Finance and Grants Officer at Mercy Corps

Job Summary:

The Finance and Grants Officer works under the guidance and supervision of the Finance and Compliance Director and with direct interaction with the respective Program Managers, Consortium members and the Mercy Corps Finance team in Kenya. He/She will be based in Nairobi with significant travel to the field.

Essential Job Responsibilities:

Process:

• Conduct day to day management and implementation of the grants work plan under Mercy Corps.
• Propose revisions to grant processes and procedures based on experience and lessons learned and coordinate proposed changes with the Program Manager and Finance and Compliance Director.

Pre-Award:

• Conduct a pre-award assessment for pre-approved sub-recipients.
• Work closely with the technical team to identify potential areas of support, eligibility and evaluation criteria.
• Work with selected grantees to ensure budgets are in line with program activities and that costs are reasonable, allowable and allocable.
• Conduct due diligence assessments on all grants including business feasibility, evaluate environmental requirements and document negotiation process for all prospective grantees.
• Work closely with the M&E Team in developing M&E plans to ensure that they are contributing to specific indicators and outcomes

Post Award:

• Conduct post-award training for the sub-recipients on grants administration, applicable donor regulations and reporting requirements.
• Identify sub-recipient/grantee capacity building needs and provide technical assistance where needed and trainings to assure compliance.
• Review sub-recipient/grant reports for accuracy and completeness and regularly monitor their budgets vis-a-vis financial reports and process payments/reimbursements as appropriate.
• Conduct grantee site visits as appropriate including financial monitoring of grants and cost-share to ensure proper accounting of grant funds awarded.
• Maintain complete and accurate files for all sub-recipient/grant files as per the Field Finance Manual.
• Input the financial reports in Navigator and reconciling them regularly.
• Serve as a primary point of contact for all correspondence and notifications to grant applicants and grantees.

Close-Out:

• Coordinate the close-out of sub-recipients/grants. This will involve preparing relevant close-out documents for approval such as disposition documentation, modification agreements on closeout, closeout checklists, the release of liability documentation, etc.

Others:

• Responsible for the preparation of monthly and quarterly reports for grant activities that feed into the overall program report.
• Ensure that grant activities comply with Mercy Corps internal policies and procedures, as well as Donor rules and regulations.
• Participate in the development and implementation of the program’s annual work plans.
• Support the Finance team with other grants or finance sector activities.
• Coordinate expenditure verification and project audits
• Ensure that field staff is familiar with grants management procedures.
• Any other duties as may be assigned.

Qualifications:

• A Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, Economics or relevant field; an advanced degree is preferred.
• Professional accounting certification CPA (K).
• At least four (4) years of demonstrated professional experience managing grants, subcontracts, procurement and compliance with donor regulations, preferably Donor-
• funded projects.
• Strong accounting skills and experience, including management of the general ledger, journal entries, payables, and balance sheet.
• Demonstrated experience applying clauses and negotiating without heavy management oversight including developing amendments and modifications as a result of negotiations.
• Experience providing capacity-building training to staff and local organizations.
• Strong analytical and computer skills, with emphasis on budget and financial analysis and advanced computer skills in MS Office, particularly Excel are required.
• Fluency in the English Language is required.

Grants Administration:

• Knowledge and application of best practices in grant management.
• Demonstrated knowledge of financial and management systems, regulations and reporting requirements. Evidence of the ability to be creative and flexible within those requirements.
• Analytical capabilities with accounting procedures and processes for structuring projects.
• Knowledge of grants management software and information technology skills

Management and Communications:

• Ability to communicate technical, budgetary and program details to staff, grantees and applicants.
• Ability to design and implement effective workflow processes and procedures.Capability to foster an atmosphere, which recognizes and respects cultural and individual differences.
• Capability to foster an atmosphere, which recognizes and respects cultural and individual differences