Grants Management Associate at One Acre Fund

Job Description

One Acre Fund is looking for an exceptional individual to join our Business Development team. This position will be based in Nairobi and will work primarily within the public funding team. We are looking for someone with very strong monitoring, evaluation and reporting skills and a good base of knowledge in international development, especially with bilateral and multilateral donor agencies. This is an excellent position for a highly skilled and experienced professional looking for a meaningful development opportunity. The individual will play a strong support role within the Business Development unit and their workload will primarily be focused on the following:

Grants Management - Manage the end-to-end process of writing and editing complex grant proposals and reports with a specific focus on public funded projects. This will involve directly writing high quality proposals and reports.

• Grant Writing – Write and assemble compelling reports to donors and funders, as well as proposals in collaboration with other members of the team.
• Reporting – Assist with the preparation of required progress and final reports, including compiling necessary information from program and finance staff, drafting written reports, and submitting all reports in a timely manner.
• Report Presentation - Develop clear ways to represent, summarize and communicate data analysis verbally and in writing (e.g., graphics) to inform reporting requirements, project communications for internal and external use.
• Statistical Research – Research information and statistics needed to support proposals and reports. Monitor developments within the development sector using published reports and articles.
• Donor Engagement – Attend necessary donor meetings and grant workshops. Coordinate site visits from donors, interact with and respond to questions from government and donor representatives, and participate in relevant discussions and meetings.

Some Key Characteristics Of Our Writing

• We do not copy and paste – we tailor our language to each new funder. Most of our funders are quite sophisticated, which keeps our proposals dynamic and interesting to work on.
• We emphasize simple and powerful prose built into a clear logical flow of ideas.
• We make heavy use of M&E results from the field, and the centerpiece of most projects is our most recent data on program scale, impact, and sustainability.
• We often prepare for our writing with significant research; an ideal candidate would be a skilled and enthusiastic researcher.

This Will Involve

Monitoring and Evaluation – This person will be the focal point for all monitoring and evaluation tasks on the Business Development team.

• Track and manage all public funding data, coordinating with the field teams for project and proposal development and reporting, and attending in-field donor meetings (as required). This role will connect effectively with program/field teams – plugging into specific program areas as required by the specific grant.

• Track, report on and facilitate donor compliance with monitoring and evaluation policies and procedures, including ensuring that Performance Management Plans (PMPs) are regularly updated and data quality assessments conducted on all performance indicators for public funding projects.
• Coordinate and consolidate input from our M&E team for the preparation, analysis and timely submission of Quarterly, Annual and Semi-Annual Program Reports and ensure follow-up to track, oversee and verify large volumes of data collected from the M&E team prior to consolidation into donor reports.
• Collaborate with the team to prepare accurate pipeline levels and future resource requests especially for various proposals.

• Ensure program teams are fully trained on M&E and donor reporting requirements as outlined in grant agreement

• Analyze quantitative and qualitative data and present reports on findings to the Business Development team.
• Develop databases, spreadsheets or other tools to ensure that data is compiled and readily available.
• Other duties as assigned.

Aside from the tasks listed above, the individual will also be expected to stay apprised of One Acre Fund’s public funding portfolio and may be called to provide additional ad hoc support for the team as needed.

Career Growth and Development

One Acre Fund invests in building management and leadership skills. Your manager will invest significant time in your career development. We provide constant, actionable feedback delivered through mentorship and through regular management consulting-style career reviews. We also have regular one-on-one meetings, where we listen to and discuss career goals, and work collaboratively to craft roles that each person can be passionate about. Because of our rapid growth, we constantly have new high-level roles opening up and opportunities in many functions. This results in fast career growth for our staff.

Qualifications

We are seeking an exceptional professional with 5+ years of work experience in international development. Qualified candidates should possess excellent writing and computer skills (Microsoft Office Word, Powerpoint and Excel), and database management skills. The candidate must be highly organized with the ability to implement systems and follow-up processes, able to effectively work under pressure, use independent judgment and produce a quality work product within tight time constraints. Candidates who fit the following criteria are strongly encouraged to apply:

• Strong work experience in international development; ideally at least 2 years’ experience engaging with public funding donors (ex: USAID, SIDA, DFID etc).
• 3-5 years of experience in report-writing and product delivery to tight deadlines.
• Excellent research and writing skills and experience conducting research in a professional environment.
• Leadership experience at work, or outside of work.
• Experience coordinating events and/or handling complex logistical requests.
• Analytical and communication skills and ability to assimilate and process information for wide-ranging audiences.
• Documentation preparation/presentation and computer-based production skills
• Exceptional organizational ability with an eye for detail
• Able to work independently and as part of the team
• Inter-personal skills and cultural sensitivity.
• Top-performing undergraduate background (include final grade/marks/GPA).

Start date

ASAP

Compensation

We offer a modest starting salary that affords a high quality of life in our areas of operation. This is a career-track role with performance-based raises and the ability to expand responsibilities over time.