Senior Advisor, Equality Fund
- Job Type
- Full Time
- Job Level
- Experienced (non manager)
- Location
- Ontario, ON
- Impact Area
- International Relief/Development/Peace
- Impact Category
- Nonprofit
- Company Type
- Nonprofit
About this position
Position title: Senior Advisor, Equality Fund
Position location: Ottawa (WUSC Office and Equality Fund Office)
Salary: Level T
Contract: Full time, 2 year contract
Reports to: Chief Programs Officer, WUSC
Apply by: November 19 , 2019
If you’re looking for an environment in which your partnership management skills, experience in organizational change and growth, as well as financial management skills will contribute to a feminist, collaborative, sustainable and innovative approach to achieve gender equality around the world, this is the opportunity for you!
WUSC is seeking an experienced Senior Advisor to provide compliance, capacity-building and technical support in the grant-making program of the Equality Fund.
Background
The Equality Fund is the first of its kind – a collaboration between philanthropists, investors, and government and designed by women, for women. What makes the Equality Fund such an exciting innovation is the unprecedented cooperation between diverse sectors – women’s organizations and movements, Canadian community foundations, an international network of philanthropic foundations and the voice of women’s organizations and women’s rights leaders from developing countries, alongside philanthropists, banks, and investors. Based on the knowledge that supporting local women’s rights organizations is the most effective way to fight poverty and inequality, the Equality Fund will mobilize philanthropic and investment capital, bringing together new partners to move beyond current models of traditional charity funding. The Equality Fund provides predictable and flexible funding, along with technical assistance, to women’s organizations and movements in developing countries. Thanks to a $300 million commitment from the Government of Canada, the Equality Fund will be unique both in scale and in its objectives, becoming the largest women’s fund in the world.
To support this initiative, the Toronto Foundation, World University Service of Canada (WUSC) and the Equality Fund have formed a consortium. WUSC’s role in the consortium is to support the design, building and scaling of the Equality Fund’s grant-making functions to southern women’s organizations.
WUSC is a Canadian international development organization that works towards a world in which all young people, especially women, and refugees, are able to to secure a high quality of life for themselves, their families and their communities. In pursuit of this vision, we work in three programmatic areas: Economic Opportunities, Education, and Empowerment; and in 25 countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. We have an annual budget of approximately CAD $45 million; over 90 staff in our Ottawa office, and over 200 people overseas implementing development initiatives in collaboration with Global Affairs Canada (GAC), the UK Department for International Development (DFID), International Financial Institutions and others. In Canada and globally, we work with a network of higher education institutions, civil society organizations, private sector partners, professionals, students, volunteers, faculty and community leaders that work with us to achieve our mission.
Nature and Scope:
The Senior Advisor, Equality Fund, will act as the primary liaison for WUSC to the Equality Fund consortium. They will play a key role in coordinating and delivering WUSC’s engagement to this initiative, which is focused on scaling up the Grant-Making Program, as well as ensuring compliance for the various donors, including Global Affairs Canada.
Key Responsibilities:
Coordination with Equality Fund Initiative
- Establish and nurture collaborative working relationships with the Equality Fund consortium and collective;
- Act as WUSC’s Equality Fund lead point of contact, build relationships with key departments and teams, and participate in committees and operational working groups;
- Collaborate and contribute to the strategic and operational planning for the Equality Fund, including through the Business Plan;
- Support the Equality Fund design and build phase achieving targets, milestones and outcomes as per the operating plans, specifically related to the grant making program;
- Make relevant recommendations regarding opportunities to improve scalability, efficiency and or effectiveness of the EF initiative, specifically the grant making program.
Capacity Building for Grant Making Program
- Conduct initial capacity assessment and capacity building plan to support the Equality Fund’s grant making program, and ensure it is well reflected in the Business Plan;
- Identify, coordinate and mobilize internal expertise at WUSC from the Finance and Programs teams to leverage WUSC’s capacity to support the Equality Fund;
- Identify relevant policies, processes and systems, from WUSC and other relevant models, and support their adaptation and scaling for the Equality Fund;
- As required, develop terms of reference for external consultants to support and manage these professional service contracts;
- Provide review and feedback on policies and processes related to the grant making program such as as partner due diligence, audit framework, grant agreement templates, granting streams, and others as required;
- Provide advice and recommendations to the Equality Fund on the development of their respective financial systems to ensure that systems have sufficient controls in place.
