Senior Grants and Contracts Officer

Title

Senior Grants and Contracts Officer

Location

Harare / Bulawayo

Type of Contract

Fixed Term Contract

Deadline

07/04/2023 (Expired)

About

Zimbabwe Health Interventions (ZHI) is a not-for-profit human development organisation which is registered as a Private Voluntary Organisation (PVO 17/22). ZHI’s mission is to develop and deliver innovative and sustainable high-impact, integrated health interventions to the communities we serve, while working with and strengthening existing institutions.

The Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe women (DREAMS)-Reignite Innovate Sustain and Empower (RISE) Program aims to prevent new HIV infections and reduce vulnerability among Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVC), OVC caregivers and Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) in Zimbabwe. The DREAMS-RISE program is being implemented in priority high HIV burden districts in Zimbabwe. ZHI’s primary role is to deliver a comprehensive curriculum on HIV prevention, gender norms and social asset building targeted at AGYW in school, out of school and their sexual partners at community level. ZHI’s core thrust in the DREAMS-RISE Program is to keep girls and young women HIV Free through supporting them to; Stay in school; Prevent early pregnancies; Prevent sexual violence; Access Post violence care; Reduce child marriage. DREAMS-RISE program provides a comprehensive, multi-sectoral package of core interventions to address key factors that make girls and young women particularly vulnerable to HIV. These include structural factors, such as gender-based violence, exclusion from economic opportunities, and a lack of access to secondary school. DREAMS-RISE program layers multiple interventions at once so that AGYW are surrounded with critical support to keep them safe from HIV and other risks.


Basic Function

Working under the supervision of the Head of Compliance, Contracts and Grants, the Senior Grants and Contracts Officer is primarily responsible for managing the administrative process for sub-award administration from pre-award to grant close-out. He/she will provide professional expertise in subaward management to ensure full compliance with donor rules and regulations. The Senior Grants and Contracts Officer will be required to perform a comprehensive analysis of grant terms and conditions for all sub-agreements to ensure that the subrecipient organizations have the capacity or are able to acquire the necessary capacity to successfully perform and meet contractual obligations. He/she will be expected to provide expert interpretation of donor rules and regulations as well as providing capacity building to sub-awardees in financial management. The Senior Grants and Contracts Officer will be responsible for ensuring the efficient operation and maintenance of an effective sub-award management system working closely with project teams and other enterprise services staff to achieve successful and compliant grant performance.


Job Description

Conducts pre-award assessments for potential sub-awardees to assess their financial capacity and gives recommendations to the project team; Identifies any significant risks and recommend plan for mitigation including justification of working at risk; Reviews and negotiate critical award terms and conditions; Manages sub-grant set-up in the grants management and/or financial management system; Advises senior management on matters of concern and elements of risk that can be detrimental to successful grant performance and recommends alternative approaches to overcome them; Drafts sub-recipient packs before submission to the Head of Compliance Contracts and Grants for review and submission to donors; These will include sub-grant agreements and any modifications thereof, budgets, budget realignments, cost extensions and any other issues requiring donor approval such as waivers for the procurement of restricted commodities, sub awards, salaries, consultant rates, etc ; Develops and maintain strong relationships with sub-awardees; Conducts periodic compliance reviews on sub-recipient organizations as part of sub- recipient monitoring to ensure they are compliant with the sub-grant terms and conditions, ZHI policies as well as the applicable funder rules and regulations; Reviews sub-award financial reports before disbursement of payment; Responds to audit matters related to sub-award management (both internal and external); Collaborates with the project team staff and other enterprise services staff to monitor subaward performance; Trains project staff in standardized procedures for efficient sub-award management; Manages input to sub-award close-out: Ensure that subawards are administered according to the highest standards of ethics and compliance.


Knowledge, Skills and abilities

A customer-friendly attitude and an ability to cope with work-related stress; Advanced knowledge of donor (USG and non-USG) rules and regulations, various mechanisms of funding and types of award of acquisition (contracts) and assistance (cooperative agreements and grants); Strong and solid command of professional theory, techniques, practices and procedures requiring comprehensive knowledge of contracting principles; Effective skills in negotiations, sub award management and procurement; Effective oral communication and business/technical writing skills; Independently use technology to perform work. Ability to ensure integrity of systems, internal controls and data, including recommending modifications for further strengthening as indicated; Excellent organizational skills and strong ability to manage and meet multiple tasks; Read, write and speak English; International development, healthcare, or consulting industry experience preferred; Ability to analyze highly complex situations (e.g., high risk conditions or business-sensitive issues) and alert leadership to impact on performance; Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office applications such as MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint; Ability to manage and work under pressure with minimal supervision; Good team player, positive attitude, flexible mind, comfortable in working in a multi- cultural setting ;Strong sense of ethics, integrity, credibility, and respect for diversity; Ability to communicate effectively with staff and management with diplomacy and firmness; Ability to travel a minimum of 25%;


Qualifications and experience

Bachelor's Degree or its International Equivalent in Accounting, Business Administration or Related Field; Or an equivalent combination of relevant education and/or experience sufficient to successfully perform the key responsibilities of the job; At least 5 years’ experience in a similar role; Graduate of ACCA, CIMA, ICSA, SAA, IAC, HND or any other relevant professional qualification will be relevant; Familiarity with U.S. Government grant rules and regulations, procurement and auditing standards will be an added advantage.


Application Procedures

Step 1: click here to complete the job application form.
Step 2: Submit your CV and application letter via email to recruitment@zhi.org.zw clearly indicating the position you are applying for on the subject of the email.


Statement

During the application process, ZHI will not charge any fee nor will it require any payment for an application to be considered. ZHI is an equal opportunity employer and employs personnel without regard to race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, language, citizenship, creed, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, physical handicap or financial ability.