Grants Specialist, USAID The Rights and Dignity Project At Counterpart International

Counterpart International helps people build better lives and longer futures, community by community. We equip individuals, organizations and communities—our partners—to become solution-makers in their own families, communities, regions and countries. We work with them in some of the world’s toughest places to address social, economic, environmental, health and governance problems that threaten their lives and undermine their futures. To learn more about Counterpart, please visit our website at www.counterpart.org  .

The Rights and Dignity Project (“the Project”) is a USAID-funded initiative in El Salvador, implemented by Counterpart International in partnership with Partners El Salvador. The Project’s primary goal is to help strengthen governmental and non-governmental systems for the protection of human rights, resulting in an increasingly tolerant, just, and equitable El Salvador.

Counterpart International is seeking a Grants Specialist to manage the grants program for the Rights and Dignity Project. Under the leadership of the Project Director and Technical Director and direct supervision of the Finance and Administration Manager, the Grants Specialist, along with other grants staff, will support the full lifecycle of the Project’s diverse grants portfolio, from initial design through award and closeout. This is a full-time, hybrid position based in San Salvador, El Salvador, and is open to qualified Salvadoran nationals.

Responsibilities

• Ensure that all grants are aligned with Project objectives and comply with the grant manual, Counterpart organizational policies and procedures, and applicable USAID rules and regulations.
• Promote coordination between the Project’s technical, financial, and monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) teams and Counterpart’s US office representatives for effective grant design and monitoring.
• Oversee the entire grant lifecycle from start to finish, including developing funding opportunity notices, evaluating applications, managing selection and due diligence processes, supporting ongoing monitoring of grants, and
• beneficiaries and the guarantee of a good closure of the grants.
• Manage and keep the Project’s grant tracking tools (e.g. milestones, payments, in-kind contributions) constantly updated to ensure operational control of the grant program and ensure the
• access to up-to-date information for timely decision-making.
• Act as the primary point of contact for grantees, answering their questions and coordinating their requests with project leadership, other relevant teams, and the U.S. office as needed.
• Support the strengthening of and provide other technical assistance to grantees on compliance with USAID regulations, financial management and reporting requirements, and other related processes.
• Ensure consistent, high-quality control of all grant documents on the Project SharePoint site.
• Conduct on-site visits in accordance with beneficiary monitoring plans and as other circumstances require.
• Coordinate with technical and financial teams to collect all supporting documentation necessary to process beneficiary payments in a timely manner.
• Assist the Project Director in resolving beneficiary performance issues in close coordination with U.S. Project Office representatives.

Qualifications

• University degree in social sciences, business administration or other related area of ​​study.
• A minimum of four years of professional experience in grants administration, preferably in another USAID-funded project or another international donor; prior experience working in the human rights sector would be an advantage.
• Knowledge of best practices and effective approaches for successful grant design, negotiation, and monitoring; familiarity with relevant USAID rules and regulations preferred.
• Previous experience in capacity building of civil society organizations or other similar beneficiaries is an advantage.
• Demonstrated ability to operate with discretion, particularly when working with people in vulnerable situations or in sensitive contexts.
• Well organized, with strong analytical skills, good judgment, accuracy when working with large amounts of data, and ability to manage complex operational problems.
• Strong interpersonal skills to work effectively with other team members, civil society organizations, government entities, and other similar beneficiaries; previous supervisory experience would be an advantage.
• Full command of Spanish is required; intermediate to advanced command of English is preferred.