Compliance
- Design a financial control system and compliance monitoring system at WUSC that will measure and report on the Equality Fund’s compliance;
- Ensure all other obligations assigned to WUSC under the Contribution Agreement are carried out;
- Ensure that all grants and related operational expenditures made pursuant to the grant-making program are carried out with appropriate due diligence, established financial and compliance controls, and in compliance with Canada Revenue Agency regulations and industry best practices;
- Ensure legal compliance with agreements related to the Equality Fund, including the agreement with the Government of Canada as well as consortium agreements;
- Ensure the Equality Fund’s compliance with Canada Revenue Agency requirements and Global Affairs Canada Official Development Assistance requirements;
- In collaboration with colleagues working at the Equality Fund, take action as necessary to address any issues preventing the approval of the grant-making portfolio.
Ongoing program risk and finance monitoring:
- Conduct initial and annual risk assessments of the Equality Fund, and help develop relevant mitigation strategies;
- Oversee and assist the Equality Fund in implementing the grant-making program through ongoing program, risk and finance monitoring;
- Provide constructive support and sharing of lessons learned to ensure continuous improvement for the Equality Fund.
Integration with WUSC
- Prepare and deliver updates to the WUSC senior management team as required;
- Seek opportunities to leverage lessons learned from the Equality Fund to support other initiatives within WUSC and Equality Fund Partners.
Qualifications
Education: Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) or Master’s of Public Administration (MPA), or a Bachelor’s degree in business, accounting, organizational development, social sciences or a related field with a unique interdisciplinary background. Interdisciplinary academic background an asset.
Experience & Competencies:
- 5-7 years’ experience in grant-making, with preference for experience with grant making to organizations in the global South; any experience with women’s rights organizations in particular is a strong asset
- Financial literacy and proficiency in a range of qualitative/quantitative financial analysis;
- Technical expertise in project management and leading projects of a complex nature that require stakeholder management, customer service orientation and diplomacy;
- Knowledge of the policy and regulatory environment including Canada Revenue Agency and Global Affairs Canada Official requirements, policies and procedures;
- Strong business, risk and system analysis and organizational development skills,
- Experience in leading and facilitating the development of systems, tools and policies as enablers to support business operations and growth;
- Experience in working collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders and fostering strong relationships;
- Excellent administration and organizational skills, including the ability to prioritize and handle multiple initiatives simultaneously working under tight deadlines;
- Familiarity, comfort and openness with feminist organizational principles;
- Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills and ability to develop creative solutions;
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills and ability to work and communicate with diverse audiences and stakeholders, including activists, donors and community members;
- Ability to thrive in a fast paced, entrepreneurial and dynamic environment;
- Openness to work on cross functional/multi-disciplinary teams;
- Flexibility and ability to adapt to changing priorities;
Languages:
Fluent in English and ability to work in French (bilingualism preferred).
About Us:
WUSC offers a dynamic international work environment with a diverse intercultural workforce. We offer employees exciting opportunities to apply their skills and gain experience all while making a difference for youth around the world. We believe youth have the potential to provide for their families, build strong communities, and create positive social change for future generations. Employees at WUSC work hard to create lasting change in education, employment and empowerment.
The WUSC office is centrally-located in Hintonburg, Ottawa. We offer competitive benefits, four weeks of annual leave (for full-time employees), safe and healthy working conditions, and fair compensation.
Applications:
WUSC’s activities seek to balance inequities and create sustainable development around the globe; the work ethic of our staff, volunteers, representatives and partners shall correspond to the values and mission of the organization. WUSC promotes responsibility, respect, honesty, and professional excellence and we will not tolerate harassment, coercion and sexual exploitation and abuse of any form. Successful applicants will be required to undertake an enhanced criminal record check where appropriate.
WUSC is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome and encourage applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available upon request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.
Only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. No telephone calls please.
For the full job description, please visit https://wusc.ca/careers/
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