This position provides grants and financial management services to the portfolio of awards and contracts that are implemented by the Education and Adolescent Empowerment (EAE) Team. The incumbent is responsible for ensuring effective and timely administration of grants, contracts and partner funding agreements through the award life cycle; developing an understanding of donor requirements and expectations for the agreement; ensuring compliance; and coordinating with country offices, program staff, and others throughout CARE and within partner organizations as appropriate.
The Grants and Finance Manager (GFM) is responsible for the initial preparation / review, negotiation, due diligence, monitoring and modifications of agreements and contracts as well as the submission of regular reports. In addition, the incumbent is charged with closing out prime and partner funding agreements. The GFM is responsible for monitoring financial reports and expenditures of current grants and contracts, and identifying trends associated with over/under expenditure and making recommendations to resolve these.

With priority focused on CUSA EAE and other related pass-through opportunities, the incumbent will work with Resource Development Teams, Institutional Funding and Strategy (IFS) and Country Offices (COs) to develop budgets for new opportunities ensuring adequate cost recovery, accuracy, reasonableness and compliance prior to submission to the donor. The GFM will coordinate closely with Award Management Solutions (AMS) during the pre-award and award phases to meet requirements and address potential exceptions imposed by CARE’s donors.

The GFM reports to the EAE Director (Business Operations & Finance) but is also a member of the wider organizational contracts and grants management team supported by AMS.

Responsibilities:

1. Program monitoring, reporting, and Financial management
   • Regularly monitors objectives, milestones and time frames, and budgets including over and under-expenditure and provides recommendations to resolve.
   • Working closely with SSC and implementing COs/HQs, ensures that narrative and financial reports have been submitted on time at award and partner funding agreement levels. In the case of USG or other donor “contracts”, reviews and validates invoices prior to SSC finalizing these to send to the donor.
   • Ensures donor mandated supplemental reporting requirements are met (e.g. ADS 303, ADS591, FFATA, VAT, etc.), which requires coordination with SSC and the implementing Business Unit (e.g. CO).
   • Monitors payment schedules and ensures payments are made on a timely basis.
   • Maintains sub-ledger for partner advances and expenses.
   • Ensures match expenditure is correctly reported, and escalates cases where risk of not meeting match within projected time frames.
   • Works closely with the implementing unit to prepare agreement budget modifications, when required for donor approval.
   • Processes modifications of agreements (i.e. grants and contracts) including budgets.
   • Prepares waivers and exceptions for submission to the donor or internally, as appropriate.
   • When necessary, identify items where he/she needs to seek approval from USG for any budget/expenditure adjustments due to changes in CARE USA’s Negotiated Indirect Cost Recovery Agreement (NICRA) rates as approved by the USG and communicates to the Point of Contact of the award/grant for escalation to USG Assigned Officer.
   • Monitors and prepares budget vs expenditure analysis reports.
   • Sets-up and maintains agreement and partner funding agreement files including supporting documentation.
2. Award management
   • Reviews and supports negotiating donor agreements (both grants and contracts) including Individual Project Implementation Agreements (IPIAs) from other CI members, and facilitates approval of Agreement Approval Checklists.
   • Ensures partner due diligence assessment process is followed and up-to-date. Monitors partner follow-up actions cited in the due diligence assessment as areas for improvement, if required.
   • Ensures procurement of consultancy services follows CARE procurement policies and donor regulations, and confirm budget availability.
   • Prepares partner funding agreements including Individual Project Implementation Agreements (IPIAs) and Partner Agreement Checklist.
   • Working with the Shared Service Center (SSC), ensures that grants and contracts are correctly set up in PeopleSoft. Specifically, the GFM submits proper documentation to acquire FCs and Project IDs; requests budget uploads to PeopleSoft and validates accuracy thereafter.
   • When necessary, prepares Budget Agreement Memorandum (BAM) to facilitate funds allocations to COs, and verifies proper accounting entries are made by SSC.
   • Conducts project start-up orientation for program implementation teams (including non-CUSA COs) on terms and conditions donor requirements and regulations. Leads in the setup of administrative and financial arrangements.
   • Closes out prime and partner funding agreements in a timely and accurate manner per the donor requirements. This includes proper liquidation of all partner advances and reconciliations with sub-ledgers.
   • Reviews and submits assets disposal plans, final program and financial reports, evaluations and other program documentation.
   • Establishes and maintains archives for document retention.
3. Compliance Management:
   • Carries out compliance monitoring to ensure adherence to the terms and conditions of agreements and partner funding agreements, and CARE policies. This includes on-site project visits.
   • Ensures that project managers or project leads who implement activities are aware of terms of the agreement and are clear on compliance requirements through training, coaching and monitoring.
   • Sets up compliance reporting and follow up mechanisms.
   • Throughout the agreement, monitors partner compliance – for instance spot-checking systems to ensure that: financial reports reflect entries on general ledger; financial reporting is consistent with program reporting; expenses are valid and allowable; etc
   • Reviews CO procurement requests ($25,000 or above) to ensure compliance.
   • In consultation with the Relationship Manager and Program Manager, prepares proper and timely notifications to donors of changes in agreement conditions (e.g. change in key personnel, principle investigator, etc.). May be responsible for submission as delegated.
   • As needed, coordinate communication and contracts with consultants by assisting with the preparation of scopes-of-work and leading the procurement related activities.
4. Support Resource Mobilization
   • Works with resource development and donor relationship teams (including program) to collect and compile Go/No-Go decision or Pre-IPIA documentation required for identifying proposal development opportunities.
   • Reviews proposals for accuracy and completeness.
   • Ensures proposal budgets are accurate and reasonable, comply with donor requirements, and are adequate to fulfill proposed program activities. Special attention focuses on validating that:
     • EAE technical support is budgeted as appropriate,
     • EAE grants management support is included,
     • If match is required, that it is allowable per donor regulations, and
     • Indirect costs and other shared costs (the latter as appropriate) are calculated correctly.
     • Facilitates approval in coordination with the Relationship Manager, as required, of relevant CARE policy related documentation (e.g. match/cost share & budget exceptions checklist, ICR waiver, etc.)
5. Risk Management
   • Liaison with CARE’s Shared Service Center.
   • Updates on a quarterly basis the assigned portfolio containing basic agreement and sub-agreement data.
   • Supports CARE’s internal and external audit preparations, and provides information and documentation as required by the auditors for assigned-portfolio of awards.
   • Advises of actual or potential risk in administration of awards where appropriate.
   • Contributes to the mutual learning and knowledge sharing to further strengthen CARE USA’s grants and contracts management.
6. Teaming
   • Assist the Education & Adolescent Empowerment Team and PSI (as and when necessary) in Education and Program related tasks. This includes supporting cross-cutting portfolios of CARE’s work in education, gender, adolescent empowerment and youth programming and the implementation of program quality standards; lending support to the development and roll out of the Education And Adolescent Empowerment strategies; contribute to the development of annual work plans, global conference agendas, and unit knowledge products; play a proactive role in the integration and harmonization of Education & Adolescent Empowerment work.

Responsibilities:

• Bachelors degree in relevant discipline: sciences, business, social sciences, social development, international management, public health or other relevant fields of study.
• 3 years experience working in the field of international development.
• Experience managing USAID grants/contracts administration and/or other bilateral/multilateral donor funding, private corporate, private foundations.