Head - Grants at Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

• Lead the development of all grant-related policies and procedures for review and approval by the Chief Operating Officer.
• Facilitate the production of grant materials for each grant and program-related contract made by AGRA, including ensuring that all grant and contract materials are prepared accurately and in compliance with all AGRA policies and procedures and with the IRS regulations.
• Lead in the implementation of continuous improvement initiatives for grants administration, ensuring that solutions align with strategic goals.
• Lead grants portfolio reviews to establish the health and performance of grants and advise on remedial actions.
• Provide strategic oversight and business ownership of AGRA's grants management systems, ensuring they effectively support grant governance, portfolio management, reporting, compliance, and decision-making.
• Partner with ICT, Finance, and Program teams to drive system optimization, process enhancements, technology adoption, and continuous improvement initiatives that strengthen grants management effectiveness and user experience.
• Lead the development and implementation of grants management capability-building initiatives across the organization, ensuring consistent application of grant policies, procedures, controls, and best practices while strengthening compliance, accountability, and operational effectiveness.
• Advise the President, Divisional Heads and the COO on the development of proposals and managing incoming grants from donors while ensuring compliance with the reporting requirements
• Engage the Board subcommittee GRC for proposal reviews and approvals and provide Board updates and reports.
• Encourage collaboration between the Head of Resource Mobilization and Head of Monitoring & Evaluation in the development of grant proposal and report formats, as well as providing information in the tracking of the project’s milestones from the grantee reports.
• Collaborate with the Legal Department to facilitate legal review of grants and related agreements where required, ensuring appropriate risk assessment and compliance.
• Oversee the preparation, quality assurance, and processing of grant agreements and supporting documentation, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and timely execution in accordance with established approval protocols.
• Lead talent management initiatives within the grants function, including workforce planning, capability development, succession planning, and team leadership, to foster a high-performing, engaged, and collaborative work environment.
• Strengthen organizational and grantee capability in the effective use of grants management systems, tools, and processes to promote compliance, operational efficiency, and effective stewardship of grant resources.
• Provide leadership, guidance, and coaching to grants personnel and relevant stakeholders, fostering professional growth, technical excellence, and consistent application of grants management standards and practices.
• Design and structure AGRA’s annual grant-making budget in consultation with the Division Heads.
• Plan the flow of grants over the course of a year, advising the COO and leadership on timing and potential issues that need to be addressed.
• Provide analytics on Grants performance and projections on uptake.
• Build proper fiscal administration systems, provide financial analyses of audits and reports and ensure that grantees understand and comply with AGRA’s grant application and reporting procedures.
• Provide investment portfolio advisory with In-Country GOs to country teams and maintain logs for performance management e.g. weekly calls.
• Create management indicators for the Board, the Leadership and for internal use through analyzing grant data.
• Integrate grant reports section and other grant-related sections for periodic reports to donors, board dockets and AGRA’s annual reports.
• Assist in the preparation of grant-related schedules for filing AGRA’s annual regulatory reports e.g. tax return on Form 990-PF.

Qualifications and Experience Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, Accounting or equivalent from a recognized.
• Master’s degree will be an added advantage.
• Professional certification in grants management, project management, finance, compliance, or related disciplines is desirable such as: ACCA, CPA, PMP (Project Management Professional).
• Minimum 12 years’ experience in Grants Management, Finance and or general accounting qualifications will be an added advantage.
• At least 5 years of experience at a senior management level in grants management in a multi-donor, multi-program international NGO managing teams.
• Good working knowledge of not-for-profit and private foundation law and US funding regulations.
• Strong understanding of regulatory, compliance, and governance requirements associated with grant-funded organizations and development programs.
• Demonstrated ability to leverage grants management systems, data analytics, and digital tools to support effective portfolio oversight, compliance, and decision-making.