COVID-19 Relief Deputy Manager - Palladium Group

Palladium is a global leader in the design, development and delivery of Positive Impact – the intentional creation of enduring social and economic value.  We work with governments, businesses, and investors to solve the world's most pressing challenges. With a team of more than 3,000 employees operating in 90 plus countries and a global network of over 35,000 experts, we help improve economies, societies and, most importantly, people's lives. 

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Project Overview and Role:

The Feed the Future Ghana Mobilizing Finance in Agriculture (MFA) Activity is a $19 million, USAID-supported project that aims to improve access to finance for agribusinesses in Ghana. To accomplish this, MFA will engage business advisory service providers to improve their capacity to support agribusinesses, as well as deploy incentives to financial institutions that expand their lending to agriculture.

The finance facilitated will enable farmers to purchase agricultural inputs, boost production, invest in processing, or undertake other activities to expand their businesses. From 2020 to 2024, MFA will unlock $261 million in finance, driving sustainable agricultural lending and promoting inclusive growth.

COVID-19 has brought significant hardship to agricultural stakeholders and those in Ghana’s export industries of cacao, cashew, mango, and shea including, but not limited to, purchase contracts being canceled overnight; closure of processing facilities, lack of cash to pay for new costs of safety equipment, challenges accessing working capital or training, and volatile commodity prices and limited supply of commodities to processing.

The MFA activity aims to mitigate COVID-19 impacts by providing financial institutions with grants to support their ability to assist SMEs and other firms. The COVID relief grants will strive to save jobs, and keep SMEs, processors aggregators in business to maintain the supply change for farmers.

The COVID-19 Relief Deputy Manager position will support the COVID-19 Relief Manager in technical duties related to managing COVID-Relief resources, including design, procurement, and management of all COVID-19 relief Grants Under Contract (GUCs), compliance and reporting activities. The Deputy Manager conducts due diligence and spot-checks sub-awardees and final beneficiary firms. This position reports to the COVID-19 Relief Manager.

 Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

The COVID-19 Relief Deputy Manager’s primary tasks include the following:  

• Support the process of identifying and analyzing the pipeline of COVID-19 grant opportunities and design financial institution strategies accordingly 
• Support the development of monthly project budget/projections ensuring the accurate communication of financial projections to the home office
• Assist with designing technical assistance activities for financial institutions to improve their ability to extend COVID-19 assistance to agribusiness
• Along with the COVID-19 Relief Manager, manage relationships with financial institutions in Ghana
• Support the development of the COVID-19 Relief Grants Manual
• In accordance with Palladium’s USAID-approved Grants Under Contract (GUC) manual, support all aspects of the COVID-19 relief GUC process
• Coordinate with the COVID-19 Relief Manager to ensure process standardization and compliance with Palladium policies and procedures 
• Facilitate the evaluation of grant proposals by organizing the evaluation committee, preparing the necessary scoring sheets and negotiation memo and ensuring that required grant documentation is maintained and complete for each grant activity 
• Any other tasks as required by the COVID-19 Relief Manager

Required Qualifications:

• Proven experience working in the finance sector in Ghana, for example in a bank or investment firm; previous experience in agricultural lending preferred 
• Demonstrated contracting and procurement experience especially with USAID-funded projects, preferably with OTI/SWIFT co-design processes

• Experience supporting Grant Under Contract (GUC) awards under USAID policies preferred.
• Strong knowledge of USAID policies and procedures, specifically in grants, procurement, accounting, and financial compliance.
• Microsoft office suite proficiency and the ability to operate spreadsheet and word-processing programs at a highly proficient level
• Proactive problem-solving, decision-making, and good judgment skills
• Demonstrated ability and commitment to manage confidential information
• Attention to detail and ability to perform multiple tasks and balance competing priorities effectively and efficiently
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English.
• Ability to communicate effectively with managers, colleagues, service providers and clients
• Professional and mature demeanour and conduct
• Ghanaian nationals preferred.

Experience/Education

• A degree in business administration, international finance, international development, agricultural economics, or related field of study ‘
• Five years or more of progressively responsible work experience in finance, preferably within the agriculture sector (or a bachelor’s degree and nine years of similar experience)