What we are looking for:
NRC is looking for an experienced Grants Specialist to provide expert guidance and oversight across a diverse portfolio of global, regional, and multi-country grants. In this role, you will drive excellence throughout the grant lifecycle, ensuring compliance, strengthening grant management practices, and enabling the successful delivery of high-quality humanitarian programmes.
Working as part of a global team, you will champion the consistent application of NRC's Programme Cycle Management (PCM) and Grants Management frameworks, identify opportunities for continuous improvement, and turn operational insights into stronger organisational practices. You will collaborate closely with programme, finance, MEAL, partnerships, legal, risk and compliance, and other cross-functional teams to maximise donor compliance, programme quality, and organisational impact.
What you will do:
Here are some of your specific responsibilities:
- Manage an assigned portfolio and specialist area determined by the Head of PCM and Grants Management and adjusted according to organisational priorities, workload and expertise.
- Lead assigned internal prioritisation, funding allocation or grant management processes, including coordination, documentation, communication, follow-up, and periodic improvement.
- Maintain accurate and accessible grant information, documentation, and records in Cycles – NRC’s digital grants management platform – and other relevant NRC systems.
- Support donor and partner engagement, including delegated representation, clarification of requirements, negotiation support, and coordination with consortium or implementing partners.
- Contribute to Grants Management quality reviews, health checks, and follow-up actions aimed at strengthening practice in Country Offices and across portfolios.
- Support recruitment, onboarding, coaching, and professional development of Grants Management staff where requested.
- Work with relevant functions to strengthen ways of working for global, private, corporate and other non-traditional funding arrangements.
- Contribute to communities of practice, organisational learning, and knowledge-sharing across NRC.
- Provide temporary support across portfolios during periods of peak workload, absence or identified capacity gaps, as agreed with the line manager.
- Undertake other relevant responsibilities delegated by the line manager.
Please download the detailed job description to learn more about the position.
What you will bring:
- University degree or equivalent qualification, preferably at master’s degree level
- Minimum five years of relevant experience in Grants Management, programme management, institutional funding, donor administration or a related area within humanitarian or development work.
- Demonstrated experience managing complex proposals, agreements, implementation follow-up, revisions, and donor reporting across multiple stakeholders or locations.
- Strong knowledge of institutional and private donor requirements, contractual compliance, and practical management of donor funded grants.
- Strong planning, prioritisation, and coordination skills, including the ability to manage competing deadlines and changing workloads.
- Strong interpersonal and facilitation skills and the ability to build collaborative working relationships across functions, cultures, and organisational levels.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and French. Knowledge of Spanish or Arabic is an asset.
- High proficiency in Microsoft 365 and Grants Management systems.
- Experience working with global, regional, multi-country or otherwise complex grants.
- Experience providing practical technical advice, coaching, and capacity strengthening to colleagues with different levels of experience.
- Ability to work independently while contributing actively to a collaborative and geographically dispersed global team.
- Ability to move between operational delivery, technical development, and organisational learning.
- Flexibility and ability to manage ambiguity, changing priorities, and sudden shifts in workload.
What we offer:
- Duty station: Head Office (Oslo), any NRC Representative Office (excluding Geneva and Washington, D.C.), approved Employer of Record (EoR) locations, or Regional and Country Offices under hosted contract.
- Contract: Permanent.
- Travel: 10%
- Salary/benefits: Grade 9 on NRC’s Resident salary scale, with accompanying terms and conditions.
- NRC is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to diversity without distinction to age, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, and physical ability.
Find out more about the benefits of working for NRC
Important information about the application process
- For Internal candidates: To apply as an internal candidate, log in with your official email or click on Opportunity Market Place.
- When creating your profile, include your full name as given on your passport. Complete all the system-required fields for experience, employment history and education.
- Submit your application and CV in English, taking care to attach your latest CV.
- Applications that do not meet the minimum standards in terms of experience or qualifications will generally not be considered. Unsolicited applications not related to this specific job advertisement will not be considered.
- We receive many applications for each vacant position and so only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
If you have any questions about this role, please email ho.recruitment@nrc.no with the job title as the subject line.
Why NRC?
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is an independent humanitarian organisation helping people forced to flee. Our 15,000 staff work in crises across 40 countries, providing life-saving and long-term assistance to millions of people every year.
Watch this short video to see NRC in action.
We are looking for people who are passionate about helping refugees and people forced to flee. Are you one of those people? If you are, NRC offers you the opportunity to:
- do demanding and professional work, often in challenging contexts.
- join a work culture that empowers every employee to share ideas and take responsibility.
- be part of a welcoming and supportive community committed to human dignity.
Organization context
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is a global humanitarian organisation helping people forced to flee.
Join us in assisting millions of people in areas where others cannot, tackling some of the world's most dangerous and difficult crises. Bring your skills and dedication to an organisation recognised for providing high quality aid and for defending the rights of refugees and internally displaced people.
At NRC, we give responsibility to employees at all levels and foster professional growth and innovative teams. You can expect a supportive culture and an open dialogue with management. We are committed to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Together, we save lives and rebuild futures.
Safeguarding is central to NRC’s work. We expect all employees to:
• treat everyone with respect and dignity
• contribute to building a safe environment for all
• never engage in any form of exploitation, harassment and specifically sexual exploitation, abuse and sexual harassment (SEAH)
• always report. NRC has a zero-tolerance approach to inaction against exploitation, abuse and SEAH
