Grants and Partnerships Manager at The People Practice

Our client, facilitating the growth and enhancement of Africa\'s creative and cultural ecosystem is looking to hire a Grants and Partnerships Manager who will play a crucial role in securing and managing institutional donor resources. You will be responsible for maintaining competitive positioning, pursuing funding opportunities, and ensuring compliance with grant requirements. This role involves leading the development of high-quality applications, managing relationships with donors, and supporting the overall grant management cycle.

Responsibilities

Grant Management

• Monitor trends in donor funding, including corporate and non-traditional sources.
• Build and manage relationships with current and prospective donors.
• Develop strategic alliances and coalitions with other organisations; lead sub-award management.
• Oversee the management and compliance of grants.
• Support the organization\'s Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) system with input from the operations team.
• Develop and implement a partnership strategy and build strategic partnerships.

Positioning

• Support the design and implementation of new grant programs.
• Conduct outreach to identify potential partners and promote funding opportunities.
• Perform due diligence on applications, assess funding risks, and provide support to applicants and funded organisations.
• Conduct learning and monitoring visits; foster positive relationships with grant partners.
• Collect and analyse data from the funding portfolio to assist in grant evaluation and impact reporting.
• Manage budgets for grant programs as applicable.

Proposal and Concept Note Development

• Prepare high-quality donor proposals, concept notes, and grant documentation, aligning with the organization’s Strategy Action Plan (SAP).
• Review technical and cost applications prepared by other staff for clarity, responsiveness, and compliance.
• Review budgets to ensure consistency with the narrative and clarity.

Grants Management & Compliance

• Develop and maintain grant management tools such as funding trackers, reporting calendars, and compliance guidelines.
• Support the Director of Innovation and Enterprise in conducting Project Cycle Meetings (PCM).
• Supervise the team\'s reports and ensure compliance with donor policies.
• Support the production of donor reports, ensuring high quality and timely submission.
• Assist with preparations for external monitoring visits, reviews, and audits.
• Aid the operations team in preparing and reviewing memoranda of understanding and grant agreements.
• Maintain electronic and hard copy files for grant-funded projects for tracking and reporting purposes.
• Conduct routine compliance reviews of grant programs.

General Grants Management and Administration

• Stay updated with institutional donor guidelines and disseminate relevant information.
• Support the development and maintenance of comprehensive information management and filing systems.
• Provide training on grant management-related issues to program, operations, and partner staff.
• Support other program initiatives and tasks as assigned.
• Prepare partnership updates and internal/external reports and documents. 

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field with applicable experience in nonprofit governance, business administration, or grants management.
• Minimum of 5-6 years of experience in a grant management and business development role, preferably with a Non- Governmental Organisation (NGO) or creative industry.
• Prior experience in grants management with familiarity in Nigerian, US, European, Canadian, and UN donor regulations, procedures, and requirements.
• Demonstrated experience in preparing and coordinating funding proposals and progress reports from institutional and private donors.
• Demonstrable experience in grant-making, including end-to-end grant management over several granting cycles.
• Experience supporting grants partners to achieve successful outcomes through proactive advice and support

Must have skills

• Excellent oral and written communication skills, with the ability to deliver engaging, informative, and well-organised presentations.
• Ability to lead and motivate project teams, provide leadership to relevant working groups, and create an environment where results are achieved.
• Proactive and strong problem-solving skills, with the ability to work at pace under the pressure of tight deadlines.
• Ability to work collaboratively with teams in an international, multicultural, multi-disciplinary environment.