Grants Manager
Vacancy Announcement – Grants Manager
Agencies
Current employees serving a probationary period are
not eligible to app
- All Zimbabwean citizens
- All other interested candidates
Position Title: Grants Manager (FSN Grade 11) - starting grade may
be lower -
Opening Date: October 19, 2009
Closing Date: October 30, 2009
Work Hours: 40 hours per week
The USAID Mission to
Scope of work
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: This contract will be in effect for 1 year with an option to extend longer. Exercising the extension option will depend on the Program Office determination, in consultation with USAID/Zimbabwe Mission, of the continued need for services, availability of funds, and satisfactory or better performance.
MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITES: The Grants Manager will have primary responsibility to manage several grants, ensuring that goals and objectives are achieved. S/he will be expected to operate with a great degree of independence in dealing with complex programs and high-level US and GOZ government officials and other counterparts, including other donors and USAID partners, in designing and managing a comprehensive set of technical assistance programs.
The selected candidate will have the following specific duties.
· Manage at least several grants (average size of $2 million), ensuring that goals and objectives are achieved. Grantee performance will be ensured through routine meetings, site visits, and review of quarterly or semi-annual reports.
· Review annual work plans for multi-year programs.
· Ensure that partner performance management systems are well functioning. Work with partners to establish performance management plans and procedures.
· Advise partners and provide approval to partners on issues related to key personnel, advisory boards, selection of sub-awards, etc.
· Monitor financial data (pipelines and expenditures).
· Identify concerns/implementation problems and work with partners to rectify these.
· Collect indicator data and draft reporting documents related to project impact/results.
· Lead internal portfolio reviews on grants managed to examine performance, management issues, and financial status.
· Prepare quarterly accruals for internal financial management purposes.
· For new awards, manage the procurement and selection process and project start-up. This includes managing the second APS cycle, which ends on February 30, 2010.
· Work with FMO to conduct pre-award surveys for local partners.
· Prepare responses to requests for funding assistance.
· Close-out project files as necessary.
· Advise
· Coordinate grants with OFDA and FFP colleagues.
· Coordinate grants with other donor programs and appropriate government offices.
Required Qualifications:
· University Degree or higher in international development, public policy, a relevant social science, business, or agriculture.
· 7 years experience in managing grants for a bilateral or multilateral donor, particularly related to the agricultural sector.
· Thorough understanding of procurement, financial management, and performance management processes.
· Demonstrated experience as a proven communicator, motivator, and team player to better lead coordination efforts with other bilateral and multilateral agencies and various implementing partners.
· Demonstrated ability to manage selection panels for new awards, to work with potential partners to clarify issues prior to award of new grants, and to start-up new grants.
· Mastery of current programming theories, philosophies, and best practices and demonstrated ability to use this knowledge to develop new and innovative approaches to economic development activities. Thorough understanding of Zimbabwean development context.
· Demonstrated skills in developing and maintaining counterpart contacts and relationships at both the senior management and technical implementation levels. This includes the ability to represent USAID to visiting members of
· Prior experience in developing and administering program monitoring and evaluation activities.
· Ability to resolve potential problems in a team context, while maintaining an aggressive work pace in order to produce results under intense scrutiny and visibility.
· English language proficiency. Excellent oral and written communication skills and an ability to prepare reports, procurement documents, and technical and policy briefs on short notice. Ability to communicate highly technical information to generalists is important to generate policy and program consensus.
· Strong leadership, interpersonal, and problem solving skills. Ability to work both independently and in a team environment.
· Excellent computer skills (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook).
· Ability to pass both medical and security clearances.
Selection Process: After an initial application screening, the best qualified applicants will be invited to a testing process, which will include an oral interview and a written exercise. The final phase of the selection process is the probationary period of one year. Medical and security clearances are also required before employment can begin. Only short listed candidates will be contacted regarding the final outcome of the selection of this position.
TO APPLY: Please pay particular attention to the application criteria. If any applicant does not follow these instructions, s/he will not be short listed.
Interested applicants must address all the above qualifications in their application. An application should include:
1. An application letter (addressing each of the above minimum qualifications).
2. A current resume relevant to the position (preferably no more than 2 pages).
Address applications to the Human Resources Office and Submit Applications via email to: zimrecruit@usaid.gov. Please indicate Reference: 10-02, Grants Manager in the subject line of the application email. Applications should be no more than 1mb in size and submitted no later than October 30, 2009. For any queries Contact the HR Office on 252401 or 252420 Ext. 235 or Ext. 256 or email.