Grants Officer at DAI Kenya - Development Alternatives, Inc.

Objectives of the assignment

• S/he will report to the Grants Manager and provide oversight and auditing support to ensure post-award management in accordance with the relevant regulations, including but not limited to reporting in accordance with USAID directives and policies, and conducting site visits to support monitoring of grantees.

Tasks & Responsibilities

Planning and Implementation

• Support grants management under the advisory of the Grants Manager.
• With guidance from the Grants Manager, develops and implements the use of the STAWI grants manual.
• Supports work planning and activity planning to align the grants program with overall project activities.
• Supports the Grants Manager in the development of timeline and details required for any activities needing grants; conduct market search and price analysis in coordination with technical staff.
• Coordinates with staff requesting grants to prepare Request for Applications (RFAs) to solicit applications and assess the capacity and readiness of potential grantees.
• Supports the Grants Manager in the evaluation and selection committee process for grantees.
• Supports the Grants Manager to draft the required approvals to ensure compliance with internal and external contract and policy requirements.
• Supports the Grants Manager to draft grant agreements and amendments, explaining terms, conditions, roles, and responsibilities. Ensures that identified weaknesses in initial grantee assessments and related requirements are incorporated into the agreements explicitly/clearly with the required monitoring and actions on the part of the grantee.
• Supports the Grants Manager to organize kickoff meetings and apprises grantees of the responsibilities, requirements and policies and procedures to be followed during the life of the grant.
• Supports the Grants Manager to ensures post award grant management in accordance with relevant regulations and generates reports of status of grant activities, such as forecasting payment, inventory, amendments, close outs, and sector specific data (i.e. monthly and quarterly reporting).
• Supports the Grants Manager to ensure on-time deliverables, payments, and cash flow requests by monitoring milestones and payment schedules.

Compliance

• Provides training, guidance, and direction to project staff on planning, implementation, and compliance of grants policies, procedures, and instructions, specifically their role in the process.
• Reviews grants for completeness and appropriateness with the work plan.
• Ensures all required documentation is uploaded in the grants database TAMIS.
• Reviews grant milestones and requests for payments against grant agreements to ensure compliance.
• Trains on and enforces policies and procedures to prevent improprieties, intentional and unintentional.
• Supports the audit of grant files no less than annually.
• Other tasks as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required, degree in business or related field preferred.
• At least 6 years of professional experience, including increasingly responsible grants experience, preferably with international donor-funded organization.
• Familiarity with USAID rules and regulations required.
• Previous experience with DAI policies, procedures, and systems (TAMIS) preferred.
• Ability to solve complex technical, managerial, or operational problems and evaluation options based on relevant information.
• Strong communication skills - both written and oral – in English and Kiswahili