Grants Officer

The Investment for Business Resilience Activity (formerly known as the Financial Sector Reform Activity) in Ukraine is a five-year program funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and managed by DAI Global LLC (DAI). The purpose of the activity is to transform the country’s financial sector into a sophisticated, well-functioning, competitive market that is aligned with European Union (EU) standards and integrated into international financial systems. This transformation will mobilize private finance for sustained economic growth in Ukraine.

The IBR is looking for candidates to fill in the Grants Officer, LTTA in Kyiv or Lviv.

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE:

The Grants Officer will principally support award administration processes for grants, working under the direction of a Senior Grants Specialist, supporting and leading key administrative tasks and responsibilities of the entire grants award lifecycle, ensuring transparent and competitive selection processes. Because prospective grantees will include a focus on identifying non-traditional, local, or niche technical partners, unaccustomed to the workings of USAID grants, the Grants Officer will work closely with senior members of the Grants and Technical (Component) teams to identify right-sized, best-fit approaches that meet the objectives of IBR’ s GUC facility. The Grants Officer will perform a key administrative function in the documentation and control process for the entire grants administration cycle, from pre-planning to solicitation/application to grant award and close-out. The Grants Officer will adhere to the USAID-approved GUC manual and ensure compliance with DAI policies and procedures for grants administration and closeout. Although the Grants Officer will focus mainly on supporting grant award administration processes, s/he may be called upon to support other grant award administration processes under Component.

OBJECTIVES AND DUTIES:

Grant Award Administration:

• Prepare, track, and file all documentation pertaining to grant award administration using DAI-approved templates and systems, such as the Technical Administrative Management Information System (TAMIS/GM+), online grants intake platform, and SharePoint.
• Lead responsible for file management and retention of assigned grants files, ensuring completeness and day-to-day management of grants record keeping.
• Ensure compliance with all applicable USAID grants-under contract regulations, the approved Grants Manual, and DAI internal grants management procedures and forms.
• Draft or review grant solicitations for proper use of templates, formatting, and annexes.
• Prepare first drafts of grant award agreements or modifications for review.
• Administer or monitor the IBR grants intake portal for publishing notice of funding opportunities, answering questions and publishing answers, receiving and processing grant concept notes or applications, and ensuring updates to the intake portal.
• Administer the grantee selection process to ensure that policies and procedures are upheld.
• Prepare documentation for grant meetings, technical evaluation committees, and in support of award selection processes.
• Ensure all grant budget estimates meet the standards of allowability, allocability, reasonableness, and consistency.
• Conduct pre-award partner vetting, including but not limited to screening interviews; completing financial management and organizational capability questionnaires; reviewing organizational systems, controls and manuals; ensuring partner country registration; understanding of standard provisions, and assisting with partner UEI number registration.
• Based on grantee due diligence and capacity assessments, recommend solutions needed for the grantee to adequately manage the type of grant considered.

• Co-develop capacity building plans for grantees, as appropriate.
• Provide procedures, policy guidance, training, or templates to grantees to ensure adherence to their grant agreement.

Grant Award Monitoring, Reporting, and Closeout:

• Develop and/or maintain trackers with up-to-date information from selection to closeout for all grant awards ensuring quality, compliance, schedule, progress toward deliverables or milestones, indicators, and payment tracking.
• Monitor, track, review, and process grant payments and milestone verifications.
• Work closely with the finance team to ensure that accrued grant liabilities are accurately tracked, and progress payments are processed on a timely basis.
• Review all requests for payment or reimbursement for accuracy, compliance, completeness and sufficient detail to ensure compliance with the grant agreement. Submit requests for payment through approved project systems.
• Support gathering feedback from grant recipients for monitoring, evaluation and learning purposes, including grantee performance reporting.
• Work closely with the grantee and component team to ensure timely closeout, disposition, and final reports for grants, and that all documentation is properly archived and closed in DAI systems.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Continual Learning and Reporting:

• Support the technical, M&E and Communications teams in monitoring the work of grantees in agreement with USAID and DAI policies and regulations.
• Provide scheduled training, guidance, coaching, mentorship, and support (on-the-job training, learning-by-doing) to project staff on grants schedules, implementation, and compliance of grants policies, procedures, and instructions, tailored to their role in the process.
• Work with the MEL and technical team to ensure that all grantee/activity monitoring reports and data are correctly entered into the project’s Activity Database (i.e. TAMIS) on a regular basis, and that databases are capable of monitoring, tracking, and reporting different reporting requirements.
• Contribute data required on a recurrent basis to assist in the preparation of reports, analysis, and presentations on grantee/activity performance.
• Other duties as assigned by the Senior Grants Manager or Chief of Party that are consistent with the overall focus of the assignment.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in international development, business, accounting, or related field.
• Minimum of 3 years’ experience in international business, procurement and grants management, with experience in USAID grants management preferred.
• Demonstrated record of achieving results in grants management with international development programs.
• Fluency in English is preferred, fluency in Ukrainian is required.
• Strong interpersonal skills and written and oral communication skills.
• An extremely well organized and self-directed individual with sound technical skills, analytical ability, good judgment, and strong operational focus.
• Strong computer skills (MS Office suite) required.

Qualified individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Please submit Cover Letter and CV to RecruitmentIBR@dai.com by June 28, 2024.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Please include “Application for Grants Officer: your name and surname” in the subject line.