Grant Administrator

One Acre Fund is on a rapid growth trajectory – we plan to reach 500,000 farm families by 2016, and at least one million by the end of the decade. To make that happen, we will need to raise an ambitious level of funds. To help our development department operate smoothly and effectively, we need a highly capable and highly motivated grants administrator to manage the financial and administrative aspects of reporting and compliance with our top foundation and bilateral grants / contracts. The position will work alongside our program and operations staff to ensure full compliance with these awards.

Key job responsibilities include grant fiscal and compliance management; monitoring, evaluation, and reporting; and representation and diplomacy. The right person for the job is a highly organized, articulate, conceptual thinker with the proven ability to facilitate both internal and external consensus. We need a tenacious problem-solver, with excellent writing and analytical skills, and ideally brings experience in grants management and strategic communications (or similar types of functions).

Detailed job responsibilities are as follows:

Grant Management – Bilaterals (plus some large private foundations)

• Review, interpret and explain all aspects of award documents (i.e. grants and cooperative agreements).
• Manage award audits.

• Ensure effective, transparent use of resources in compliance with One Acre Fund and donor policies and procedures.
• Manage budget within approved spending levels and assist in the development of cash flow projections and spending plans.
• Ensure all program funds are spent in accordance with donor rules and regulations including cost-share funds.
• Ensure all One Acre Fund administration, logistical, human resources and financial procedures are followed in relation to grant rules and regulations.
• Develop financial reports as required by the donor.
• Develop and maintain a donor filing system (reporting, invoices, etc.).

Grant Management – Small/medium foundations

• Summarize key elements (e.g.., reporting deadlines, restrictions, payment and reporting schedules) of grant agreements, and enter data into online grants management system
• Carefully monitor actual versus scheduled payments and highlight discrepancies
• Act as liaison to donors, answering questions, accommodating site visits, etc.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting – Bilaterals and foundations

• Build deep knowledge of One Acre Fund operations, and build relationships with key staff in the field, to ensure accurate and timely gathering of data relevant to each award.
• Document evidence of project activities, outcomes, and lessons learned in accordance with donor requirements, leveraging where possible existing M&E data and narratives from the field.
• Write reports for donors, using required templates, to report on progress against stated activity milestones, project outcomes, project budget, etc.

Representation & Diplomacy - Bilaterals

• Effectively manage the partnership between the donor and One Acre Fund.
• Develop and nurture culturally sensitive internal and external relationships and networks to ensure optimum communication and program success.
• Participate regularly in a variety of external forums/workshops/conference/sector coordination meetings to proactively engage and share best practices and findings of projects with the broader government and international development communities.

Career Growth and Development
One Acre Fund invests in building management and leadership skills. We provide constant, actionable feedback delivered through weekly mentorship and through regular career reviews. We also have regular one-on-one meetings, where we listen to and discuss career goals, and work collaboratively to craft roles that each person can be passionate about. Because of our rapid growth, we constantly have new high-level roles opening up and opportunities in many functions and countries. This results in fast career growth for our staff.

Qualifications
We are looking for truly extraordinary candidates with 2 to 5+ years of work experience who will help take our organization to the next levels of grants management. This is a competitive posting for a career-track role with minimum initial commitment of three years. Candidates who fit the following criteria are strongly encouraged to apply:

• 2 to 5+ years of progressive experience working with bilateral or large foundations.
• Demonstrated success in programs management, donor compliance, and reporting.
• Effective verbal and written communication, multi-tasking, organizational, prioritization skills are necessary.
• History of working effectively and respectfully with host country government, private sector, INGO and NGO partners in complex environments.
• Prior work experience in Africa strongly preferred; an ability to work comfortably, effectively and creatively within the cultural environment.
• Ability to work effectively with limited guidance
• Top-performing undergraduate background (please include GPA and test scores on your resume); master's degree in relevant discipline nice-to-have, but not a must
• Humility and personal stability. We are looking for passionate professionals that combine strong leadership skills with good humor, patience, and a humble approach to service
• A willingness to commit to living in East Africa for at least two years – this is a long–term, career–track role
• Language: English required; French is a plus.

Preferred Start Date
Flexible

Compensation
Commensurate with experience

Benefits
Health insurance, immunizations, 401k, flights

Career Development
Bi-annual management consulting-style career reviews, and significant investment in career development

Sponsor International Candidates
Yes

How to apply

To Apply
Email cover letter and resume to jobs@oneacrefund.org (Subject line: Grant Administrator Search + name of the site that referred you)