Budgeting, Grants & Contracts Coordinator at CARE

JOB SUMMARY & PURPOSE:

Specific responsibilities include but are not limited to working closely with program teams and other stakeholders in the proposal development process, ensuring the proposal budgets are reasonable, cost effective, and accurate and reflect the necessary costs for both direct and indirect costs and Shared Program Costs (SPC). The position will also work with donors/HQ/CI members in developing, negotiating and finalizing awards/IPIA. He/She will also ensure grant start up processes not limited to setting up the grants in CARE’s financial management system correctly, and actively participate in startups and orientations. The Position will be responsible to coordinate with the Budget holders to ensure that funds are used as planned, in accordance with donor requirements and all donor and key stakeholders reporting requirements are met (for internal and donor use), The position is responsible for setting appropriate communication/coordination systems in place with different stakeholders, capacity building for staff and implementing partners, ensuring that proper systems are in place to facilitate smooth and timely submission of internal and donor reporting (both financial and program), close out requirements and ensuring accountability is an integral part of the operation. This position supervises the maintenance of project grant files. He/She will manage the overall funding portfolio and country office master budget and coordinate adequate and fair allocation of costs among donors.

Tasks and responsibilities.

R 1: Budget Proposal Development
Task:

• Support in the proposal development processes through the provision of technical guidance in respect to agreement formulation and due diligence.
• When appropriate, support the development of new sub-grant and other agreement budgets with data information backing and coordination with respective program/project managers.
• Ensure that all new budgets include adequate Shared Program Costs (SPC) or Indirect Costs based on CARE’s fair share allocation methodology.
• Support reviews that ensure proposal budgets/budget amendments are in line with donor regulations.
• Recommend or facilitate opportunities to help build staff and partner capacity in budget formulation/management.
• Prepare the quarterly and yearly budget information/templates needed by management and CARE Canada.

R 2: Sub grants/Partners contractual/Financial Management Accountabilities
Task:

• Participate in the Due Diligence process of partner’s selection for all sections relating to financial management and reporting.
• Participate in sub-awards start-ups with (co) facilitation of relevant sessions (budgets, sub-granting, performance monitoring/management systems).
• Provides direct, proactive, hands-on budget management support by providing monthly analyzed budget information / expenditure report to the Project Managers, Program and Support Directors, donors, HQ, CI members and management.
• Carry out periodic sub-grantee/partner monitoring and financial reviews and ensure advance justifications are monitored in line with CARE and contractual obligations entered in PeopleSoft.
• If needed, carry out financial management training for sub-grantee and support them to maintain proper books of accounts.
• Act as a resource on grant compliance issues related to donor requirements.
• Carryout Sub-grantees and fund codes close-outs activities e.g. clean-ups, tracking of accruals and advances to partners etc.
• Monitor and provide appropriate follow up actions in coordination with the Finance Department for collection of donor receivables or settlement of donor payables in a timely manner.

R3: Analysis and preparation of financial/donor reports, donor and country office annual budgets

• Task:
• Under the technical supervision of Finance Manager, ensure updated budget information in the financial system by working with the Program Director/Project/Program Managers on consolidation of Project budgets into annual or quarterly budget pipelines.
• Maintain project and donor database information and files in both hard and soft copies.
• Preparation of the budget vs expense reports for each of the grants and provide the needed reports to program/project managers by 20th of each following month. The reports must include commitments for all actual values of PRs, POs and partner’s advances, in the pipeline, that have been confirmed as this can have an effect on the burn-rate and budgets/grants.
• With support from the project managers, ensure adjustments and reallocations on the budget v/s expenditure reported in order to reflect an accurate reporting for each of the grants.
• In coordination with Finance Manager prepare periodic reports to the donors and partners as required.
• Prepare quarterly reconciliation reports between grant and contract reports and actual expenses by the end of the month following the quarter.
• Ensure compliance of all donor requirements, as per signed grants, when reviewing expenses and preparing financial reports.
• Initiate the request for FCs & PNs as needed.
• Support the program teams in the preparation of donor budgets prior to the submission of proposals to donors.
• Review expenditure reports submitted by partners and sub grantees for accuracy and compliance to donor requirements.
• Coordinate trainings to non-finance staff to encourage awareness of proper budget management. Perform monthly financial analysis of each donor budget and recommend appropriate actions to the Budget holders. Provide training to the Budget Holders on generating report directly from PeopleSoft and in preparing simple financial analysis.

