Grants and Finance Manager at Adam Smith International

Project objectives

• The project acknowledges fully that there are diverse and locally-specific, yet interconnected, dynamics at play in the border areas. Understanding these dynamics and how they evolve is therefore at the heart of the project. It equally recognises that solutions for long term peace and stability are only effective when designed in close consultation with partners and communities. The project therefore places knowledge and joint working at its core, ensuring that solutions at national, sub-national and community levels are sensitive to dynamics and developed in partnership with partners and communities.

The project’s three primary objectives are to:

• Support effective policy and programming, informed by a comprehensive understanding of the conflict and violent actor dynamics, structures and actors. Support at national, sub-national and community level is rooted in an understanding of the locally-specific social, economic and political dynamics, resulting in effective policy and interventions.
• Strengthen formal and informal mechanisms (including cross-border mechanisms) to build resilience. Support at national, sub-national and community-level strengthens relationships between countries, between local administrations, and between communities, in a way that is sustainable and inclusive.
• Address community needs to mitigate against drivers of instability and violent extremism. Interventions respond to needs at community-level, and support national partners to demonstrate commitment to reducing insecurity in the border areas.
• The project is committed to working in a sustainable way and ensuring lasting changes beyond the lifetime of the project. This can only be achieved by working closely with national and sub-national partners, hard-to-reach communities and civil society to include voices across the border areas in order to strengthen understanding, support policy, and design interventions which will collectively strengthen the joint purpose of building peace and reducing instability.

Role Description

• Overall responsibility over project finances, through delegated authority from the Project Manager, including financial management; oversight of expenditure; accurate financial forecasting; financial reporting; procurement; fiduciary risk management; due diligence; and respect of relevant laws and regulations.
• Overall responsibility over the project’s granting mechanism, including establishing and/or revising processes and procedures; ensuring adherence to conflict sensitivity; risk management; and establishing and/or revising the project’s grantee due diligence and capacity building strategy
• Overall responsibility grantee financial reporting and expenditure verification; oversight of the Field Team supporting financial and grant management; support to tracking grant progress; and oversight of grant portfolio financial reporting
• Responsible for grant portfolio risk registers, including identifying and escalating risks to the project team
• Overseeing grant application and budget submissions ensuring packages reflect cost allow ability, cost reasonableness and consistency. Also overseeing budget negotiations, ensuring favourable terms and conditions for Deris Wanaag and CSSF
• Responsible for project and grant portfolio VfM tracking and reporting.
• Responsible for project Asset management and reporting.
• Overall responsibility for ensuring adherence to Grant Mechanism SOPs, including financial management procedures, grantee procurement procedures (selection, due diligence, contracting, expenditure, reporting)
• Responsible for developing tailored grantee capacity building plans, ensuring inputs from the project team; and oversight of their implementation
• Building and maintaining relationships with stakeholders (e.g. grantees in delivery locations), and contributing to the project’s stakeholder engagement strategy
• Contributes to project monthly and quarterly reporting, and to project learning products/events
• The role is expected to include up to 70% travel to project locations.

Location: 

• Border areas between Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia; namely Mandera, Garissa, Wajir and Lamu (Kenya), Jubbaland (Somalia) and Dolo Ado, Somali Region (Ethiopia)

Implementing partners: 

• Adam Smith International (ASI), the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), and the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI)

Reporting

• The Grant Manager will report to the Team Leader and Programme Manager, and who will direct and manage tasking.

REQUIREMENTS
Qualifications

• A degree or post-graduate qualification in a relevant field (Finance, Procurement and Grant Management)
• Minimum seven years of experience managing large and complex development projects
• Demonstrable experience in overseeing grant and/or project implementation in conflict environments Demonstrable experience in conducting downstream partner capacity assessments, and designing and delivering partner capacity building plans
• Good command of English, including report-writing skills; and Somali
• 5 years’ experience in Somalia;
• Substantive knowledge and prior experience working on governance, stabilisation or peacebuilding programmes.
• Experience in managing small teams, including remote management