Overview

In close coordination with the US Embassy and USAID, the goal of the USAID/OTI-funded Littorals Regional Initiative (LRI) is to support US foreign policy priorities to shore up stability and prevent violent extremism in the Littoral region, including Ghana.

Initial objectives include:

1. Rapidly delivering effective and relevant programming on the ground through targeted interventions that may be scaled up.
2. Informing and improving USG programming by piloting approaches and sharing reporting.
3. Providing rapid response capacity, from hiring STTAs to quick response activities, in the event of a crisis or opportunity.

Position Summary:
The Grants Officer will be responsible to ensure effective and efficient management of grants administration and to ensure flexible, innovative, and rapid-response mechanisms are designed to target key zones. S/he will also ensure that the Grant Management and administration function is always in compliance with Creative and USAID’s policies and procedures; and will work towards capacity building of the recipients as well as the other staff members in the area of grants management.

Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:

• Provides oversight and management of grants staff and grants program.
• Organizes and coordinates organizational staffing structure and workflow of grants staff activities and administration.
• Update and maintain grants files in OTI Anywhere, on Creative’s SharePoint, and generate weekly internal grants reports.
• Issues and reviews relevant information pertaining to grants clearances using the Activity Cycle Flow Chart.
• Responsible for ensuring quality control and the integrity of the data in Creative’s online grants database and ensures that the data in the system is always up to date.
• Responsible for ensuring compliance with Creative’s grants policies as detailed in the Field Manual and the program’s Activity Manual Addendum (Grants Manual).
• Coordinate closely with program staff to ensure timely administration and monitoring of grant agreements.
• Coordinate with finance, procurement, and program staff to facilitate grantee kick-off meeting, monitoring and closeout of grant activities.
• Coordinate closely with Grants, Procurement and Programs to ensure activity-level spending is on track and provide quality control on any required budget modifications.
• Provide guidance and interpretation for program staff as well as grantees of Creative’s grants policies and procedures and USG regulation.
• Manage the grants and direct implementation pipeline.
• Manage the financial commitments, spending, and deobligations of the activities pool and all program fund sources.
• Ensure that grant master files are always up-to-date and ready for audit.
• Lead the grants management team to serve as a central point of grant activity coordination and facilitation.
• Provide support to technical units on grants compliance and the online grants database.
• Provide training in grants compliance to program staff.
• Other duties as required from the Grants Manager.Qualifications
• Bachelor’s degree in relevant field or professional accounting/financial qualification required.
• Minimum of three (3) years professional experience working in complex and challenging field operational contexts.
• Minimum one (1) year working on an international donor program with a grant component. Previous USAID grant experience strong preferred.
• Competence in computers and using financial software.
• Understanding of budget and cost control management.
• Excellent written and spoken English skills.
• French language proficiency is highly desired.
• Must have existing work authorization for Ghana.

Local Ghanaian candidates strongly encouraged to apply.

PI133208014