Location: Melbourne or Canberra preferred

Timeframe: 1.5 years (AHP is currently funded until Jan 2027)

FTE: Full time

Remuneration: Competitive salary commensurate with experience

The Australian Humanitarian Partnership (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 and providing assistance to protracted crises globally, as well as supporting disaster preparedness and resilience in the Pacific and Timor-Leste through the Disaster READY program.

The AHP Support Unit (AHPSU)

The AHPSU supports the implementation of the AHP program and is managed by Alinea International (Asia & the Pacific). It was established in 2017 and is funded by DFAT. 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, DFAT Posts 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
• To support effective risk management throughout the partnership.

The Role

This is a senior role within the AHPSU. The Operations & Grants Manager plays a critical role in enabling the AHP to deliver effective, timely and principled humanitarian assistance by ensuring the operational integrity of mechanisms and managing risk across the partnership.

The position collaborates closely with DFAT, NGO partners, and Alinea’s corporate team to support the successful delivery of humanitarian assistance in a dynamic and high-trust environment.

The position reports directly to the AHP Partnership Director and will be responsible for supervising the AHPSU Operations Program Officer role.

Priority external relationships include DFAT officers (within the Humanitarian Division), relevant DFAT Posts, AHP NGO focal points (including humanitarian leads and key NGO financial officers), broader DRM stakeholders in Australia and the Pacific.

This position may require travel and, on rare occasions, may have limited contact with children during participation in field visits.

Responsibilities:

The primary responsibilities for the Operations & Grants Manager include:

• Work with the Partnership Director and the Alinea International corporate team to develop and maintain customised operational management systems and processes for the AHPSU and the AHP mechanism
• Develop, review and maintain an integrated grant management system for Disaster READY and AHP activations using relevant management information systems
• Oversee and manage all aspects of financial management related to the program, including budget management, risk and fraud management, and financial reporting, with the support of the Operations Program Officer. This includes responsibility for budget reviews of NGO proposals, progress reports, annual reports and financial acquittals as well as providing regular updates and forecasts on the AHPSU annual budget
• Support AHPSU planning processes with a focus on key annual Operations activities, overall activity and personnel budget management, and provision of routine forecasting for DFAT
• Support robust risk management including by leading on risk control processes (such as spot checks and routine risk reviews), leading on quarterly risk management meetings with DFAT, and engaging and supporting AHP agencies to comply with DFAT’s 5 specific areas of risk (fraud control, counter terrorism resourcing, environmental and social safeguards, child protection, and development risk management).
• Manage and monitor all AHP operations to ensure compliance with DFAT quality, safety and environmental standards, safeguarding policies and adherence to budgetary controls and operations systems and processes
• Support AHP partners to meet reporting requirements and provide both internal and external training and support, as required, in relevant due diligence, risk and fraud and safeguards compliance
• Support the development of contract templates and effectively manage the preparation of contracts, services orders and grants arrangements for activations of the AHP response mechanism in a timely manner
• Manage procurement and short-term adviser contracts in collaboration with the Alinea corporate team
• Support the maintenance of project proposal and reporting templates to ensure efficient and effective reporting that aligns with AHPSU grants management and tracking processes. Work closely with the team, including the AHPSU MEL Manager, to ensure alignment of the grants management system with broader AHP impact analysis
• Fulfill the role of secretary for all AHP Response Committees and provide logistics support to the Partnership Director, as necessary
• Support the Partnership Director in secretariat functions for all DFAT-managed activation assessment committees and assist in 3W (who does what, where) mapping and information support for response and protracted crisis activations, as required
• Assist the Partnership Director in regular review and refresh processes for AHP Standard Operating Procedures and guidelines, as required
• Provide administrative support for all AHP meetings including routine steering committee meetings, as well as lessons-learned processes and forums, as required
• Manage all Support Unit administrative reporting and invoicing requirements
• Other duties, as required.

Qualifications:

Required

• At least 10 years’ experience in program operations and coordination (preferably in the international aid and development sector)
• Relevant higher education credentials
• Demonstrated experience with program and financial management systems
• Demonstrated experience of risk management (preferably with DFAT-funded initiatives and/or other donor funded programs). This includes knowledge of DFAT policies such as fraud, counter-terrorism, child protection and preventing sexual exploitation, abuse and Harassment (PSEAH)
• Experience working with NGOs and/or with the Australian Government / DFAT-funded programs
• Proven finance skills and the ability to manage multiple grants across different components
• Demonstrated staff management capacity
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and a proven ability to build relationships with key partners, including in Australia, in the Pacific and globally as required

Desired

• An understanding of Australia's humanitarian sector and/or aid and development programs
• An understanding of disaster preparedness, disaster risk reduction and resilience would be beneficial