Tell us more about your role?
As we’re a small team at JOA, we often wear more than one hat – meaning the job is varied and no two days are the same. My primary role is as JOA’s Monitoring and Impact Officer meaning I’m responsible for monitoring our portfolio of multi-year international development grants.
Day-to-day, this includes reviewing and analysing project reports, in addition to conducting in-country monitoring visits to existing projects. Monitoring visits typically take place half-way through a JOA-funded project’s implementation. I spend a week with project partners to dig into how JOA-funded projects are progressing on the ground, understand the complex environments in which partners are delivering projects, and an opportunity to identify recommendations to improve/adapt implementation. The visits also provide a valuable opportunity to spend time with implementing teams and continue JOA’s reputation as an approachable donor whereby partners feel confident to share challenges and key learnings.
As well as my “monitoring” hat, I also support JOA’s Humanitarian portfolio which forms roughly 25% of our annual budget. This side of the job includes drafting funding recommendations and liaising with our humanitarian partners delivering life-assistance to natural disasters as well as conflict. I am also involved in representing JOA at various donor working groups and steering committees, alongside JOA’s Head of Programme.
How does JOA select its humanitarian partners and a bit about the process for allocating grants?
While JOA is a small donor, we are proud to be aligned with international best-practice e.g., the principles of Good Practice of Humanitarian Donorship, which includes the core values of Humanity, Impartiality, Neutrality and Independence. To ensure our humanitarian financing is considered eligible Overseas Development Assistance (ODA), it flows only to countries and organisations on the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) ODA recipient list – which is comprised of all low- and middle-income countries based on Gross National Income (GNI) per capita.
JOA operates from a closed list of humanitarian partners – which range from pooled funds e.g., UN’s Country Based Pooled Funds , to specialist agencies e.g., International Health Partners and the British Red Cross.
For an organisation to be eligible for JOA-humanitarian funding, they must first meet JOA’s partner eligibility criteria, complete an application form and undergo due diligence checks before being formally approved by JOA’s Commissioners.
Following this, organisations can submit applications to respond to chronic crises and sudden-onset emergencies. Once we receive an application, it is analysed, and a recommendation is shared with JOA’s Commissioners – who are responsible for making the final decision. Given the importance of timely and effective humanitarian response, this process is typically fast paced to ensure affect populations receive urgent support. Once funding is approved, partners must sign a legally binding Grant Agreement and adhere to JOA’s reporting requirements.
You can find a list of JOA’s humanitarian allocations here.
Can you tell us about a recent monitoring trip and how this helps JOA to evaluate the impact of funding?
As JOA does not have a physical presence in its target countries, monitoring visits provide a vital opportunity to build relationships with existing and prospective partners and deepen JOA’s contextual understanding. The visits also form a mutual learning opportunity for JOA and its partners to review and reflect on project implementation. If you’re interested in learning more about Monitoring Visits, check out this blog.
Most recently, I spent the week with Save the Children in Sierra Leone monitoring a multi-year JOA-funded Conservation Livelihoods project which seeks to support coastal communities establish sustainable livelihoods and protect degraded mangrove ecosystems. The project is implemented in partnership with the Environmental Foundation for Africa (EFA). The project is a good example of how JOA’s funding can be leveraged to have a force multiplier effect – through Jersey’s contribution of £1m over three years, Save the Children have successfully unlocked a proportion of a much larger, multi-million pound project in partnership with the UN’s Green Climate Fund.
On the humanitarian side of my role, I have represented JOA at the Start Network’s Donor Monitoring Visit in Madagascar. This provided valuable insight into how JOA’s funding contributes to the Start Fund’s rapid humanitarian funding mechanism. I spent the week visiting Start Fund partners who delivered humanitarian response to the devastating effects of Cyclone Freddy in 2023.