Desk Officer

About GOAL

GOAL has responded to the world’s major humanitarian crises since its founding in 1977, working with vulnerable communities in 14 countries across the globe with a dedicated team of personnel. While GOAL continues to be an agile first-responder to humanitarian crises, it is also committed to working with vulnerable communities to help them survive crises and support them on the road to recovery.

Job Purpose

The Desk Officer plays a central coordination role between Head Office and assigned country programmes. This position supports effective programme delivery by ensuring strong grant management, clear information flow, and timely engagement with donors and internal teams. The Desk Officer acts as the primary HQ focal point for country programmes, providing operational, programme, and donor-facing support throughout the project lifecycle.

This role is based at GOAL Head Office in Dun Laoghaire, Dublin, with a hybrid working model (two days per week in the office).

Key Responsibilities

Programme & Country Support

• Act as the main point of contact at Head Office for assigned country programmes.
• Support Country Directors and senior field teams with planning, implementation, monitoring, and reporting of country programmes.
• Facilitate coordination between country programmes and Head Office departments, including Operations, Finance, Logistics, HR, and Technical Teams.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of assigned country contexts and keep senior management informed of key issues, risks, and opportunities.
• Support sudden-onset emergency responses as required.

Grant Management & Donor Engagement

• Coordinate and support the development of donor submissions, including concept notes, proposals, reports, budget revisions, and contract amendments.
• Review all proposals and reports for quality, accuracy, compliance, and timeliness prior to donor submission.
• Ensure community participation and feedback mechanisms are reflected in programme design and reporting.
• Present proposals and concepts at Project Review Committee (PRC) meetings and support country teams through internal approval processes.
• Review donor contracts and agreements, highlighting key conditions and compliance requirements for relevant staff.
• Initiate and document grant opening meetings with relevant Head Office departments.
• Liaise with donors on programme and grant-related matters and identify new funding opportunities.
• Monitor donor calls and funding trends and share relevant opportunities with country teams.

Programme Quality, Reporting & Information Management

• Support the development and monitoring of country plans and annual monitoring and evaluation frameworks.
• Review narrative and financial programme reports and provide feedback to country teams.
• Ensure timely submission of weekly, monthly, and quarterly programme reports.
• Maintain accurate programme and grant documentation, both electronically and in hard copy, including use of the Grant Management System.
• Ensure country profiles, programme information, and online content are accurate and up to date.

Representation & Coordination

• Represent country programmes internally within GOAL and externally with donors and sector networks, as appropriate.
• Prepare briefing notes and country updates for senior management, donors, media, and internal stakeholders.
• Participate in relevant coordination forums, working groups, and policy discussions to inform organisational learning and programme development.

Financial Oversight

• Review monthly financial reports with the Finance team and follow up on variances, risks, or underspend.
• Review proposal and grant budgets for accuracy, relevance, and alignment with programme plans.
• Monitor annual country budgets, including internal funding requests and donor commitments.

Human Resources Support

• Maintain awareness of staffing structures and upcoming recruitment needs within country programmes.
• Participate in the recruitment of field staff as required.
• Provide briefings to incoming and outgoing staff and visitors.
• Support learning and development by identifying training needs and debriefing returning staff.

Logistics, Safety & Compliance

• Review high-value procurements and grant-specific procurement plans for relevance and budget compliance.
• Monitor logistics capacity and flag operational risks where appropriate.
• Maintain awareness of security contexts in assigned countries and contribute to discussions on programme and staffing structures from a security perspective.
• Support adherence to organisational policies and donor compliance requirements.

Person Specification

• Previous practical field experience in humanitarian and/or development programmes, ideally with an INGO.
• Experience in grant or programme management, including proposal and report writing for institutional donors.
• Knowledge of major humanitarian and development donors and their compliance requirements.
• Strong organisational, coordination, and analytical skills.
• Fluency in English (written and spoken).
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Desirable

• Experience in one or more of GOAL’s thematic sectors.
• Additional language skills (Spanish, French or Arabic).

We strongly encourage you to apply even if you do not meet every single requirement listed.  At GOAL we welcome people of all abilities and want to ensure that our hiring and interview process meets the needs of all applicants. If you require a reasonable accommodation to make your application or interview experience a great one, please just contact our Recruitment Team at recruitment.hq@goal.ie  

GOAL commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion:
GOAL is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to building an inclusive environment for all employees. We foster an inclusive culture where all voices are heard and valued, we are particularly eager to receive applications from women (and other underrepresented groups). We know that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. 

All employees share in the responsibility for fulfilling GOAL’s commitment to equal employment opportunity and equal treatment. GOAL does not discriminate against any employee or volunteer; or any applicant for employment or volunteering on the basis of age, gender identity, ancestry, political opinion, civil status, medical condition, ethnic background, disability, race, religion, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws.

Accountability within GOAL
A commitment to GOAL values and GOAL’s integrity framework is critical to working with GOAL. Any candidate offered a job with GOAL will be expected to adhere to the following key areas of accountability: 1) Comply with GOAL’s policies and procedures with respect to safeguarding, code of conduct, health and safety, confidentiality, do no harm principles and unacceptable behaviour protocols; 2) Report any concerns about the welfare of a child or vulnerable adult or any wrongdoings within our programming area; 3) Report any concerns about inappropriate behaviour of a GOAL staff or partner.

Safeguarding
Children and vulnerable adults who come into contact with GOAL as a result of our activities must be safeguarded to the maximum possible extent from deliberate or inadvertent actions and failings that place them at risk of abuse, sexual exploitation, injury and any other harm. One of the ways that GOAL shows this on-going commitment to safeguarding is to include rigorous background and reference checks in the selection process for all candidates.

General Terms and Conditions
This Job Description only serves as a guide for the position available. GOAL reserves the right to change this document.