R4: Grants & Contracts Management
Task:

• Support with the reviewing of all donor grant, sub-grants, and contracts and ensure that all concerned staffs are aware of associated donor regulations, including reporting requirements.
• Support the program teams as appropriate, in the preparation of certain donor communications regarding grants and contracts intended for donors, CARE Canada and partners.
• Maintain records of all CO grants and contracts; ensure all grant/contractual information is securely archived—yet readily accessible by authorized parties if required. Ensure grant and contract documentation complies with CARE Canada’s and donor’s retention policy and procedures.
• Assist with maintaining of a CO donor reporting schedule and work with the Program Teams to ensure quality and timeliness of all donor report submissions.
• Ensure compliance by continually staying up to date on changes in donor and CI member regulations, and ensuring documentation and communication of all relevant regulations to unit members and program unit e.g. Program and Project Managers.
• Ensure all relevant staff, including new staff, receive copies of all documentation e.g. grant proposals, budgets, reports, evaluation reports etc.
• Perform quarterly or periodic Grants reconciliations on income against expenditure and tracking of gains and losses for each of the grants.
• Act as a resource on grant compliance issues related to donor requirements.
• Keep informed on monitoring and evaluation techniques and support tools which can be shared with program staff.

R5: Maintain CO Donor Reporting Schedule
Task:

• Compile the CO donor reporting schedule for all CARE Kenya projects through reviewing donor agreements/IPIA and updating the agreement data-base regularly.
• Work with the program teams to ensure quality and timeliness of all financial donor report submissions.
• Document all donor reports in individual grant files
• Make sure that the matching funds are identified as required in the donors’ contracts and are being charged in line with proper budget line item.
• Ensure that Project Managers or budget holders are aware of and provide donor specific requirements that need to be included into the financial reports.
• Ensure that financial exposures and non-compliance with CARE’s and donors’ regulations are brought to the attention of the CD, Program Director, ACD/PS, Finance Manager and respective Project Managers.
• Meet regularly with the project managers in reviewing the expense burn rates and make any necessary revision to ensure full compliance with donor requirements e.g. budget flexibility.
• Coordinate the collection of contracts receivables from CI Members (or return of unspent funds to CI Members) and donors based on the IPIAs and donor contracts. This includes follow up on relevant personnel or units for the necessary materials in support of the cash transfer requests. Ensure that all cash receipts are recorded properly.

R6: Other duties and Responsibilities assigned by the supervisor

Qualifications

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Economics, Business Administration or combination of relevant Education and Experience. Master’s degree in Business Administration or relevant field is preferred;
• Experience: 4-5 years of experience in a similar management role in humanitarian aid context;
• Certificate: Degree in Finance and a Certified Public Accountant (CPA)

Competencies:

• Excellent planning, organizational, and analytical skills;
• Strong financial management skills;
• Ability to prioritize workload whilst maintaining a high standard of work;
• Proficiency in English both verbal and written;
• Experience and familiarity with key donor policies and procedures;
• Ability to effectively liaise and coordinate with various stakeholders including key internal units and external clients such as partners or donors;
• Firm belief in teamwork, gender equality, participatory approach and sustainable development;
• Strong interpersonal skills to work effectively as part of the CO Team and cross cultural;
• Good communication and presentation skills;
• High level of expertise in using Microsoft Word & Excel; Knowledge of PeopleSoft or another ERP system is desired.
• Detail oriented;
• Multi-tasking;
• Excellent interpersonal skills, ability to work on one’s own and complete tasks and produce high quality output;
• Proactive in problem solving, initiating actions and making operational decisions.

Additional Information

AUTHORITY:

• Spending Authority:                              
• Supervision: 2 Grants Officers               
• Decision Making:

CONTACTS/KEY RELATIONSHIPS (internal & external):

• Internal: Finance Manager (Supervisor), Program and Project Managers, Sub-Offices Finance teams and HQ.
• External: CI members, donors, partners/sub-grantees

WORKING CONDITIONS:

The position is based in Nairobi but expected to travel 15% to support the sub-offices.