Overall Purpose of the Role:

• The role is responsible for Grants financial management of the assigned projects and compliance with donor rules and regulations. In particular, the role is responsible for financial planning, implementation and monitoring, accurate and timely financial reporting and ensuring the project budget is expended in line with the donor requirements and expectations. A key focus area for the position is to manage sub-grantees, contracts, due diligence, financial reporting and build capacity of the partners in good governance, financial Management, budgeting and accountability.
• This role strengthens partner policies and financial management processes to ensure that resources are used more effectively, efficiently and equitably.

KEY TASKS & RESPONSIBILITIES:

Grants Management and Compliance

• Leads pre and post-award work with program and partner/sub-grantees teams to facilitate the process of onboarding new projects to ensure internal controls and donor compliance systems are established and followed.
• Participates as required in grants inception, implementation monitoring and close- out activities ensuring compliance with Donor requirements
• Ensure proper planning and timely disbursement of funds to grantees, maintain effective communication between the partners, sub-grantees, programme and the finance team.
• Monitor spending across assigned grants to ensure appropriate expense allocation per budget line, timely use of funds, and compliance with donor’s operational and contractual requirements; document and monitor overall performance, analyze trends, highlight issues, identify gaps and institute corrective measures where necessary.
• Review partners reports to ensure they are well supported, are allowable, reasonable and allocable per donor requirements and that GAAP are observed.
• Ensure that grants or contracts are well administered from a finance perspective, and programme teams are fully informed of relevant donor compliance regulations and Faith to Action Network procedures.
• Completes grants compliance checklists and grant launch materials for awarded grants as needed to ensure staff managing the grant-funded project, the sub-grantees and the partners understand and have the resources to comply with the donor terms applicable to their grant-related activities
• Establishes and maintains grant tracking tools, including for sub-awardees and partners
• Prepare and submit financial reports per donor and organizational requirements within the stipulated time frame
• Upload the donor Budgets and Expenses into the Grants Management System

Budgeting & Reporting

• Working with programme team to prepare projects budget in line with work plans.
• Prepare timely and accurate external financial reports that comply with all donor regulations; work with programme staff and grant recipients to confirm that reports are backed by adequate documentation and records
• Lead budget revisions and reallocation requests, in collaboration with head of Finance and Administration
• Prepare Budget vs Actual reports to ensure regular funds reconciliations.
• Monitor budget spending for the project, ensure that budget expending is in line with project deliverables, and provide monthly updates on financial status including cash flow and variances, and institute corrective measures where necessary.

Audit, Risk Management and Internal controls

• Participate in the design and implementation of internal controls, policies, and procedures to ensure compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.
• Maintains financial management files for grants and ensures audit trail for all necessary grant documentation
• Works closely with auditors to ensure efficiency and completion of audits, and to ensure that audit findings and recommendations are addressed and closed in a timely manner.
• Investigate exceptions on all reports and facilitate corrective actions.
• Review expenditure worksheets for accuracy and completeness before processing payment or filling to ensure audit ready documentation at all times

Capacity Assessment and Strengthening

• Review sub-grantee and partner finance, operations, HR and procurement policies to identify areas of improvement to enable them to discharge contractual obligations to donors.
• Carry out necessary training of finance and non-finance staff to ensure that donor requirements are met.

Asset Management

• Establish the physical existence of all donor funded project assets per the asset register, their conditions and locations.
• Advise on acquisition and disposition of donor project assets in line with the donor guidelines and organization policies.

Academic Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Accountancy, Finance (Masters will be an added advantage)
• Full accounting professional qualification – Chartered/Certified Accountant (CPA, ACCA) or other comparable/equivalent qualification
• 7 years of progressive professional experience in donor funded projects with at least 3 years in grants/contract management experience implementing with partners.
• Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines and manage multiple projects simultaneously
• Experience in developing and delivering trainings on grants and compliance subjects to staff and local partners
• Exceptional English writing skills.
• Prior experience in conducting project financial reviews and coordinating internal and external audits
• Partnership/sub award experience including instrument development, systems and process development.
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience in Grant and fund management, financial reporting, Partnership management, Project Financial Management, Project management, Budgeting and budgetary control
• Cultural sensitivity and capacity to work in a multicultural diverse context.
• Hands-on experience with Sun Systems, Microsoft Dynamics 365 – Business Central and/or a similar accounting system would be considered an asset.