Title: Grants Associate (2 posts)
Program: Kenya Feed the Future Local Food Systems
Reports to: Grants & Sub-Award Manager
Location and Travels: Nairobi, Kisumu
Grade: 5
About TechnoServe
TechnoServe is a leader in harnessing the power of the private sector to help people lift themselves out of poverty. A non-profit organization operating in 29 countries, we work with enterprising men and women in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses, and industries. We have helped millions create lasting prosperity for their families and communities by linking people to information, capital, and markets.
Founded over 50 years ago, TechnoServe has been named the #1 non-profit for fighting poverty by the Impact Matters charity ratings agency.
TechnoServe believes achieving prosperity requires full and free participation from women and girls. Our Gender Policy and our commitment to programmatic excellence requires that we involve, empower, and benefit both women and men, both at the level of our beneficiaries and our staff.
By joining our team, you will benefit from a respectful working environment of women and men who believe in each other’s professional development.
Program Overview
The USAID-funded Kenya Feed the Future Local Food Systems (LFS) activity aims to foster an inclusive, locally led food systems premised on profitable and diversified farms and agri-food businesses that are resilient to shocks and deliver safe, affordable, and nutritious food to low-income consumers year-round. In collaboration with local actors, LFS will identify and address the root causes of inefficiencies within the food system, testing and scaling innovative solutions.
Central to this approach is leveraging key food system nodes, such as food processors and first- and last-mile service networks, to enhance the production and flow of nutritious food to underserved populations. In addition, the activity will increase economic opportunities for women and youth, encouraging market actors to adopt gender- and youth-responsive business practices that challenge existing norms and empower marginalized individuals.
The activity will implement solutions including:
- Improving the resilience of vulnerable populations
- Building the capacity of food system enterprises
- Catalyzing investment into local agricultural market systems
- Establishing strong and transparent relationships between food system actors
- Improving the availability and affordability of nutritious food products, especially for women and children
- Expanding employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, especially for youth and women
The Role:
The Kenya Feed the Future Local Food Systems project requires a highly motivated Grants Associate to work closely with the Grants & Sub-Award Manager and internal teams to gather program data, develop reports, and ensure that project meets all requirements. S/he will report to the Grants & Sub Awards Manager and provide oversight and auditing support to ensure pre and post-award management in accordance with the relevant regulations, including but not limited to reporting in accordance with USAID rules and regulations, and conducting site visits to support monitoring of grantees.
Primary duties and responsibilities:
Planning and Implementation
- With guidance from the Grants & Sub awards Manager, develops and implements the use of the LFS grants manual.
- Supports work planning and activity planning to align the grants program with overall project activities.
- Supports the Grants & Sub awards Manager in the development of timeline and details required for any activities needing grants, conduct market search and price analysis in coordination with technical staff.
- Coordinates with staff requesting grants to prepare Request for Applications (RFAs) to solicit applications and assess the capacity and readiness of potential grantees.
- Supports the Grants & Sub awards Manager in the evaluation and selection committee process for grantees.
- Facilitates capacity-building initiatives for grantees by collecting necessary paperwork for monitoring technical and financial alignment.
- Assists in the preparation and documentation of the grants award cycle for grants, ensuring that the technical prerequisites required for capturing relevant information in the solicitation process are readily available.
- Provides support in review application documents and packaging them for COP and USAID approval.
- Provides support to grantees in reviewing DA1 processing requirements and tracking foreign tax reporting.
- Supports the monitoring and regular verification of assets held by grantees.
- Aids in reviewing grantees’ budgets for accuracy and reasonableness, ensuring that budgets are well supported with precise budget narratives for onboarding purposes.
- Documents identified gaps during routine monthly and weekly monitoring to facilitate capacity-building efforts.
- Supports the Grants & Sub awards Manager to draft grant agreements and amendments, explaining terms, conditions, roles, and responsibilities. Ensures that identified weaknesses in initial grantee assessments and related requirements are incorporated into the agreements explicitly with the required monitoring actions.
- Supports the Grants & Sub awards Manager to organize kickoff meetings and appraise grantees of the responsibilities, requirements and policies and procedures to be followed during the life of the grant.
- Supports the Grants & Sub Awards Manager to ensure on-time deliverables, payments, and cash flow requests by monitoring milestones and payment schedules. eaQMcu7 BVUcJh
- Any other duties as assigned by the Grants & Sub awards Manager
Compliance
- Provides training, guidance, and direction to program staff on planning, implementation, and compliance of grants policies, procedures, and instructions, specifically their role in the process.
- Reviews grants for completeness and appropriateness with the work plan.
- Ensures all required documentation is uploaded in the grants database.
- Supports the audit of grant files no less than annually
- Reviews grant milestones and requests for payments against grant agreements to ensure compliance.
- Trains on and enforces policies and procedures to prevent improprieties, intentional and unintentional.
Academic and Professional Qualifications: Technical & Behavioral Competences:
- Bachelor’s degree required, degree in business or related field preferred
- 2+ years of experience in grants management within the development sector, with a proven record of accomplishment managing complex grant portfolios preferably with international donor-funded organization.
- Familiarity with USAID rules and regulations required.
- Demonstrate solid knowledge and understanding of the FAR, AIDAR, 2 CFR 200, 22 CFR 228
- Ability to perform tasks independently with little or no direction provided.
- Knowledge of grant compliance requirements and regulations.
- Proficiency in using grant management software and tools
Technical & Behavioral Competences:
- Excellent organizational, planning, problem solving and analytical skills.
- Adept communicator, skillfully engaging stakeholders across all organizational levels and other stakeholders in both written & oral English and Swahili.
- Time management
- Adaptability and flexibility
- Attention to ethics & integrity
- Proficiency in writing clear, persuasive, and structured proposals.
- Budgeting and Financial Acumen
- Strong organizational skills
- High attention to detail
Additional notes:
We encourage all qualified individuals who share TechnoServe’s vision of improving the lives of others through proven business solutions to apply.
With our commitment to diversity, we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and affirmative action employer and do not discriminate based on gender, race, color, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, HIV/AIDS status, protected veteran status, disability, and all other protected classes.
We are also proud of our commitment to protecting staff, partners, and beneficiaries from abuse and exploitation and thoroughly vet all final candidates through rigorous background and reference checks.
If you have a disability that affects your ability to use our online system to apply for a position at TechnoServe, please contact Human Resources at [email protected] or call +1 202 785 4515.
More Information
- Job City Nairobi, Kenya
