Pact Kenya Grants Manager Job

Pact Kenya is a Kenyan non-governmental organization that focuses on strengthening Civil Society Organizations and communities through institutional and organizational capacity building.

Our vision is to have responsible citizens enjoying equitable development in a clean and secure environment.

Our mission is to enable citizens and communities in Kenya and neighbouring countries to live a life of dignity by strengthening individuals and organisations to be effective agents of change.

We believe that empowered communities are able to independently address challenges and constraints facing them with a view to earning a dignified living, economic independence and political participation.

We work in environment and natural resources management, conflict management and peace building, democracy and governance and women empowerment.

Through financial support from the Government of Sweden, Pact Kenya is implementing a four-year programme for Non-state Actors in Natural Resources Management in Kenya.

The programme targets support to projects in the areas of environment and climate change, agriculture and food security, water resources management and land use management. It aims at working with Civil Society Organisations to improve their capacity to influence how our country’s natural resources are managed.

We want to find new ways of getting those on the edge of our society more involved in this critical area and influence the policy and legislative frameworks for sustainability of natural resources and improvement of livelihoods.

This is an exciting initiative that has the potential to have an impact on millions of Kenyans and seeks to strengthen capacities of Civil Society Organizations working in Natural Resources.

We are therefore seeking competent and passionate individuals for the following positions to support the effective implementation of the Non-State Actors in Natural Resources Management programme:

Grants Manager (PK/GM/2011)

Department: Admin

Location: Nairobi,Dagorreti Corner

Job Description:

Reporting to the Head of Finance & Grants, the Grants Manager will be based in Nairobi and will primarily ensure proper functioning of the entire grants management function.

This will include monitoring the entire grants management process from solicitation through close out and ensuring proper compliance with all donor regulations. He/she will play a leadership role towards supporting Pact Kenya and its partner CSOs in achieving rigorous financial and grants reporting and management.

The incumbent will be in charge of the quality standards of the tools and materials Pact Kenya uses to deliver effective grants and financial services to its partners.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities:

A. Grants management vision, leadership and team management

·       Provide leadership and vision for grants management personnel

·       Ensure that all grant documentation is maintained according to Pact standards and donor policies to the extent they can be fully audited with limited or no adverse findings

·       Develop procedural documents and processes and ensure full understanding of the grants management process at all levels within the program.

·       Ensure proper implementation of competitive processes for grantee selection and negotiation.

·       Ensure that solid documentation is provided under each grant

·       Coordinate proposal review and oversee grant selection

·       Ensure that pre-award risk assessments are carried out on each grantee and that decisions are incorporated into grant awards

·       Ensure strong links between the grants management and capacity building approach to maximize efforts to strengthen strategic partners and build in strategies to the grant making process

·       Ensure strong links between the grants management and M&E systems to improve grantee reporting and link to Pact Kenya requirements

·       Play a supervisory role to the grants staff under the program

B. Proposal/grant management coordination/oversight

·       Coordinate grants management systems across programs to ensure high quality and consistency

·       Develop written grants policy and procedures to ensure clear understanding by all staff

·       Ensure responsible proposal processing and timeliness of responses to agencies

·       Analyse, verify and review proposal budgets to ensure donor compliance and reasonableness

·       Coordinate proposal review process and ensure compliance with solicitations and donor regulations

·       Coordinate pre-award evaluations and/or assessments of potential grantees, as needed

·       Oversee post project assessments of both administrative and financial systems

·       Ensure proper documentation of award negotiation

·       Ensure that grant modifications for cost/program changes are completed accurately and in a timely fashion

·       Prepare grant documents that meet both grantee and donor requirements and allow for required programmatic flexibility

·       Ensure the timely and appropriate close-out of issued grants

C. Capacity building coordination

·       Coordinate grant recipients organizational assessments, identified in collaboration with the capacity building officers. Oversee the development of a tracking system to monitor and measure growth.

·       Collaborate with the capacity building specialist to identify priority areas for training of partners and develop strategic interventions to assist grantees/partners.

·       Coordinate the development of training materials for staff on understanding the grants management system.

·       Coordinate the development of training materials for staff/grantees on compliance with donor regulations.

·       Coordinate the development of training materials for potential grantees on proposal preparations and budgeting skills.

·       Coordinate various training courses for staff and grantees on grants management, financial management, proposal and budget development, and other necessary skills. Identify key areas and initiate new training.

·       Coordinate, organize and facilitate (as necessary) grants management workshops for grantees/partners to provide guidance on good grants management.

D. Monitoring and reporting (financial and programmatic)

·       Collaborate with the monitoring and evaluation team to design reporting templates for inclusion in grants and in grantee training that directly address our M&E requirements.

·       Monitor grantee advance and liquidation balances closely and ensure timely liquidations.

·       Review all payment requests to ensure they meet the standards of allowable, allocable and reasonable.

·       Manage grantee budgets so that they do not exceed allowable amounts.

·       Review program reports from grantees to ensure programmatic compliance against program description.

·       Review financial reports from grantees to ensure finance compliance against grant budget.

·       Assist in the compilation of data and preparation of monthly, quarterly and annual reports.

·       Oversee the updating and maintenance of the grant tracking database.

·       Ensure consistency and accuracy of information. Use the database to produce key reports to support decisions by management.

·       Closely monitor obligations from donors and grant obligations to grantees to ensure that Pact Kenya never commits more funds than allowable.

E. Compliance audit coordination

·       Monitoring grantee procedures designed to comply with regulations.

·       Coordinate the investigation of suspected violations of proper applications. Ensure that the team has the skills or readily available resources (i.e., identified consultants) to carry this out in a timely fashion.

·       Coordinate the assistance to grantees to resolve audit problems.

·       Oversee monitoring of grantee’s procedures designed to comply with agreed regulations.

·       Coordinate the investigation of suspected violations of applications. Ensure that the team has the skills or readily available resources (i.e. identified consultants and auditors) to carry this out in a timely fashion.

·       Coordinate the assistance to grantees to resolve audit problems identified in audit management letters

Preferred Skills:

The minimum required academic and professional skills for the jobholder to perform successfully in their job are:

·       Bachelor’s Degree in a Commerce, Accounting or related business field

·       Master’s Degree in relevant field will be an added advantage

·       Certified Public Accountant of Kenya (CPA-K) or ACCA qualifications

·       Eight years work experience managing financial administration of major donor grants and contracts

·       At least five years’ experience in administering grants and contracts

·       Highly proficient in MS Office, spreadsheets and database skills

·       Good experience working with ACCPAC or any large computerized financial system

·       Working knowledge of regulations applicable to grants management and administration

·       Good analytical skills to successfully perform financial reviews and other quantitative analyses

·       Effective written and oral communications skills

·       Ability to independently prioritize and successfully perform assigned tasks

·       Familiarity with major donors’ auditing requirements and demonstrated ability to exercise basic financial oversight of grant programs

Applicants must submit

(1) detailed and current CV

(2) cover letter demonstrating why they qualify for this position

(3) contact information for 3 referees; and

(4) indicate current remuneration package.

Only candidates short-listed for interview will be contacted.

If you meet the requirements for the advertised position, please submit your application and CV electronically to hr.admin@pactke.org, quoting the Reference Number (PK/GM/2011).

Pact Kenya is an equal opportunities employer

Deadline for applications submission is 5:00pm Friday 17th June 2011

For latest jobs in Kenya and Kenyan Jobs always visit http://kenyajobtube.blogspot.com/