Jobs at International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Under close supervision of the Senior Finance Officer, CREATES and Grants and Contracts Manager, ESARO, the Grants Officer will be responsible for establishing, overseeing, and monitoring the entire grants management cycle for the CREATES project, ensuring efficient implementation and full compliance with both donor and IUCN policies.
• This role involves developing and operationalizing fit-for-purpose granting and sub-granting systems, policies, and procedures that reflect the specific needs and contexts of the SMM and Mara River basins.
• The Grants Officer will ensure adherence to financial, administrative, and contractual requirements across all phases of the grant lifecycle—including calls for proposals, due diligence, pre-award assessments, contracting, reporting, and risk management—in close coordination with basin teams, implementing partners, and other stakeholders.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:

• CREATES Grant Management Systems Development;
• Lead the design and operationalisation of a fit-for-purpose grant and sub-grant management system for the CREATES project.
• Develop tools, templates, and guidelines for soliciting, evaluating, and selecting sub-partners in alignment with project objectives and donor requirements.
• Coordinate and conduct due diligence assessments for potential sub-grantees, focusing on both technical capacity and financial management systems.
• Establish and maintain a risk management and monitoring framework for all sub-awards, in coordination with basin teams.
• Ensure that all PMU and basin staff are adequately informed and trained on donor compliance regulations and IUCN procedures to facilitate timely and compliant implementation.
• Deliver targeted capacity building to sub-grantees and local partners to strengthen grants management and reporting capabilities.
• Grants Compliance Management;
• Support the review and processing of grant agreements, amendments, cost extensions, and no-cost extensions, ensuring full adherence to IUCN and donor protocols.
• Ensure all grant-related financial reporting and expenditures strictly comply with the terms and conditions of signed agreements.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for sub-grantees on all grant compliance matters.
• Review financial and narrative reports from sub-grantees to ensure quality, accuracy, and compliance prior to submission to the Project Management Unit or donor.
• Support to Project Implementation and Portfolio Development;
• Contribute to the strategic and operational planning of CREATES, particularly in relation to grant-funded activities and community engagement.
• Assist in the development of annual work plans and budgets, ensuring synergy between grant-funded initiatives and overall project delivery.
• Analyse sub-grantee performance and funding history and generate periodic reports to inform project management and strategic decision-making.

Other Responsibilities;

• Perform any other duties related to grants management or project implementation as may be assigned by the Senior Finance Officer or Grants and Contracts Manager (ESARO), in line with the evolving needs of the CREATES project.

POSITION REQUIREMENTS:

Education;

• A university degree in Project Management, Development Studies, Business Administration, Public Administration, Environmental Studies, or other relevant fields.
• Strong proficiency in standard office software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and internet-based communication and collaboration tools.
• A master’s degree in a related field will be an added advantage.

Work Experience;

• Minimum five years of relevant experience, preferably in project or grant management within the development or environmental sectors, including:
• Demonstrated expertise in the design, implementation, monitoring, and reporting of donor-funded environmental or natural resource management projects.
• Proven experience working with or supporting community-led initiatives, livelihood projects, or local capacity development programs.
• Hands-on experience in budget development, financial tracking, and compliance for projects funded by bilateral, multilateral, or philanthropic donors.
• Experience in stakeholder engagement, network building, and facilitating collaboration among partners.
• Strong commitment to continuous learning, with a demonstrated capacity for adaptability and self-development.
• Proactive, results-driven, and innovative

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SPECIFIC DUTIES:

The Senior Grants Officer-GCF/GEF will perform the following specific duties:

• Projects financial management and reporting;
• Updating TWENDE project expenditure into the NAV financial system ensuring they are properly and accurately coded and captured into the correct budget lines.
• Assign new signed projects award numbers on award vision and ensure the project is converted into a C-project on the project portal.
• Maintain project and donor database information and files in both hard and soft copies.
• Support in updating the project portal ensuring project budgets are well captured on the portal.
• Provides direct, proactive, hands-on budget and reports management support by providing monthly analyzed budget information / expenditure report to the Project Managers.
• Ensure compliance of all donor requirements, as per signed agreements, when reviewing expenses and preparing financial reports.
• Commission project specific audits as per donor reporting requirements and ensure completion on a timely basis and submission as per contract deadlines to donors.
• Ensure compliance by continually staying up to date on changes in donor and IUCN regulations and ensuring documentation and communication of all relevant regulations to unit members and program unit e.g. Program and Project Managers.
• Periodically review the donor receivables and follow up on project income to ensure IUCN receives project income as per funds requests on a timely basis.
• Update the TMS with the staff time budget allocations on projects and ensure that staff time cost recovery is up to date and as per budget.
• On a quarterly basis prepare the projects in deficit analysis report and ensure project balances are well justified, follow up on income receipt and allocations from donors and other allocations from internal IUCN offices and ensure closed projects are properly closed in the award.
• Generate and share monthly Budget vs. Actual (BVA) reports with Project Managers, Country Representatives, and ESARO management, including variance analysis and corrective recommendations.
• Serve as the focal point for all ESARO GCF/GEF projects, ensuring effective coordination between HQ, donors, and the ESARO office.
• Develop and maintain a financial monitoring tracker for all GCF/GEF projects across ESARO.
• Develop and present quarterly GCF/GEF project financial management dashboards to senior management, highlight implementation progress, identifying bottlenecks, and recommending corrective actions.
• Sub grants/Partners contractual/Financial Management Accountabilities;
• Lead in the Due Diligence process of partner’s selection for all sections relating to financial management and reporting.
• Carry out periodic sub-grantee/partner monitoring and financial reviews and provide appropriate follow up actions to ensure timely IP reporting in line with contractual obligations and recorded in Nav.
• Under the guidance of ESARO Grants and Contracts Manager, carry out financial management training for sub-grantees and support them to maintain proper books of accounts.
• Act as a resource to IPs on grant compliance issues related to donor requirements.
• Reconcile IP records on a quarterly basis and ensure that IUCN and partners records are reconciled.
• Monitor settlement of disbursements to the IPs to ensure timeliness in disbursements to IPS.
• Budget and Proposal Development;
• Focal point in all GCF/GEF projects budget development working with the programme teams and supporting in the proposal development process.
• Support reviews that ensure proposal budgets/budget amendments are in line with donor regulations.
• Recommend or facilitate opportunities to help build staff and partner capacity in budget formulation and management.
• Support in annual IUCN budgeting process and development.
• Others;
• Lead on all GCF/GEF project audits ensuring that audits are conducted on time and recommendations implemented accordingly.
• Support in review and sign off process of donor contracts and consultancy contracts ensuring that IUCN contract and procurement compliance regulations are adhered to.
• Maintain an updated memorandum register of fixed assets acquired by the various projects in order to track the acquisition, movement and disposal of such project fixed assets in line with donor agreements.
• Assist ESARO Grants and Contracts Manager in preparing and reviewing the project status report when called upon.
• Carry out any other duties that may be assigned by supervisors from time to time.

REQUIREMENTS

Education;

• First degree in Accounting, Finance or related field.
• Relevant professional qualification in accounting – CPA, ACCA, CIMA preferred

Work Experience;

• At least 10 years’ relevant work experience in similar capacity with a recognized regional or international development agency
• Hands on experience in project proposal development and implementation, particular GEF, GCF, EU, USAID, BMU IKI, KFW among others.
• Working Knowledge of use of ERP-Navision