Grants Advisor CARE Uganda

We seek a world of hope, inclusion, and social justice, where poverty has been overcome and all people live with dignity and security.

Company Mission
CARE works around the globe to save lives, defeat poverty, and achieve social justice.

Job Description
The Grants Advisor will be part of the projects leadership team and will work with Initiative Managers to ensure that the projects are well aligned to the donor and CMP-specific grants management and compliance requirements. The Grants Advisor will provide grants management oversight to the program team across all aspects of the project.

The Grants Advisor oversees and coordinates the administrative management of the Project implemented by the country office (development, delivery, and closure) including support to award setup, staff training to ensure donor rules and regulations are understood and implemented properly, and preparation and submission of donor reports. S/he monitors the project budget planning calendar develops operational budgets, and supports program staff in preparing accurate forecasts. S/he works closely with program and accounting staff to make sure all funds are accounted for accurately and program budget line items are managed adequately. This includes activities such as: awards tracking, sub-grant report preparation, monitoring, and filing.

This role will also support the Head of Grants and Compliance in evaluating and analyzing the compliance affairs of the Project & managing related risks to CARE employees, Partners/Sub grantees, reputation, assets, and interests of stakeholders. Specific risk areas include corporate governance, information security, regulatory compliance, donor compliance, insurance, and operational risk.

S/he will be seen to lead, innovate and be responsible for:
• Ensuring timely and accurate financial reporting to the CMP as well as adequate management of sub-grants to partners.
• Ensuring that all operational aspects are following CARE Financial and Donor grant policies, regulations, and budgetary requirements.
• Provision of timely reports to the Budget Holder on grants and subgrants expenditures and provide analysis on program implementation timeline vs. expenditure.
• Providing training and ongoing technical support to program staff and partners on compliance with the terms and conditions of donor grants and our own sub-grants management policy. S/he will support program staff to request Fund Codes (FCs), and Project IDs (PIDs) and set up grants and sub-grants correctly in CARE’s financial system.

Specific Responsibilities:
Job Responsibility # 1: Provide leadership in Grants & Contracts Management (30%)
To ensure that Project Staff and Partners follow best practices in managing grants: Including but not limited to:

Sub Tasks:
• Keeping up to date with changes in relevant CARE International policies and procedures (e.g. Award and Sub award policy, SPC policy, budgeting guidelines, etc.) & proactively ensure relevant staff are made familiar with key policies
• Prepare and submit all required forms to SSC for the award and sub-grants setup in the system (e.g. fund code, project ID, top-line budgets, activity ID, etc.)
Ensuring that Donor requirements related to grants and contracts’ financial management as well as various contractual obligations for each project (reporting deadlines, deadlines for submitting cash projections, audits, evaluations, and any other) are fully understood by implementing teams and adhered to.
• Ensuring that CARE Staff and Partners fully understand what is expected of them in managing grants and sub-grants according to best practice and per CARE and donor guidelines.
• Monitoring compliance with best practice (including carrying out visits to sub-offices and partners and monitoring reporting information managed through a tracker shared with all relevant stakeholders) and taking assertive corrective action as required, reporting any difficulties to the appropriate accountable manager
• Maintain the Chart of Accounts (at FC, PID and AID, and Cat ID level) always updated and provide guidance to staff on appropriate budget lines for expenditures.

Job Responsibility 2: Sub grants Management (20%)
To provide leadership in CO sub-grants management from selection (due diligence processes, sub-award contract processing, and monitoring) to close out. Responsibilities Include but are not limited to:

Sub Tasks:
• Liaising with Program Staff in order to understand project implementation plans and potential partnering requirements.
• Ensuring that partners are selected in a transparent manner and according to to clearly agreed and documented Minimum Eligibility Requirements and other key requirements, as per CARE policy.
Ensuring that assessments and documentation of organizational capacity and due diligence have been carried out for all of CARE Uganda’s potential & current partners, according to relevant policies and procedures; Occasionally participates directly in these assessments.
• Based on results from the above assessments, supports program teams to make well-informed, transparent, and documented partners’ selection decisions for submission to Decision Management Team (DMC) for approval.
• Ensures results from assessments are used to develop organizational capacity-building plans of partners and oversee and document the implementation of these plans during the life of the sub-grant.
• Keeping an updated tracker for the sub-award database ensuring that all sub-award payables and liquidations are monitored, and reports shared with relevant stakeholders.
• Ensures sub-grant agreement files submitted for DMC approval (e.g. new MOU to be signed, an amendment to be signed, etc.) are complete (including all documents required as per policy);
• Maintain a sub-grants tracker (Sub-grants dashboard) for funds disbursed and liquidations received & ensure an aging analysis of the remaining funds is prepared monthly and follow up discussions with the Program Team.
• Ensures partners’ financial performance is monitored and documented based on an analysis of risks. Ensure in-depth monitoring visits are conducted, with a thorough review of transactions (based on a sample) and of supporting documents; Identified issues to be immediately reported to the supervisor and CO SMT.
Keeps track of partners’ compliance with their reporting obligations and immediately reports non-compliance to supervisor and SMT.

