Job Description

USAID/Somalia Inclusive Resilience in Somalia (IRiS)

TITLE: The Grants and Activities Officer
CONTRACT: Long-Term (LTTA)
LEVEL: Employee
LOCATION: Mogadishu, Somalia, with travel to the field
SUPERVISOR: Grants & Activities Manager

Project Background:

The Inclusive Resilience in Somalia (IRiS) program seeks to accelerate economic development for marginalized groups in the target areas of Somalia by increasing individual, household, business, and community, and system-wide resilience through rural and urban livelihood diversification and promoting inclusive economic market systems to combat real perceived grievances that contribute to violent extremism and conflict.
The project will pursue two main objectives:

1) Strengthen and diversity in rural and urban livelihoods for marginalized groups; and
2) Promote economic agency of marginalized groups.
Position Summary:
The Grants and Activities Officer (GAO) supports the development, management, and closeout of grant agreements and supporting documentation in accordance with USAID regulations and DT Global’s policies and procedures. The GAO is responsible for preparing award documentation while coordinating closely with the rest of the Grants Management Team (GMT) to ensure that compliance requirements are adhered to throughout the life of each grant activity, such as due diligence, grantee vetting, environmental compliance, timely submission of grantee deliverables, budget development, and proper financial oversight. The GAO is key in facilitating coordination with others within the program to secure the timely and proper development, implementation, and closeout of grant activities.

Duties and Responsibilities:
1. Support the technical staff during the ideation phase, addressing compliance challenges in activity and grant designing, budgeting, and overall development.
2. Facilitate the evaluation of concept notes, actively engage in the selection process of promising ideas, perform thorough due diligence assessments on potential grantees, and prepare grant documentation.
3.
Develop the budgets for activities and grants to be implemented, coordinating with the with internal departments, partners, and grantees to identify goods and services required for successful implementation and their associated costs.
4.
Ensure compliance with grant requirements throughout activity implementation by conducting regular reviews of expenses against budgets, aiming to maintain proper tracking and adherence to compliance standards.
5. Collaborate with the Procurement and logistics department to ensure maintaining a proper record of all documentation, facilitating the smooth progress of procurement activities and grants and timely delivery of goods to grantees.
6. Organize kick-off meetings with grantees in collaboration with internal and external stakeholders, including but not limited to program managers, technical experts, consortium partners and grantees.
7. Complete and file all grant and activity documentation on DTGO system such as grant agreements, transfer of titles, and activity close out forms.
8. Regular travel to field sites independently or with technical teams during activities development, implementation, closeout and provide necessary support to grantees during the implementation of the project. Provide monthly cash forecast request submission in collaboration with Finance department.
9. Contribute to the development of weekly activity updates, and any reports required.
10. Provision of technical assistance to grantees such as providing training on grant management processes, regulation & compliance, and other business essential trainings to ensure effective program implementation.
11. Contribute to the annual work plans and annual reports by synthesizing the information provided by grantees, highlighting key achievement and challenges to demonstrate grant impact.
12. Deputize the Grant and Activity Manager during his absentia and conduct other duties as assigned from time to time.
13. Other tasks as assigned by supervisor.

Experiences and Qualifications

•Bachelor’s degree in business administration/finance or procurement.
Key Position Competencies and Experience:
• Minimum of one to three (1-3) years of experience in the management and administration of grants and/or donor-funded projects, such as activity management, financial management, procurement, and/or sub-contracting. Experience with International development organizations is preferred.
• Demonstrated experience with cash and in-kind grant management focused on ensuring that procurement, finance, logistics, and programmatic activities are being implemented on-time and in accordance with the specifications of the approved activity.
• Experience in working with local organizations on project design, assessing capacity, providing guidance on procedures, and ensuring compliance with donor policies.
• Prior experience working with USAID contract and grants management policies and procedures is highly desirable, particularly on experience with stabilization, peacebuilding, and/or democracy and governance projects.
• Ability to work in a professional and cordial manner with fellow staff members, visitors, and partner institutions including international and private sector, governmental entities, support organizations, and the general public.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision, to prioritize multiple work assignments in an extremely fast-paced environment, to meet deadlines, and to exercise good, professional judgment that reflects positively on the image and communicates the established program message.
• Demonstrated problem solving and analytical skills and good judgement
• Ability to effectively use computer software including MS Word and Excel
• Ability/willingness to travel throughout Somalia on a regular basis.
• Fluent written and spoken English and Somali are required.

Competencies:
All employee competencies:
• Strong problem solver (seeks guidance on complex issues)
• Critical thinker & demonstrates sound judgement (interprets & integrates complex information and applies procedures; knows when to ask for exceptions)
• Detail oriented (systematically review work prior to submission; raises questions and observations with diplomatic tact; rarely repeats errors)
• Exude strong interpersonal skills (uses tact; is a team player; understands the importance of completely tasks on time and of high quality)
• Effective communication skills (written and spoken, presentation skills, actively listens, accepts open & critical feedback)
• Strives for technical excellence (Understands general programmatic, operational & financial dimensions of assigned tasks & procedures; is proactive in engaging with supervisor and other team members “one-team” to learn more and progress; works with supervisor to take advantage of relevant meetings and presentation inside & outside the office)
• Learning & adapting (dedicated to building new skills, knowledge inside & outside the office; demonstrates wiliness to be mentored; brings relevant information to supervisor / management team; responds positively and openly to change - including new procedures, new strategy new leadership; and uses new practices & values to accomplish goals and solve problems)

DT Global Core Competencies:

• Teamwork: Works cooperatively and effectively with others to achieve common goals. Participates in building a culture characterized by inclusion, trust, and commitment.
• Communication: Effectively conveys information and expresses thoughts professionally Demonstrates effective use of skills and displays openness to other people's ideas and thoughts
• Adaptability: Adjusts planned work by gathering relevant information and applying critical thinking to address multiple demands and competing priorities in a changing environment
• Customer/Client Focused: Anticipates, monitors, and meets the needs of customers and responds to them in an appropriate and responsive manner.
• Diversity & Inclusion: Conveys respect for diverse individuals and perspectives; models inclusive behavior and treats everyone fairly.
• Professionalism: Displays appropriate and ethical behavior, integrity, and personal presentation in the workplace always; demonstrates respectful communication for others, both verbal and non-verbal

Skills Required

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