Grants Assistant

Summary:
The Grants Assistant will support the Grants Making Unit. He/she provides efforts in developing the grant activities in line with the program objectives and then supervises and monitors the implementation as per the development. He/she advises and assists with the grant design, development, implementation, program monitoring, and evaluation of grant-making authority. He/she assists in analyzing and evaluating grant applications and reviews and analyzes budget estimates based on allocation, feasibility and consistency. He/she assists in ensuring that grant applications adhere to all procedures established in the SES II Grants under Contracts Manual including closeout of individual grants and dispute resolution with grantees when needed.
The Grants Assistant will be responsible for completeness of each individual grant file, managing the grantee database, tracking progress, tracking payments of grantees, and maintaining an inventory log of all commodities purchased directly for grantees. The Grants Assistant will also participate in the training of potential grantees on completing grant applications and budgets. The Grants Assistant will regularly update the grants database and provide relevant monitoring information to the RAMEL team and other technical units.
Specific Job Functions:
• Assists in coordination with the engineering support group, as well as the local governance group, procurement, finance, RAMEL, and compliance team under SES II.
• Helps to provide guidance to award and implement grants, contracts, and sub-awards according to the SES II Grants under Contracts Manual.
• Manages the Grant Application and all blended grants under each approved grant activity.
Job Function/ Description:
Primary responsibilities include, but are not limited to the following:
• Assists in administering grants under contracts (GUC) program to ensure that systems, process, rules, regulations and documents are adequate to expense grant funds and complete all grants within the SES II-time frame;
• Assists in communicating with senior management and key external partners and entities on key relevant grant-related issues including vetting, legal and regulatory matters, etc.;
• Facilitates interaction where necessary with other units on grants matters;
• Helps ensure that overall SES II grant making processes and timelines are relevant and realistic to ensure projects and grants processes can be completed within SES II timeframe.
• Maintain the appropriate systems and tools to forecast and track the status of grants;
• Helps ensure that IRD's grant and contract compliance plan meets program needs and, when necessary, adjusts to meet implementation realities;
• Ensures that all grant cycle project files are full and complete and contain all required documentation.
• Maintains communication with subcontractors, sub grantees, and vendors to ensure smooth administration of the grants process;
• Reviews all sub grantee and subcontractor invoices for compliance with contractual terms and conditions;
• Ensures technical approval/review if provided for all reported deliverables on sub-contractor/grantee invoices;
• Collaborates with compliance audits for issues related to the grants program;
Administers grant close-out procedures.