Grants Post Award Specialist at ChildFund Zambia

ChildFund International is a non-profit making, child protection and development agency working for the survival, protection and development of children globally and has a representation in over 38 countries. Our headquarters are in Richmond Virginia, USA.

ChildFund has been operating in Zambia since 1983 and has programs in all the 10 provinces in Zambia. Our mandate is to work with children, their families and the communities at large by providing them with positive experiences that support their growth and development through community-based programs.

ChildFund Zambia wishes to recruit for the position listed below to be based at the its Country Office in Lusaka.

Grants Post Award Specialist (1)

Job summary

The Grants Post Award Specialist supports the execution of ChildFund International’s grant acquisition and management strategy and serves as a country office resource providing guidance and oversight on effective scope, on time and on budget implementation of the CO’s grants portfolio.  The Grants Post Award Specialist handles issues related to the fiscal, administration and regulatory management of grants and contracts from award receipt through close-out.  The position works to strengthen the grant execution capacity of the Country Office (CO).  The position works closely with the Global Grant Management Team at International Office (IO) to provide post award services in managing grants and contracts.

DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES 

• Ensures CO compliance with ChildFund’s Post-Award grant management Policy, Procedures and project management standards.
• Participates in award start-up meetings with donors and grant staff to gain full understanding of the criteria and requirements necessary to manage each award and refines operational policies and procedures relevant for effective and efficient management of grants, contracts and sub-awards.
• Monitors Country Office capability to execute grant/contract activities, including timely execution of deliverables, authorizations, and payments, as well as management of advances to sub-awardees
• Leads the Country Office in developing remedial action plans to correct deficiencies in the execution of grants and contracts portfolio.
• Provides technical assistance on organizational grant management standards and procedures and donor regulations for project planning and close-out phases of grant implementation.
• Responsible for ensuring proper organizational registration in salesforce of all newly funded grants/contracts at Country level
• Collaborates with the Assurance Team in preparation of grant reviews and post-review findings that implicate grants management and compliance.
• Ensures the proper use of Salesforce to record grant activity from award to project close-out.
• Assist Project Implementation Teams organize Project close-out workshops
• Strengthens the capacity of the CO to apply Project Management standards and skills.
• Remain alert and responsive to any child safeguarding risks, acquire relevant knowledge and skills which will enable you to promote strong safeguarding practices, understand the child safeguarding policy and procedures, and conduct yourself in a manner consistent with the Child Safeguarding Policy

QUALIFICATIONS/EXPERIENCE

• 5 – 7 years of experience managing/overseeing the full grant lifecycle of a funded grant, cooperative agreement or contract.
• Strong analytical skills including successfully performing financial reviews, determination of responsibility, and other forms of quantitative analysis.
• Demonstrated experience in managing budgets and cost projections.
• Demonstrated experience in designing and facilitating capacity building, program/training, coaching and/or mentoring project staff in the basics of grant management.
• Ability to handle and prioritize multiple tasks and work autonomously under pressure of deadline required
• Demonstrated experience of donor rules and regulations, especially the USG regulatory environment
• Prior experience working in the development sector.
• Demonstrated diplomacy in building relationships, working collaboratively within a growing organization, and within broader external coalitions
• Experience with US government (USAID, USDOS, USDOL) on implementing grants, cooperative agreements and/or contracts strongly preferred.
• Certification from a reputable service provider in Project Management (PMP, PMD) is preferred
• Strong knowledge and skills of Word, Advanced Excel skills, PowerPoint, Visio, Project, and Adobe. Prior experience working with Salesforce and SharePoint is a plus.
• Fluency in English required.

EDUCATION      

Bachelor’s degree in International Development or a field related to the organization’s core program, or equivalent relevant work experience (MA preferred).

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