Grants Coordinator at Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA)

Supervisor : Field Project Manager
Job Status: Start Date TBA; Full-time 1-year contract renewable up to 5 Years

Project Profile
Global Affairs Canada (GAC) and MEDA are supporting 16,000 women and youth entrepreneurs and small-scale businesses to improve their business performance in the agricultural sector in Bauchi State, while also increasing the awareness and capacity to address issues of early and forced child marriage with 25,000 community and family members.

Over five years (2017-2022), the project will focus on selected agricultural value chains originating in Bauchi State to improve the business performance and environment for entrepreneurs and small-scale businesses. The project will focus on small scale business of women and youth in selected agriculture sectors to improve productivity, increase access to markets, financial services and information and to incorporate environmentally sustainable practices.

The project will work with families and communities to better understand the risks of early and forced child marriage and benefits of engaging women and youth in entrepreneurship through awareness campaigns, employment and entrepreneurship skills building, provision of safe spaces, networking and mentorship opportunities.

Position Summary

• The Grants Coordinator is to support the Finance Manager and the Programming Unit in the planning, implementation and evaluation of grants and sub-grants to Key Facilitating Partners (KFPs), and Lead Firms (LFs).
• The Grants Coordinator is responsible for the implementation of Smart Incentives component of MEDA's Youth Entrepreneurship and Women;s Empowerment (WAY) project in Bauchi state in collaboration with the programmatic team.
• S/he will serve as the contact person for grants recipients and identify areas of capacity building of KFPs /LFs for effective use of funds.
• S/he will assist in institutional assessments, capacity building and monitoring of grantee compliance over the life of the WAY Project and provide support and assistance as needed, monitor and document KFPs/LFs budgets and programs, and ensure that grants documentation and financial records are accurate.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Support the Finance Manager and the technical staff to ensure that MEDA rules and regulations are followed in a timely manner for Smart Incentives and Grants to project partners.
• Support to analyze and evaluate all proposed work plans and budgets submitted by partners to ensure adherence to contract terms, GAC and MEDA grants management policies and regulations.
• Monitor sub-grant agreements through contracts developed by MEDA and KFPs/LFs as approved according to MEDA's signing authorities.
• Support regular review of partners recordkeeping processes to ensure that all expenses claimed to the project are accurately documented according to the financial policies of MEDA and GAC.
• Support timely release of funds to KFPs/LFs for effective and smooth execution of project activities.
• Support the Finance Manager to identify capacity building needs of KFPs/LFs in grants management and transfer the knowledge to them appropriately and timely.
• Facilitate grant management, budget reporting and monitoring and other activities related to compliance.
• Work with the Knowledge Management unit at MEDA HQ to develop a database system to track the flow of grants to project partners and disbursements to ensure effective use of funds.
• Collate quarterly financial reports of grants component and submit to the Finance Manager for consolidation into the financial reports of MEDA.
• Assist the Finance Manager to ensure that the general accounting functions are completed on a timely basis.
• Support the Finance Manager to ensure that MEDA's program adheres to Government of Nigeria's laws, including financial reporting, tax, labor and proper registration with all relevant authorities as required.
• Carry out other duties as assigned by the Field Project Manager.

Qualifications

• University Degree in Finance, Accounting or other relevant fields
• Minimum of 3 years of experience in accounting, finance and sub-grant management with international projects
• Strong grants management, financial and audit experience
• Knowledge of GAC regulations, systems and procedures for managing grants programs.
• Knowledge in financial systems softwares, computer skills
• Work experience as a Grants Coordinator is preferred
• Good computing skills including Microsoft office software packages
• Sector experience: agriculture/agribusiness, and/or extractive sectors plus some rural experience
• Fluency in English and Hausa is required.
• Prior work experience in Nigeria is preferred
• Appreciation and support of MEDA's values, mission and purpose