Job Description:
Jobs at: Marie Stopes Uganda
Vacancy title: Grants Manager.
JOB DETAILS:
The Role
The purpose of this role is to help secure new donor funding, manage donor
compliance, monitor progress of grants against Key Performance Indicators and
spend against budget to ensure strong stewardship of donor funding. The role
will support grant-funded project implementation, and will lead grant planning,
reporting and donor audit at Marie Stopes while ensuring a close and
collaborative working relationship with Project Implementation Leads and
Directorates. The post is key in ensuring that Marie Stopes suffers no
financial losses or damage to its reputation in the management of grants and to
ensuring sustainability through securing new funding streams.
The Grants Manager works in a virtual Project Management team with key Finance,
RME, Clinical Quality, Implementation Leads including Channel Heads and reports
to the Grants Director. S/he is part of the Grants Directorate.
The overall purpose of the Grant Management Unit is the oversight and provision
of proactive support in ensuring proper stewardship of Marie Stopes’ assets to
achieve agreed strategy and long term financial sustainability.
Key Responsibilities
Project and Organizational Budgeting and Planning
• Lead budget compilation at the project proposal stage. Review budgets and
assist with amendments and forecasts before submission to donors.
• Ensure that contribution to MS support/running costs is maximized in the
development of project or funding proposals.
• Lead the phasing of project budgets and designing a pattern of project spends
that aligns with approved delivery plans/milestones
• Take an active role in the development /incorporation of project and funder
dimensions to the organizational budgets including annual business plans.
Grant Accounting & Management
• In liaison with the Director of Grants and the Finance Director, interact
effectively with donors and LSO donor teams, regarding a variety of issues,
such as budget revisions, income requests, donor compliance and project
implementation progress.
• Translate project contracts into clear compliance requirements and
deliverable deadlines including reporting deadlines.
• Monitor performance against Key Performance Indicators and against work plans
to ensure projects are on track to meet donor and grant deliverables.
• Monitor actual expenditure against budget to ensure spend is in line with
work plans.
• Analyze project transactions with Implementation Leads on a monthly basis to
review coding to ensure spend is allowable, align activities with costs and
identify actions required for potential over or under expenditure.
• Produce accurate and timely monthly comparative project reports that are
circulated to Implementation Leads, the Grants Director and other relevant
staff that alerts management of the progress of the projects.
• Coordinate inputs from Implementation Leads to produce high quality donor
narrative reports that use donor compliant language.
• Organize and participate in monthly meetings with Implementation Leads to
review monthly Project reports against budgets
• Alert the Finance Director to risks from over/under expenditure, late
reporting, control weaknesses or non-compliance with other donor guidelines.
Donor Compliance
• Monitor project performance to ensure projects are on track against KPIs.
This includes monitoring project deliverables, budgets, spend against budget,
and appropriate coding and cost recovery against each grant and raising any
areas of concern to the Director(s)
• Be familiar with relevant donor regulations and rules, as well as MSI
policies and procedures, and ensure project implementation is compliant with
these regulations, policies, and procedures
• Minimize disallowed expenditures and potential loses to MS through active
monitoring of expenditure types, procurement processes, documentation and
adherence to reporting deadlines
• Ensure compliance with the financial and other requirements of donors through
monitoring and support visits to the field. Initiate internal audits as may be
necessary.
• Oversight of an orderly and up to date filing system for all grant key
documents including submitted funding proposals, donor agreements, budgets, log
frames, narrative and financial reports, key donor correspondence.
Donor Reporting (Financial)
• Support Finance to prepare monthly, interim and final Financial Donor reports
timely and accurately as per Donor reporting requirements with funders. Liaise
with the Project Implementers on any issues that may arise promptly.
• Work with finance to ensure the integrity of financial donor reports by
validating the coding of both income and expenditure transactions
• Provide variance analysis and narrative.
Donor Audits and Donor/Stakeholder Engagement
• Ensure that donor audits are properly scheduled and communicated in advance
to the relevant staff including the Grants Director and Finance Director.
• Ensure proper planning of donor audits including the availability to the
required documents and files prior to audits to minimize financial losses to MS
as well as any damage to Marie Stopes reputation.
• Assist in preparing for Marie Stopes statutory audits particularly in the
preparation of the necessary grants schedules with supporting documentations
and reconciliation of all grants related accounts.
• Assist in preparing for donor engagement visits as required.
• Act as donor lead grants by participating in bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly
and bi-annual donor and MSI London Support Office teams meetings as required.
Regular liaison with MSI Donor Reporting Team/project accountants.
Training and Capacity building
• Work with Finance to facilitate finance workshops to build the grants
management capacity of MS staff and understanding of Marie Stopes’ finance
policies and procedures as they relate to project Management.
• Lead project start up meetings, mid-term review meetings and end of grant
closure meetings to share learning and increase finance understanding of the
milestones vis a vis Marie Stopes funded projects.
• Support the embedding and use of MSI Project Cycle Management Guidelines to
institutionalize grant management capacity.
