Grants Manager at Amref Kenya

Key Responsibilities

• Programme sub-grants management: Provide regional oversight of programme sub-grants, ensuring alignment with approved programme objectives, delivery models, and governance frameworks; balance compliance requirements, risk management, and programme delivery needs across countries; maintain close coordination with the Programme Director and the Senior Programme Finance Manager on programme implications of grants decisions, risks, and adaptations; monitor grant expenditures against approved budgets; review new sub-grantee agreements to identify key obligations; maintain accurate sub-grant management documentation, trackers, dashboards and audit-ready files.
• People & performance: Lead and develop Grants Officers and grants staff across country programmes through effective coordination, coaching, and performance management. Build a cohesive regional grants community of practice that drives collaboration, peer learning, and consistent application of policies and tools. Establish clear ways of working, decision rights, and escalation pathways between HQ, country teams, and programme leadership. Model Amref’s leadership behaviours and safeguarding commitments to foster a safe, respectful, and high-performing work environment.
• Sub-grantee engagement and capacity building: Lead the review of sub-grant applications, partner vetting, and due diligence processes, ensuring proportionate risk assessment and compliance with donor and Amref requirements. Strengthen sub-grantee capacity in budgeting, financial management, internal controls, and reporting to support timely and compliant delivery. Monitor sub-grantee performance through review of financial and narrative reports and implement targeted capacity-building actions to address gaps and improve results. Oversee grant close-out processes, ensuring completion of deliverables, compliance checks, and documentation requirements.
• Grant systems, standards and continuous improvement: Contribute to the development, rollout, and continuous improvement of grants management systems, tools, templates, and guidance, including Amref’s Grants Manual; apply an entrepreneurial and improvement-oriented mindset to identify inefficiencies, risks, and opportunities to strengthen grants processes across country programmes; Support organisation-wide initiatives related to Organisational Development and System Strengthening (ODSS) as they relate to partner and sub-grants management.
• Programme sub-grant compliance oversight: Provide technical guidance to country teams and sub-grantees on budgeting, expenditure tracking, reporting, and cost proposals; coordinate with Finance and budget holders to ensure accurate allocation, monitoring, and revision of sub-grant budgets; Conduct sample-based reviews of sub-grantee financial reports and support audits, compliance reviews, grant start-up, and close-out processes.
• Advisory, collaboration & change enablement: Act as a trusted grants advisor to the Programme Director and cross-functional teams, providing guidance on grants design, partner vetting, and proposal development. Work closely with Finance and MEL to align grant budgets, financial and results reporting, and to support accurate, timely donor reporting and audits. Contribute to organisational learning by sharing grants-related insights and risks, and support the embedding of consistent grants ways of working across HQ and country programmes.
• Risk management and governance: identify, document and manage grant-related risks, including but not limited to compliance, delivery and reputational risk; ensure grant obligations are integrated into programming governance, planning and review cycles; maintain continuity of grant knowledge and standards across leadership or programme staffing transitions; and uphold high standards of integrity, transparency and accountability.

Key Performance Indicators (Success Measures) – Building the right platform and creating lasting impact

• Donor compliance and risk management: Grant compliance risks are identified early, documented and actively managed; donor rules are translated into clear, practical guidelines for programme delivery and support teams; all donor reports are submitted on time and meet quality expectations.
• Entrepreneurial mindset: Demonstrates the ability to identify opportunities and challenges, collaboratively creates and tests solutions and adapts quickly within a complex multi-country and multi-partner context; applies sound financial and operational judgment to balance an entrepreneurial mindset with accountability - enabling responsible risk-taking to support programme delivery.
• Efficient and audit-ready sub-grant management: Grant files, trackers and any other documentation are complete, secure and audit-ready; any audits or reviews are managed professionally, with minimal findings; and corrective actions (if any) are addressed properly.
• Sub-grant portfolio management: All active sub-grants are mapped and tracked across their life cycle (obligations, milestones and reporting lines); sub-grants are managed within approved budgets with minimal variance, with accurate reporting, informed budget revisions, and clear decisions taken to correct, adapt, or discontinue underperforming grants in line with set governance frameworks. Programme, Finance, MEL and Communications teams clearly understand overall grant and sub-grants requirements; no critical grant obligations are missed during the programme delivery timeframe.
• Partner and sub-grant oversight: Sub-grant and partner processes are identified, mapped out, applied and monitored consistently; partners understand donor requirements and reporting expectations; and capacity gaps are identified, addressed, and documented.
• Sustained donor confidence: Donor(s) experience the programme as well governed, transparent and reliable; communication with donors on grant and sub-grant matters is proactive and professional; and the programme is well positioned for renewals, extensions and/or additional funding.
• Strong partner and country capability: country teams demonstrate improved compliance and confidence in sub-grant management; reduced dependency on HQ for interventions for routine sub-grant matters; and grant knowledge, standards and systems are embedded beyond individuals.
• Continuous improvement & governance contribution: Lessons from sub-grant implementation, audits and reviews are used to improve systems and practices; grant insights inform programme governance, planning and risk discussions, and the Grant Manager is recognized as a trusted expert and partner beyond routine compliance.

Qualifications

• Seven (7) to nine (9) years of relevant experience, with at least three (3) years of leadership experience in grants management within the social impact/development sector;
• Bachelor’s degree in International Development, Development Studies, Public Administration, Business Administration, Finance, Accounting, Project Management, Public Health, or a related field.
• A postgraduate qualification in a relevant field is an added advantage;
• CPA finalist, ACCA, CFA, CMI, CA or other internationally recognized professional qualification(s) required, with proven experience applying professional accounting standards in multi-country, donor-funded programme environments, including practical understanding of country-level financial operations and regulatory contexts;
• Proficiency in financial, CRM systems or software and Microsoft Office suite;
• Demonstrable experience in managing grants, sub-grants, procurement, and compliance with donor regulations;
• Demonstrable experience and understanding of social enterprise/impact models, legal & tax structures especially in the identified programme countries, and relevant donor regulations;
• Experience managing complex donor grants, sub-grants and partner compliance;
• Credentials such as Certified Grants Management Specialist (CGMS) are an added advantage.
• Fluent in oral and written English