Cost Proposal Officer-Finance at African Wildlife Foundation

Responsibilities

Proposal Development and Budgeting
As a part of the proposal development team within Program Design and Development teams in very close collaboration with the finance and program/field teams, prepare detailed cost proposals that supports the required range of program activities, core operations and human resources for the funding proposal or modifications of the existing awards.

• Working under the leadership of the Supervisor and “account managers” and “proposal process managers” on the PD team and Development team, supports responding to Request for Proposals:
  • Support cost related matters on proposals and budget modifications;
  • Working with team leads from PD, Development, Finance and Programs, developing professional and competitive cost proposals and budget narratives;
  • Support various elements of costs, template and budget notes to support cost proposals;
• Support partners during cost proposal development of sub-award/grantee budgets for inclusion in AWF led bids; and provide high quality review and feedback on their proposal budgets;
  • Putting together designated sections of proposal packages, such as organizational background, certifications and representations, qualifications summaries and past performance; 
• Maintaining a resource base (historical/current cost data bank) of program activity costs, including common equipment, supplies, operation of offices and salaries etc. to be used in coast proposal development;
  • Participate in proposal development team meetings, and support meeting documentation, and follow-up items;
• Liaise with account managers and PD team members to support proposal development and cultivation activities as needed;
•  Support program staff with developing cost-related responses to post submission questions.

 Project Grant Management and Compliance

Working closely with the Supervisor and AWF’s grants management team, to support program team’s understanding of grant agreement and contract requirements and that any required changes to donor funded projects are escalated to PD and Development team account managers as needed. Also support recording PD and Development activity in Salesforce, Raisers edge, Box etc.. These functions include, but are not limited to:

• Support the processing of grants in coordination with PD and Development “account managers”, Finance and Program/Country teams.
• Collaborate with Grant Management, Finance, Administration, and Program teams in the following areas:
  • Kick-off/inception and project review/evaluation meetings;
  • Regular grants management meetings occur for all large publicly funded projects;
  • Capacity building and development of donor reference guides for use by the program teams,
  • Due diligence and downstream partner assessment in accordance with AWF requirements.
• Work with PD and Development “account managers” and Supervisor to support any conversations or negotiations necessary with donors during implementation and reporting.
• Assists program teams in completing budget realignments and other financial modifications as necessary.
• Support Supervisor to ensure AWF’s accounts on donor grant portals are up to date.

 Fundraising Team Budget Planning and Management

The CPOF will work closely with the Supervisor and the Fundraising team to develop annual Department budgets and support expenditure tracking throughout the year. This work includes:

• Support expense tracking throughout the year and discussing any variances with Supervisor;
• Log data relevant to current and prospective funder tracking into PD and Development’s online and offline tracking tools.
• Gathers and analyze data on financial flows relevant to strategic planning for the Fundraising team. 
• Assists with other research and assignments, as assigned.
• Any other duties as delegated by the Supervisor or by the Fundraising Account Managers.

Qualifications

•  Bachelor’s degree and experience in finance, economics, accounting, business or other relevant field. 
•  Minimum of 3 years of relevant work experience.
•  Certification such as CGMA, CPA or other related certifications
• Experience with major public donor agencies such as USAID, EU, the GEF or Germany.
• Excellent budgeting skills are a must, including the ability to work with technical leads to build accurate cost proposals.
• Must possess database management skills.
• Must possess strong skills in Microsoft Excel.
• Must be proficient in research, interpreting, and analyzing diverse data and processes.
• Must possess the ability to work collaboratively and independently to achieve stated goals.
• Must be highly organized with the ability to implement systems and follow-up process.
• Must possess strong analytical skills.
• Must pay attention to detail.
• Must have the ability to meet deadlines.
• Fluency in written and spoken English is required. French or German language skills are preferred.