Grants Manager at Women Educational Researchers of Kenya

• WERK seeks a Grants Manager for a Reading Champions project in Kenya. The purpose of the activity is to improve and sustain student learning through a resilient and accountable education system together with families, communities and other Kenyan partners. We are looking for individuals who have a passion for making a difference in the lives of people around the world and demonstrate leadership, versatility, and integrity in their work. All candidates must possess a degree in a relevant field and English fluency is required. Experience in Kenya or East Africa is preferred.
• The Grants Manager will report to the COP and be responsible for all subaward management, particularly the youth grants. This individual will work closely with the Reading Specialist and the Finance and Administration Manager to manage all the subrecipients. The individual will also work closely with the COP to leverage private sector support for relevant Reading Champions activities.
• The primary responsibilities of the Grants Manager will encompass strengthening the grant function, particularly during the onboarding process for sub-grantees. This includes offering support in the review of budgets and narratives. Additionally, the Manager will be actively involved in the monthly review of financial reports submitted by active sub-grantees, which encompasses reviewing invoices for reimbursements and conducting field visits to physically verify financial documents. Furthermore, the Manager will provide on-the-job training to sub-grantees, addressing identified monitoring gaps, and may engage in various supportive assignments as required. The Manager will ensure monitoring and capacity building of the sub-grantees is extensively conducted to reduce risk in the mismanagement of the active signed agreements. This will also ensure necessary technical support is given to all sub-grantees. It will also help to fast truck the packaging of the grants package for client approval.

Responsibilities include:

• Facilitates capacity-building initiatives for sub-grantees by collecting necessary paperwork for the purpose of monitoring technical and financial alignment.
• Assists in the preparation and documentation of the grants award cycle for both grants, ensuring that the technical prerequisites required for capturing relevant information in the solicitation process are readily available.
• Provides support to sub-grantees in reviewing WERKs processing requirements and tracking tax reporting.
• Aids in reviewing sub-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.
• Maintains a financial management filing system for Reading Champions project, including the accurate tracking of fund reimbursement, liquidations, and burn rates, and ensures there are no delays in fund disbursement.
• Collaborates with project teams to ensure that deliverables remain on schedule.
• Ensures that sub-grantees comply with periodic requirements as per grant agreement clauses.
• Establishes sound mechanisms in accordance with WERK’s policies and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) to facilitate grant fund disbursement and the justification of expenses.
• Analyzes grantees' funding requests and technical reports as needed.
• Provides support for day-to-day operational activities to ensure that the grants mechanism offers the necessary support to the project team.

Qualifications:

• A Bachelor’s level degree in a related field from an accredited university.
• At least 5 years of demonstrated experience managing projects, preferably those related to early grade reading.
• Grants management experience, preferably in Kenya or East Africa.
• Experience building the capacity of local organizations to implement and manage development projects is highly desired.
• A proven ability to identify high-potential business ideas, demonstrated experience working collaboratively with youth and/or institutional and private partners, and experience implementing activities designed to leverage private investments to support development goals.
• Ability to write, communicate and prepare contractual documents and reports clearly in English.

The deadline for submission of applications is Friday 7th June, 2024