Senior Grants Specialist - DAI

The Strengthening Regional Peace and Stability (SRPS) in West Africa Program is a five-year, USAID-funded program implemented by DAI. The program supports the efforts of West Africans to address the risks of instability from democratic backsliding and from conflict, and prioritizes targeted governance, conflict and violence prevention, peacebuilding, and preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) interventions across the region.

The program will engage with regional partners and with governments that demonstrate commitment to power-sharing and resource redistribution, both of which are crucial for reducing exclusion, violence, and conflict. Program interventions will address causes of fragility, and focus on good governance approaches, conflict prevention and response, and P/CVE interventions across select target countries in the Sahel and coastal West Africa.

SRPS is looking for candidates to fill for the PROCUREMENT SPECIALIST position.

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE:

The Senior Grants Specialist will play a pivotal role in managing and implementing the project’s grants guided by the project’s annual work plan. The Senior Grants Specialist will support the design and management of the grants under contract (GUCs) funds. S/he will be responsible for adherence to the project’s Field Operations Manual (FOM), USAID regulations, contract requirements and limitations, grant policies, procedures, controls, and reporting systems.

The individual will proactively coordinate with all staff on planning and implementing grants through open communication, proactive market research, and price analysis. S/he will report to the Grants Manager.

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OBJECTIVES AND DUTIES:

The following comprise main responsibilities of the Senior Grants Specialist:

Planning and Implementation

• Assist the Grants Manager in overseeing grants management.
• With the Grants Manager ensure that all grant activity follows the approved Grants Manual and complies with all regulations, policies, and procedures.
• With guidance from the Grants Manager, develop and implement the project’s grants manual.
• Participate in work planning and activity planning to align the grants program with overall project activities.
• Lead the development of timeline and details required for any activities needing grants; conduct market research and price analysis in coordination with technical and procurement staff.
• Coordinate with staff requesting grants to prepare Request for Applications (RFAs) or other Notices of Funding or collaborative design opportunities to solicit applications/concepts and assess the capacity and readiness of potential grantees.
• Manage the evaluation and selection committee process for grantees.
• Prepare the required approvals to ensure compliance with internal and external contract and policy requirements.
• Assist the Grants Manager in preparing and submitting for USAID approval all approved applications packages.
• Conduct all due diligence processes for verification of the information submitted by possible grantees.
• Develop and analyze budgets for allowability, allocability, reasonableness and consistency for proposed activities in coordination with the proposed local partners. The Senior Grants Specialist will ensure adherence to budget lines, quantity and frequency/period of performance are in line with activity design. Support the Grants Manager in creating trackers and internal price reasonableness analysis tools to use and maintain.
• Prepare grant agreements and amendments, explaining terms, conditions, roles, and responsibilities. Ensure that identified weaknesses in initial grantee assessments and related requirements are incorporated into the agreements explicitly/clearly with the required monitoring and actions on the part of the grantee.
• Organize kickoff meetings and apprise grantees of the responsibilities, requirements and policies and procedures to be followed during the life of the grant.
• Provide an initial orientation for and perform field visits to grantees, as well as manage the provision of adequate support, training, and capacity development for grantee management and compliance with USAID regulations.
• Ensure post award grant management in accordance with relevant regulations and generate reports of status of grant activities, such as forecasting payment, inventory, amendments, close outs, and sector specific data (i.e., monthly and quarterly reporting).
• Support the Technical and M&E teams in monitoring the work of grantees in accordance with USAID and DAI policies and regulations.
• Coordinate with Operational and Technical Teams to ensure on-time deliverables, payments, and cash flow requests by monitoring milestones and payment schedules.

Management

• Responsible for providing training, guidance, and direction to project grants staff and other project departments (Technical and Operations “Hub” Teams) on planning, implementation, and compliance of grant policies, procedures, responsibilities and instructions.

Compliance

• Provide training, guidance, and direction to project staff on planning, implementation, and compliance of grants policies, procedures, and instructions, specifically their role in the process.
• Use the Field Operations Manual (FOM) to ensure that policies, procedures, and/or practices are being met.
• Responsible for ensuring documentation requirements are met for grants with various project departments i.e., technical, grants, procurement, M&E, and finance.
• Review grants for completeness and appropriateness with the work plan.
• Ensure all required documentation is uploaded in the grants database on TAMIS and SharePoint.
• Review grant milestones and requests for payments against grant agreements to ensure compliance.
• Work with the procurement department to compete and purchase goods and services for in-kind grantees.
• Train on and enforce policies and procedures to prevent improprieties, intentional and unintentional.
• Lead the audit of grant files (physical, digital) at least annually.
• Assist in managing the grant closeout procedures, including disposition plans (as applicable).
• Work with the project administrator to customize the Grant Module in the project database.
• Troubleshoot grant related issues with the Grants Manager.
• Other tasks as assigned by Grants Manager.

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QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree required; degree in business or related field preferred.
• At least 7 years of grants experience, preferably with international donor-funded organization. Familiarity with USAID rules and regulations strongly preferred.
• Ability to solve complex technical, managerial, or operational problems and evaluation options based on relevant information.
• Strong communication skills – both written and oral – in English. French language proficiency a plus.

Applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible as interviews will be conducted soon. Please note, due to the volume of applications that we receive and the urgency to fill-up positions only shortlisted applicants will receive notifications on next steps.