🇸🇱 Job Vacancy @ JHPIEGO – Grant and Capacity Building Officer

Internal and External Advert – Re-advertised 

Jhpiego is an international, non-profit health organization affiliated with The Johns Hopkins University. For 40 years and in over 155  countries, Jhpiego Corporation has been providing technical support to the Ministries of Health in partner countries across the globe  for the past 40 years in a variety of technical areas including cervical cancer treatment and prevention, community health, HIV and  AIDS, maternal and newborn health, health workforce capacity development (both Pre-service and in-service), family planning, malaria,  and IPC/WASH.

The Global Reach II project is a five-year global HRSA-funded project, which started in October 2021. It employs an iterative approach based on a country’s needs, informed by clients and beneficiaries, targeting high-priority populations and low-coverage and poor performing areas to achieve HIV epidemic control. In Sierra Leone, Global Reach II works with the government and builds local capacity to identify and implement proven solutions where they exist and develop innovative solutions to overcome persistent barriers that affect HIV services. Global Reach II will develop the capacity of the interdisciplinary health workforce to provide quality, client centered care, ensuring that individuals will be informed and empowered to access services, receive high-quality care, adhere to treatment, and remain in care, ultimately contributing to the achievement of HIV epidemic control in Sierra Leone.

The following vacant position is available for immediate filling:

Position: Grant and Capacity Building Officer (1 position) 

Job Location: Freetown 

Reports to: Project Lead 

Position Overview: 

The Grants Officer will be responsible for oversight and management of the sub-grants under Jhpiego/Sierra Leone program. S/he advises and assists in the design, development, and oversight of the sub-grants management policies, procedures, and practices. Provides guidance and interpretation of grants policy for program staff as well as grantees. Assist the Grants manager in analyzing and evaluating grant applications, and awards to ensure adherence to grants management policies and donor requirements and work closely with the technical team to analyze work plans, budget estimates, and Milestones for reasonableness and consistency. He/she will be required to travel to the field to conduct compliance visits from time to time.

Responsibilities 

• Work with the Grants Manager, Cluster Managers, and other technical staff to oversee the process of selecting grantees for award. This will include conducting pre-award assessments to determine the responsibility of prospective grantees and providing feedback to the applicants as per guidance from the project’s leadership.
• Coordinate and participate in developing scope of work and budgets for prospective grantees
• In coordination with other grants officers/finance officers and technical teams, maintain and update the sub-award tracking system on a monthly basis, including invoices and technical reports, in accordance to subgrants documents. • In coordination with the finance office and technical team, conduct timely review and verification of deliverables submitted by sub-grantees on a regular basis, including budget analysis and review.
• Make determinations of risk profiles of prospective grantees and recommend appropriate approaches to mitigate the risks identified
• Provide technical assistance to staff and grantees on administrative policies and procedures for grants management such as;  Jhpiego grants management policies and procedures
• Policies and procedures for procurement under sub-grants
• Interpretation of donor regulations
• Grantee monitoring
• Review monthly reports against the milestones where each grantee submits requests for reimbursements, liquidations, financial status, monitoring and evaluation of data, and a narrative progress report.
• Consolidate programmatic and financial review feedback for all Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Local Government Authorities (LGAs) and assess the implementation of the recommendations set forth on a regular basis.
•  Monitor performance of sub-grantees including expenditure analysis and progress on targets, and coordinate with the finance and technical teams for mitigation strategies.
• Ensure systems and tools are in place to enable successful monitoring of the action at contractual and programmatic levels.  Be a liaison person and maintain a comprehensive timetable for grants audits and facilitate auditor to carry out the required audits in a timely and cost-effective manner.
• Oversee accuracy, presentation, and timeliness of all grant programmatic and financial reports, ensuring reconciliation to the C3HP Annual Work Plan and Jhpiego accounts system respectively.
• Build the capacity of sub-grantees in the areas of grants management and compliance with the donor’s and organizational policies.
• Conduct site visits to selected grantee organizations to directly observe project implementation, provide project management support and train on USAID rules and regulations.
• In collaboration with the Grants Manager organize and maintain all project documents and files related to the grant process and individual grantee activities.
• In collaboration with Grants Manager maintain and update specific project and related correspondence files, tracking and status sheets, and databases.
• In collaboration with Grants Manager collect and maintain complete documentation of submission/transmittal of reports that are specific to grants under prime awards.

1. a) Inventory of property in grantees’ custody
2. b) VAT reports of grantees
3. c) Audit reports of grantees
4. d) Other deliverables (programmatic and financial) of grantees

• In collaboration with Grants Manager conduct investigations to resolve contractual issues/problems/disputes arising from grants and make recommendations to the Finance and Operations Director and Chief of Party for resolution. • Assume other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Economics, project management, or a related field [Master’s degree preferred]
•  Professional training related to grants management is an added advantage
• Minimum of five (5) years of post-qualification experience in a grant management position in a reputable NGO or development agency.

Knowledge, Skills, and Experiences 

• Program management skills
• Communication and interpersonal skills – Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to deal with staff at all levels
• Tax Knowledge – In-depth knowledge of Sierra Leone income tax regulations
• Understanding of USAID rules and regulations
• Supervisory skills- Ability to Mentor and train other Finance staff
• Knowledge of the Microsoft Office suite
• Knowledge of sub-awards and mandatory award requirements

Qualified persons are required to send their Curriculum Vitae (CV) and application letter to: [email protected] Kindly state in the subject area the position and location you are applying for. CVs without proper labeling will not be considered. 

Deadline for the submission of applications: 27th May 2024. Please note that given the likely high volume of applications, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. 

Candidates who have previously applied should not re-apply for the position.