Staff Management and Development
• Direct supervision of the Grants Manager and Officers by managing and
strengthening his/her capacity to ensure a responsive and well-organized grants
department. (when need arises)
New Business Development
• Work with Director of Grants to identify and successfully capitalize on
funding opportunities with major funders of local and international sexual and
reproductive health programming.
• Research and analyze donor calls for funding applications including tenders,
expressions of interest and requests for proposals. This includes identifying
funding opportunities– either as a prime or subcontractor.
• Develop and write successful, high quality funding proposals and budgets as
agreed by the Country Management Team (CMT)
Experience
• Minimum five years’ work experience especially in private sector or NGO
(essential)
• Demonstrable experience managing donor grants (essential)
• Demonstrated success in raising grant income from private philanthropic
foundations and/or bi-lateral donors and building donor relationships
(essential)
• Experience in writing donor reports for large grants, including narrative and
results matrices (essential)
• Experience as a line manager including performance management (desirable)
• Experience in Marie Stopes systems and processes (desirable)
Qualifications, Training and Skills (essential/ desirable)
• Master’s degree in Public Health or related subject or equivalent proven
employment experience (desirable)
• Excellent knowledge of the Ugandan health sector (essential)
• Knowledge of family planning and post abortion care (desirable)
• Strong IT skills, including Microsoft Office package (essential)
• Strong quantitative and qualitative analytical skills (essential)
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills (essential)
• Fluency in both written and spoken English, with exceptional presentation
skills (essential)
• Training in project cycle management (desirable)
Personal Attributes
Successful performance at MS is not simply defined in terms of ‘what’ people
achieve, but equally is about ‘how’ people go about their jobs and the impact
that they have on others. There are 13 key behaviors that MS encourages in all
employees and they are defined below:
• Initiative
Thinking ahead and taking action to make the most of opportunities by finding
the optimum solution
• Innovative
Thinking creatively and outside of the box so that ideas generated create a
positive outcome
• Effective Communication
Communicating through active listening and good questioning techniques, using
appropriate body language, ensuring information is clear and concise.
• Responsive
Being responsive to changing priorities and demands
• Working Efficiently
Planning, prioritizing and organizing work to ensure work is accurate and
deadlines are met
• Sharing Information
Sharing information and knowledge whilst maintaining confidentiality
• Focus on Learning
Taking responsibility for keeping knowledge and skills updated and for seeking
opportunities to develop further
• Commitment
Awareness and understanding of goals, vision and values and how your role
impacts on this and going the extra mile to meet role requirements
• Driven
Drive and determination to deliver results
• Accountable
Taking responsibility for appropriate decisions that you make, and the actions
and behavior you demonstrate
• Embracing Change
Openness to embracing change within the organization and being able to adjust
plans/activities accordingly
• Motivated
Motivation towards achieving quality results to maximize potential
• Team Player
Working as part of a team by being supportive, flexible and showing respect for
each other
Team Member Behaviors
Work as One MS
• You contribute, use, and share accurate data and evidence to improve
understanding, insight and decision-making across MS, enabling us to maximize
our ability to influence others.
• You share relevant knowledge, expertise and resources to strengthen teamwork
and prevent duplication of effort.
• You actively work as part of a team, providing support and flexibility to
colleagues, demonstrating fairness, understanding and respect for all people and
cultures.
Show courage, authenticity and integrity
• You hold yourself accountable for the decisions you make and the behaviors
you demonstrate.
• You are courageous in challenging others and taking appropriate managed
risks.
Develop and grow
• You seek feedback to enable greater self-awareness and provide the same to
others in a way which inspires them to be even more effective.
• You manage your career development including keeping your knowledge and
skills up to date.
Deliver excellence, always
• You strive to consistently meet and exceed expectations, putting clients at
the centre of everything, and implement smarter, more efficient ways of
performing your role.
• You build and maintain effective long-term working relationships with all
stakeholders, and are a true MS ambassador.
Leadership (For Leaders only)
• You inspire individuals and teams, through situational leadership, providing
clear direction.
• You seek and provide opportunities which motivate team members, helping to
develop skills and potential whilst strengthening our talent and succession
pipeline.
• You are aware of emerging developments in our sector, demonstrating strategic
insight about our clients and business and encourage this in your team.
• You articulate a vision of the future which inspires and excites others.
Job application procedure
You’re encouraged to apply for the above positions provided you meet the
specified minimum job requirements.
For more details, please refer to the attached job descriptions.
To apply for the positions, Please visit the careers page on our website www.mariestopes.or.ug to submit
your application.
The deadline for applications is Thursday, 21st October 2020.
NB: 1. MSUG IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES EMPLOYER, COMMITTED TO SAFEGUARDING
HUMANITY AND EXPECTS ALL POSITION HOLDERS TO SHARE THIS COMMITMENT.
2. MSUG HAS A WELL GUIDED AND TRANSPARENT RECRUITMENT PROCESS THAT REQUIRES NO
PAYMENT FROM ANY CANDIDATE/JOB APPLICANTS/POTENTIAL JOB SEEKERS AS A
PRE-EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENT.
