Grants Consultant
Job Description
<p>Kaizen, A Tetra Tech Company is an international development consulting firm and an incubator for innovative, scalable solutions that address emerging market challenges and opportunities. Our proven solutions catalyze locally driven organizational and institutional performance improvements and establish communities of practice that facilitate peer-to-peer learning and the achievement of shared goals. We aspire to transform the nature and impact of development assistance and work to strengthen organizations and institutions through innovative approaches to organizational development, reform, and change.<br><br></p><p>Kaizen was awarded in November 2021 the USAID Supporting Civil Society Engagement in the Local Development Process (“the Activity”). The Activity builds on previous USAID/Djibouti investments and aligns with the U.S. Mission’s Integrated Country Strategy (ICS) Goal #3 – under Mission Objective 3.3: The Djiboutian public understands values such as good governance and freedom of expression as a result of partnerships with the U.S. mission.<br><br></p><p>The Activity also aligns with the Djiboutian government’s strategy through the Djibouti 2035 vision. The main objective of the four-year project is to provide technical assistance to strengthen the organizational and operational capacities of key local development actors, including local authorities in the interior regions and civil society organizations.<br><br></p><p>The project aims to:<br><br></p><p>I. Support the existing consultation and collaboration between local authorities and CSOs;<br><br></p><p>II. Strengthen the structural and organizational capacities of CSOs as well as the mechanism for collaboration and coordination between civil society and regional councils.<br><br></p><p>III. Promoting actions to combat GBV/FGM<br><br></p><p>Position Description<br><br></p><p>The Grants Consultant will serve as a member of the larger Operations component of the project team and will report to the Grants and Procurement Manager. The Grants Consultant will contribute in the administration of the CSO grants portfolio and will be responsible to assist with the implementation and monitoring grants and technical activities, including performing evaluations and assessments of potential grantees, designing agreements and scopes of work, monitoring financial and operational implementation, and ensuring that close-out is done in accordance with ensuring full utilization of grants in compliance with Kaizen and applicable USAID regulations across the entire grants cycle.<br><br></p><p><strong>Responsibilities and Tasks <br><br></strong></p><ul><li><p>Significantly contributes to management of full award cycle for grants and agreements, including solicitation, review, execution, implementation management, monitoring, communication with recipients (as delegated by the Manager, Grants and Procurement), and closeout of grants.<br><br></p></li></ul><ul><li><p>Conduct due diligence review of grantees<br><br></p></li><li><p>Monitor grantee compliance with terms and conditions of grant and donor regulations<br><br></p></li><li><p>Assist the technical team with the development of the various requests for proposals and applications on the release of APS and assist in the evaluation process and selection of recipient.<br><br></p></li><li><p>Coordinates with the Finance Director and the Technical Team to strengthen grantees technical management capacity. <br><br></p></li><li><p>Works with the Grants and Procurement Manager and the Technical Team to increase the capacity of grantees to ensure that they follow USAID regulations and as needed.<br><br></p></li></ul><ul><li><p>Work with the Grants and Procurement to increase internal project staff capacity related to the full grants lifecycle.<br><br></p></li><li><p>Coordinates with finance, M&E, and Technical focal points on progress of grants.<br><br></p></li><li><p>Works closely with the Technical team on reporting needs to reflect implementation of grants activities.<br><br></p></li><li><p>Reviews and ensures the accuracy of the tracking system and of all Annual Program Statements (APS) and Requests for Applications (RFAs) ensuing data is fully recorded in an online storage system, Egnyte.<br><br></p></li><li><p>Manages the Grants email account by receiving and answering all emails with the supervision of the Manager, Grants and Procurement and Technical Team.<br><br></p></li></ul><ul><li><p>Review and submit grants reports to the Manager, Grants and Procurement Technical Managers.<br><br></p></li><li><p>Conduct internal quality assessments against project grants and procurement efforts, including assessments of grantees and vendors.<br><br></p></li><li><p>Operate with integrity and assurance of confidentiality, commitment to excellence, compliance with all USAID rules and regulations, contractual requirements, and Kaizen policies, systems, and values.<br><br></p></li><li><p>Provide scheduled and ad-hoc reports to Chief of Party on grants and procurement initiatives<br><br></p></li><li><p>Perform other duties assigned by the Grants and Procurement Manager to support the execution of the Grants Fund activities and fulfilment of its targets on a timely basis.<br><br></p></li></ul><p><strong>MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS <br><br></strong></p><ul><li><p>Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred. <br><br></p></li><li><p>Minimum of six (6) years of experience with the design, administration, management, and monitoring of grants required. <br><br></p></li><li><p>Ability to work in a professional and cordial manner with fellow staff, implementing and cooperating partners, CSOs and government agencies. <br><br></p></li><li><p>Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work with culturally diverse staff. <br><br></p></li></ul><ul><li><p>Prior experience with USAID grant management contracts and familiarity with USAID grant management, policies, and procedures. <br><br></p></li><li><p>Fluency in French and English required.<br><br></p></li><li><p>Proven analytical and problem-solving skills.<br><br></p></li><li><p>Experience writing business memos and business analysis strongly preferred.<br><br></p></li></ul><p><br><br></p>
