SENIOR GRANTS & COMPLIANCE OFFICER At Act Change Transform

Job Summary

Reporting to the Finance & Operations Manager, the Senior Grants and Compliance Officer is based in Nairobi at the Act! head office with frequent travels to partner locations across Kenya and Act! branch offices. S/He will support Grants and Compliance Department to ensure proper maintenance and functioning of the grants management system and compliance with all applicable internal policies and procedures.

Key Responsibilities

Specifically, the Senior Grants & Compliance Officer will be responsible for but not limited to:

Grants Making and Management

• Support in the solicitation process of potential grantees.
• Carry out pre-award assessments of potential grantees to establish their level of capacity.
• Prepare grant documents (selection memos, negotiation memos, budget reviews, grant agreements, modifications, closeouts, and related correspondences) Maintain Act’s grants financial tracking systems and share relevant information with concerned parties as appropriate.
• Undertake regular financial reviews and give appropriate recommendations to grantees on areas that need correction or improvement in their systems and procedures.
• Provides training, one-on-one follow-up support, technical assistance, capacity-building, and onboarding to new team members in program/grant management in addition to best practices and standardized procedures for efficient sub-award management.
• Supervise, mentor, and coach other grants officers and assistants under her/his direct supervision.
• Document justifications and recommendations for grant award modifications based on reasonable and policy support such as cost/program changes where need be.
• Ensure the timely and proper close-out of completed projects and sub-award agreements.

Reporting & Monitoring (Financial and Programmatic)

• Offer day-to-day support to the Finance & Operations Manager in the review of financial reports received from the sub-grantees to ensure financial compliance against the contract and approved budget.
• Examine all cash requests to ensure the amounts requested are reasonable and within approved budgets, and in line with the approved deliverables and or set milestones.
• Assist in the compilation of data and preparation of monthly, quarterly, and annual reports,
• Regularly visit the partners to conduct compliance reviews and provide mentorship as necessary.
• Ensure that all partners’ expenditures comply with the final approved budgets (i.e. budgetary controls).
• Conduct monthly reconciliations with the Finance department to ensure grant and finance records are up to date.

Records Management and Administration

• Maintain and update hard copy grant and working files (grant tracker). Slots within these files should be clearly labelled and organized for ease of reference.
• Open a new grant file for every new grant.
• Ensure that all grant files are kept under lock and key.
• Scan all key grant documents and have certified electronic copies saved on the server.

Qualifications, Experience & Personal Attributes

Academic qualifications

A minimum Bachelor’s degree in Commerce, Accounting, or a related business field.

Professional Qualifications

Certified Public Accountant of Kenya (CPA-K) or ACCA qualifications.

Duration of Relevant Experience

• At least Seven (7) years of post-professional qualification experience in finance and administration of grants and contracts.
• A minimum of four (4) years of practical work experience in grants or finance and with demonstrable knowledge of key donor regulations.

Essential Interpersonal Skills & Competencies

• Willingness to travel extensively within Kenya, work extended periods in the field, and interact effectively with local communities and willingness to learn new approaches.
• Good negotiation and problem-solving skills.
• Good analytical, interpersonal, and communication skills.
• Highly proficient in MS Word, MS Excel, MS Access, MS PowerPoint applications and use of the internet for research purposes.
• Knowledge and demonstrable experience with Sage 300(ERP accounting software).