Grants Officer, Western Africa

Job Description

Identification

• Job title grants officer, western africa
• Reporting to regional finance manager, west africa hub
• Department/unit saving lives and livelihoods initiative (sll)
• Duration of the contract one (1) year
• Duty station Dakar, Senegal

About amref health africa

Amref Health Africa was founded in 1957 and has since grown to become the largest African-based international health development organization; currently implementing more than 180 programmes, reaching more than 40 million people across 35 African countries; and a staff complement of over 2,000. Headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, Amref Health Africa has offices in ten countries in Africa – Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Guinea (Conakry), Kenya, Malawi, Senegal, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. An additional eleven advocacy and fundraising offices are located in Europe and North America.
Amref Health Africa is driven by its vision of ‘Lasting health change in Africa’ and its mission ‘To catalyse and drive community-led and people-centred health systems while addressing social determinants of health’. We believe that the power to transform Africa’s health lies within its communities, and therefore strive to ensure that health systems are not only functional but that communities are empowered to hold these systems accountable for the delivery of quality and affordable health care.

About the Saving Lives and Livelihoods Programme

Global Health Security (GHS) seeks to build strong and resilient public health systems to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats, wherever they occur. The Amref GHS Unit in collaboration with Amref West Africa Office coordinated and strengthens capacity of health systems to reduce vulnerabilities to emerging and re-emerging disease threats for communities in sub-Saharan Africa. To address the increased threat to disease outbreaks, the programme is complementing the efforts of regional partners such as the Africa CDC, national players through the Ministries of Health and other strategic partners to protect lives and livelihoods of people in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Saving Lives and Livelihoods project is a joint programme between Africa CDC and the Master Card Foundation launched in June 2021 to save the lives and livelihoods of millions of people in Africa and hasten the economic recovery of the continent from COVID-19 pandemic. The USD 1.5 billion unprecedented partnership supported the COVID-19 vaccination of more than half of Africa’s target population, trained, equipped, and deployed 40,000 healthcare workers, created 25,000 additional jobs in the health sector, and expanded Africa’s genomic testing laboratories from 2 to 40. Mastercard Foundation and Africa CDC reviewed the program’s impact as a primary emergency response initiative and made a strategic shift on the Saving Lives and Livelihoods Program. Phase II will be a continuation of the commitments made under phase I. The next phase will primarily focus on pandemic preparedness and readiness through basic health and security, which enables broader community education. Additionally, the program is aimed at economic development, which includes activities related to education, capacitation, and/or financial inclusion of the health workforce, among others. This second Phase of the Saving Lives and Livelihoods Programme will primarily focus on strengthening Africa’s ability to respond to future pandemics through programmatic activities designed to build and protect the health workforce, as well as improving the lives and livelihoods of Africans.

Amref Health Africa is amongst the key partners supporting COVID-19 vaccination in 22 countries in Eastern, Southern and western Africa. Under this programme, Amref along with other local implementing partners will be focusing on protecting Health Care Workers and Pandemic Preparedness while supporting integration of COVID-19 Management into Routine Immunization.

Job summary

The Grants Officer, WA is responsible for overseeing the efficient and effective management of grants and contract-related activities. Working closely with sub grantees, the job holder will provide oversight and management of grant-making activities, including planning and application activities, contracting, day-to-day administration, report reviews for the SLL Unit, and close-out. The Regional Grants Officer is a key information resource responsible for ensuring effective communications with all key stakeholders.

Job responsibilities

Key area responsibilities

Grants Management

• Work with the Amref Grants team to set up a project grants management framework for the SLL project;
• Monitor project budgets, expenditure, and overall performance in coordination with the Project Manager;
• Train and provide grants management assistance to subgrantees, resolve administrative issues, and make recommendations for effective project implementation;
• Review grants-related activities for accuracy, completeness, and compliance with Amref and donor policies;
• Provide follow up on any issues identified during the monitoring and review process;
• Maintain complete, accurate and up-to-date sub grantee filing and tracking systems;
• Maintain a broad and deep understanding of relevant donor policies, regulations, and procedures;
• Contribute to the implementation of improved financial systems and processes to facilitate better donor reporting and compliance in the organization.

Sub Grantee Management

• Coordinate programs/projects in reviewing eligibility assessment of prospective grantees, ensuring that grant review and award processes are in line with Amref grants policies and procedures;
• Lead in developing subgrantee capacity building plans and development of training materials;
• Supervise Grants Management Information System (GMIS) update, uptake, and maintenance;
• Provide technical support in the preparation of the sub-grantee manual and contracts;
• Review all proposed subgrants budgets before submission to ensure consistency with the organization and donor policies;
• Perform financial monitoring of grant activities, review financial reports submitted by LIPs, and generate timely internal and external financial and related reports;
• Monitor grant activities during their implementation to ensure effective delivery; provide continuous assessments of grantee performance against project objectives.

Audit Coordination

(External & Internal)

Compliance and Risk

• Collaborate with staff and board members; prepare internal project reports and submit status reports to management team as required;
• Oversee the review by Compliance and Audit team and support the project team in the implementation of audit recommendations;
• Analyze all processes, provide enhancements to all grant programs if required and manage all grant management processes according to policies and procedures;
• Identify, mitigate and report finance and support services risks.

Business Development

• Provide support to business development unit and programs in funding proposal development for the SLL unit;
• Support the formulation and review of grant policies and procedures.

Required Qualifications:

Education and Knowledge

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance or other related business fields.
• Master’s degree is an added advantage.
• CPA (K) or ACCA certification required.
• ICT proficiency in using accounting packages and ERP software.

Experience

• 4- 6 years of experience in Accounting/Finance and Grants Management.
• Experience managing grants, and donor compliance at a regional/multi-country level.
• Previous experience with a grants management system preferred.
• Experience developing manuals and tools for grant and sub-grant management.
• Experience managing statutory and donor audits.
  Substantive experience working in the NGO sector, dealing with multiple donor funds, and meeting different donor reporting requirements.

Skills

• Exceptional verbal and written communications skills and the ability to interact effectively with others, both internally and externally.
• Excellent time management skills, with the ability to perform multiple tasks and meet critical deadlines while maintaining accuracy and quality.

How to apply?

Interested? Please visit our website https://amref.org/vacancies/ to make your application. You will be directed to our online portal where you will need to create an account in order for you to be able to submit your application. Your application should include a cover letter detailing why you are the best fit for this position and your CV with relevant skills and experience. The closing date will be November 30st, 2024. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Duly note that Amref Health Africa does not require applicants to pay any money at whatever stage of the recruitment and selection process and has not retained any agent in connection with recruitment. Although Amref may use different job boards from time to time to further spread its reach for applicants, all open vacancies are published on our website under the Vacancies page and on our official social media pages. Kindly note that official emails from Amref Health Africa will arrive from an @amref.org address.

Amref Health Africa is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults and expects all staff to share this commitment. Amref Health Africa is an equal opportunity employer and has a non-smoking environment policy.