization of peer-learning sessions and communities of practice for National Societies.

Education

• Degree in relevant discipline (ex. g. Business Administration, Finance, Economics, Marketing, International Relations, Humanitarian Affairs) and/or relevant trainings.
• It is a strong asset to also have Relevant professional training courses (Red Cross/Red Crescent related, humanitarian and development sector, management)

Experience

Required Experience:

• Previous exposure with partners including private and public sector

The Below Listed Experience Is Considered An Asset

• Relevant background knowledge of 6 months to 1 year
• Red Cross Red Crescent work experience
• Experience in research of partner trends, humanitarian financing data, regional debates and partner positions in humanitarian aid.
• Experience/knowledge in pledge management, planning, reporting systems and financial management.
• Experience of development and implementation of funding plans.
• Experience of grant and proposal writing for funding applications.

Knowledge, Skills and Languages

Required Skills

• Fluently spoken and written English.
• Strong motivation to learn about fundraising and partnership building in a humanitarian organization, interest for a humanitarian career
• Negotiation and relationship skills
• Results oriented individual
• Good communication and presentation skills, proactivity in communication
• Analytical skills, structured way of thinking
• Track record in producing high quality work within short deadlines and ability to make effective, timely decisions.
• High degree of discretion, tact and sensitivity in dealing with internal and external clients and stakeholders at all levels.
• Ability to work within a multi-cultural, multilingual, multidisciplinary environment.
• Exemplary skills in the management and analysis of fundraising data.
• Excellent relationship building skills; ability to build and strengthen internal and external networks and establish effective partnerships

The Below Additional Skills Are Considered An Asset

• Fluency in Microsoft office tools and Knowledge of grant processes and guidelines
• Good command of another IFRC official language (French, Spanish )

Competencies, Values and Comments

Values: Respect for diversity; Integrity; Professionalism; Accountability

Core competencies: Communication; Collaboration and teamwork; Judgement and decision making; National society and customer relations; Creativity and innovation; Building trust