Major Responsibilities and Duties
The incumbent is responsible for managing a portion of DIV’s growing portfolio, facilitating award processes, and providing exceptional oversight to existing grants. The incumbent will participate in DIV’s application selections process and other key areas of focus as needed.
Grant Management and Oversight (75%)
The Grants Management Specialist will manage a portion of DIV’s growing portfolio, assisting with making new awards and overseeing current awards.
● Collaborates with selected awardees to complete a full application for assistance, reviewing applications for consistency with DIV’s priorities and USAID’s regulations. Ensures that such procurement processes are accessible to awardees who are new to USAID and/or are smaller and local organizations.
● Conducts a broad range of assessments of applicants, often in collaboration with subject matter experts.
● Evaluates selected awardee costs and documents for reasonableness and compliance with Agency fiscal and administrative regulations during the procurement and grant management periods, using creativity and expert judgment to interpret intent in cases where the nature of the costs and activities have no clear precedent.
● Reviews and applies expert judgment to grant deliverables. Identifies issues that may not be immediately obvious and undertakes significant research and analysis of issues that may arise during the grant management process. Monitors all disbursements.
● Serves as a partner and resource for grantees and provides strategic advisory services to grantee portfolio on a wide variety of issues, including partnership development, technical assistance, and strategic policy advice to support learning and scale.
● Collaborates with the DIV team and grantees in developing and continually assessing performance measures and other related criteria for grants.
● Ensures USAID’s fiduciary responsibilities are fully met, including compliance with all USAID assistance policies, by fulfilling all responsibilities as the Agreement Officer’s Representative.
Selections and Other Duties (25%)
In addition to grant management responsibilities, the Grants Management Specialist will participate in selections of applications for award and other key duties.
● Conducts review of applications for innovative and often-untested solutions which are designed to solve some of the world’s toughest development problems.
● Executes rigorous due diligence of proposals, including soliciting feedback from experts within and external to USAID, assessing the commercial or technical viability of a product or service, reviewing the underlying evidence base of a proposed intervention, and analyzing business and scaling plans; Participates in co-creation with high potential applicants. Assesses, and presents analysis and funding recommendations to the Decision Panel.
● Provides training, technical assistance, oversight, ethics advice, expertise, and consultation to the DIV team, awardees, review panels, applicants, recipients and/sub recipients as needed.
● Performs other related duties as assigned.
Qualifications
● Must be a U.S. Citizen.
● Must be eligible to maintain a Secret security clearance.
● At least 1 year of specialized experience at grade level FS-04 or GS-12. Examples of specialized experience include, but are not limited to:
○ Demonstrated ability to manage grants in international development programs, preferably with experience managing grants to small and/or local grantees.
○ Demonstrated ability to manage a large and varied portfolio.
○ Demonstrated track record of building trusted relationships with partners and grantees.
Preferred Qualifications:
● 7+ years of professional work experience, which may include an advanced degree (e.g., Master’s degree in Public Policy, Business, Economics, International Development, or a related field) and experience in scaling innovations and/or grants management of international development programs.
● Experience working and living in developing country contexts and with a diverse set of stakeholders.
● Experience working with U.S. Government grants.
● Demonstrated commitment to improving the lives of those living in poverty in developing countries.
● Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.
● Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate complex information in a way that can be understood by stakeholders with varying levels of technical and sectoral expertise.
● Quick learner and entrepreneurial problem solver who is able to identify areas for improvement and deliver results.
● Highly organized with excellent project management skills. Comfort navigating situations with varying degrees of ambiguity in an environment in which priorities may shift.
● Team player with a sense of humor rated at least 7.52 out of 10.
DEADLINE: OCTOBER 10, 2024