Job Responsibility 3: Internal and external Reporting (20%)
Sub Tasks:
• Prepare pipeline reports and pipeline budgets.
• Preparation of Monthly grants and contracts Payable/Receivable Status
• Provide Budget Holders with detailed Monthly Budgets versus Expenditure Reports
• Prepare portfolio analysis report monthly & critically examine expenditure reports with the program team and provide recommendations to address underspending, overspending or unusual expenditure in relation to project phases impact both in the short term and long term.
• Prepare donor reports and ensure their accuracy and timeliness as specified in the Agreement
• Ensure narrative reports and financial reports are compliant with donor requirements and are consistent with each other
• Liaise with the Program team and provide recommendations to address any donor budget overspending /underspending

Job Responsibility # 4: Budget/Forecast/Workplan Preparations (10%)
• Support to local partners to develop their budgets will be required.
• Assist Program staff to prepare budget revisions when needed.
• Train program staff in accurate budgeting, and understanding SPC policy.

Job Responsibility # 5: CARE & Partner staff Capacity Building (10%)
• Conduct (continuing refresher) training for CARE and partner staff to ensure all award terms and conditions are understood and implemented properly.
• Conduct training to Budget Holders in the use of PeopleSoft (e.g. expenditure report extraction, analysis and interpretation of the reports and use, chart of accounts, etc.) and in general sound grants and financial management;

Responsibility #6: Promote Gender Equity and Diversity and Safeguarding Practices (5%)
• Practice a behavior consistent with CARE’s core values, and promotion of gender equity and diversity goals.
• Play a leadership role in identifying and implementing initiatives that enhance CARE’s commitment to gender and diversity.
• Ensure that CARE Safeguarding policies and procedures are adhered to by all and the staff that S/he supervisors both directly or indirectly.
• Ensure that staff and related personnel under your jurisdiction are familiar with the following organizational policies and procedures and can identify when needed how these may have been breached, The CI Safeguarding policy, Protection from Sexual Harassment, Exploitation, and Abuse and Child Abuse, The anti-discrimination and harassment policy, The code of conduct and the organization’s Values.

Responsibility #7: Any other duties assigned from time to time (5%)
• Any other duties incidental to the role or assigned by the supervisor.
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II)Competencies
• Excellence: Sets high standards of performance for self and/or others; successfully completes assignments; sets standards of excellence rather than having standards imposed; ensures interactions and transactions are ethical and convey integrity.
• Integrity: Maintains social, ethical, and organizational norms; firmly adheres to codes of conduct and ethical principles inherent to CARE.
• Communicating with Impact: Diplomatically, logically, and clearly conveying information and ideas through a variety of media to individuals or groups in a manner that engages the recipient/audience and helps them understand and retain their message.
• Strengthening Partnership: Identifying and utilizing opportunities within and outside of CARE Uganda to develop effective strategic relationships between one’s area and other areas/departments/units or external organizations to achieve CARE’s objectives.
• Developing Teams: Using appropriate methods and a flexible interpersonal style to help build a cohesive team; facilitates the completion of team goals.
• Diversity – Promoting, valuing, respecting, and fully benefiting from everyone’s unique qualities, background, race, culture, age, gender, disability, values, lifestyle, perspectives or interests; creating and maintaining a work environment that promotes diversity.
• Adaptability- Expected to well adjust with the country, the Cooperating environment, and with the Project team to function effectively and efficiently
• Coaching – Ability to demonstrate to enhance skills and capacity of staff working in the field and office for them to continue to serve CARE in the future program activities III) Qualifications (Know-How)
a)Required:
The ideal candidate should be an astute finance and grants professional with very strong analytical skills, attention to detail, ability to work effectively under time pressure, very strong business partnering skills with the ability to influence senior staff, a team player, proactive individual with the ability to offer structured guidance, ability to ensure that the right priorities are set for the CO grants team, proficiency in English and Excel.

b)Education/Training
Required
• Advanced University degree in accounting/finance, accounting, or a related area from a recognized institution.
• Must be an active member of a professional body.

Desired
• Training in Adaptive Planning (ADP) and People Soft or a related financial system

c) Experience
Required
• At least 7 years of demonstrated leadership experience in grants management including significant experience working with USG and European public donors. Experience working in relief and development contexts is a plus. –>