The Grants Officer will be the lead in assuring quality management of local sub grants from inception to closure. This position requires strong demonstrated experience in the areas of Finance and Program management, as well as a strong knowledge of, funding mechanisms, and requirements. In addition to an oversight and monitoring role, the incumbent will ensure that programming and operations staff improves their understanding of different granting mechanisms and build their capacity to adhere to donor regulations related to reporting, human resources, asset management, and procurement.
Description of main Duties and responsibilities:
The Grants Officer is under the direct supervision of the OPCU Director and working in close collaboration with the Project Coordinators, Finance Manager will be responsible for the following:
- Grants Management and Compliance
· Serve as focal point for grant management and compliance issues with the local sub-grantees,
· Review of grant mechanisms to ensure adherence to donor requirements, budget presentation, acceptability of cost allocation and other proposal requirements.
· Ensure timely response to donor requests related to local grants agreements, budgets and spending
· Anticipate and respond to OPCU and sub-grantee questions related to local grants agreements, budgets and spending.
· Take the lead in monitoring timely local grants closure – engaging both finance and program staff well in advance of closure deadlines and advising on issues related to staffing, disposition and reporting.
- Internal Control Assessment
· Conduct site visits to sub grantees to assess adequacy of internal controls, compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and partner policies and procedures. Report findings to program management including proposed follow-up with sub-grantees based on issues surfaced.
· Advice on basic accounting records to be maintained at sub-grantees.
· Perform on-going monitoring and performance of partner capacity to accurately record and post all transactions.
· Ensure adequate response and monitoring to implement recommendations of all financial audits and partner capacity assessments
· Lead and coordinate the implementation of the OPCU sub grantee guidelines. Ensure all sub-grantees are effectively assessed; categorized and all corrective actions are fully implemented.
- Financial management and analysis
· Review budget comparison reports. Support follow up actions to resolve any identified problems.
· Monitor the budgets and expenses at least on a monthly basis and ensure that the commitments to local partners do not exceed the available budget.
· Ensure timely receipt and review of monthly expenditure reports from Local partner organizations.
· Approve local partner budget updates and liquidation reports.
· Ensure documentation of local partner liquidation reviews outlining justification of all rejected expenses and detailing improvements required.
- Capacity Building
· Through formal training, on the job support and monitoring, build the capacity of local partner staff in grants/contract compliance.
· Prepare and implement training and technical assistance as needed to address capacity needs and reinforce grant management, e.g., financial management, budget analysis, policies and procedures, basic accounting, etc. …
· Coordinate planning and implementation of institutional capacity assessment and periodic review of potential new partner organizations.
· Conduct and coordinate with Project coordinators monitoring visits to local partner organizations to assess adequacy of internal controls and to provide onsite mentoring and technical assistance. Detail site findings and ensure implementation of recommendations/corrective action plan and follow-up requirements.
· Actively participate in program meetings as appropriate to effectively plan and collectively coordinate financial and programmatic activities in conjunction with local partner capacity building initiatives
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCES REQUIRED
· Master’s degree required; advanced degree in relevant field preferred
· Minimum of 10 years of relevant work experience,
· Experience working in a position of leadership at the regional level
· Experience leading and managing multiple, complex projects in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial, and ambiguous settings
· Inspiring leadership and relationship building; able to quickly build trust and credibility with both internal and external stakeholders
· Comfort managing up, down and sideways to achieve transformative outcomes
· Excellent communication skills, both oral and written, for a variety of audiences
· English competency preferred. Fluent English speakers should indicate such.
· Demonstrated strategic agility, diplomacy, conflict management, team building, and interpersonal skills to ensure internal coherence among diverse team members and sub-partners, as well as external relations with the Ministry of Health, civil society, private sector and other stakeholders.
· Proficient in MS Office (Word, Excel and other appropriate software)
· Ability to work independently and under pressure.
· Excellent communication, coaching and facilitation skills.
· Audit skills.
The Ouagadougou Partnership’s purpose is to accelerate the use of family planning services in nine countries : Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, and Togo. In December 2012, the Partnership created a Coordination Unit based in Dakar, Senegal to help the Partnership reach its goals. In 2020, the Partnership hired Speak Up Africa to serve as host for the Coordination Unit in Dakar and to help the Partnership increase the number of women using modern contraceptives by at least 6.5 million in OP countries between 2020 and 2030.
The mission of the Coordination Unit is to: (1) Facilitate Partnership processes; (2) Help countries complete and regularly review and renew their Costed Implementation Plans (CIPs); (3) Assist countries with plan implementation and advocacy to mobilize resources for their CIPs; (4) Track progress against objectives; and (5) Share information inside and outside the Partnership.
