Grants Manager, Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation at Palladium Group

Project Overview and Role

• Palladium is tendering for contract to provide grants management support services to GSMA Mobile for Development Foundation, Inc. Specifically, Palladium will provide support services to the GSMA Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation (M4H) programme. M4H works to accelerate the delivery and impact of digital humanitarian assistance.
• This is achieved by building a learning and research agenda to inform the future of digital humanitarian response, catalysing partnerships, and innovation for new digital humanitarian services, advocating for enabling policy environments, monitoring and evaluating performance, disseminating insights and profiling achievements.
• Palladium will be supporting the client’s team to manage the full lifecycle of the fund, with a strong focus on managing risk at every stage of the process. Within the project, the client is planning to run 3 grant rounds.

Overview of the Client

• The GSMA is a global organisation unifying the mobile ecosystem to discover, develop and deliver innovation foundational to positive business environments and societal change. Our vision is to unlock the full power of connectivity so that people, industry, and society thrive. Representing mobile operators and organisations across the mobile ecosystem and adjacent industries, the GSMA delivers for its members across three broad pillars: Connectivity for Good, Industry Services and Solutions, and Outreach through the provision of the world’s largest platform to convene the mobile ecosystem at the MWC and M360 series of events.
• GSMA Mobile for Development (M4D) is a dedicated global team within the GSMA that brings together our mobile operator members, tech innovators, the development community, and governments.
• Singularly positioned at the intersection of the mobile ecosystem and the development sector, the M4D team stimulates digital innovation to deliver both sustainable business and large-scale socio-economic and climate impact for the underserved.
• The team identifies opportunities and provides support for innovations in digital inclusion, financial inclusion, gender equality, agriculture, essential urban services, humanitarian and climate resilience and adaptation.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities
This position reports to the Grants Lead. The tasks and responsibilities assigned to the Grants Manager will include:

Grant Management:

• Support design, process flow and implementation of the eligibility, application and selection criteria for the M4H.
• Manage the overall grant portfolio and ensure activities are on track to meet targets
• Coordinate the process of submissions of grant proposal (including request for applications, receipt of application, address questions from potential grantees, internal coordination, etc.)
• Contribute to and prepare the grant allocation, disbursements, and forecast schedules, as required
• Support and lead team in tracking all financial disbursements to grantees
• Lead on confirming eligibility of grantees. Perform formal evaluation of each application.
• Work in collaboration with the Grants Team (comprised of a Grants Lead and Grants Administrators) throughout the grant implementation to perform Due Diligence on potential grantees such that the team can take the necessary care, attention and discretion prior signing grant agreements and during the implementation. These include:
• Ensure adequate and transparent institutional and governance structures, and robust and reliable financial internal control systems.
• Assess the institutional capacity of grantees and subcontractors to effectively implement and recommend actions to strengthen their administrative and financial management systems.
• Perform spot check visits and compile visit reports.
• Support GSMA in identifying projects in extreme risk markets that require enhanced due diligence
• Consolidate compliance issues within Palladium required compliance reports.
• Track and report risks. Coordinate risk management measures throughout the life of the grants. This includes ensuring grantee compliance in relation to their grant agreement and reporting any risk or issue.
• Lead Palladium’s participation in monthly portfolio review meeting with the GSMA team and provide updates, including on the risk dashboard
• Monitor grants implementation including workplans and budgets submitted by the grantees and manage the provision of funding to grantees. Provide support to the grantees, verify that the grant activities are progressing as per requirements of the Grant Agreement, and that any variances to the workplan are explained and justified. They will also verify that the appropriate milestone / contractual point has been reached successfully. Coordinate review meetings that are expected to take place on a quarterly basis with the involvement of relevant grantees and Project Management representatives.
• With support from the Project Manager, lead on contract amendments.
• Ensure that goods and services are purchased by each grantee according to Palladium Procurement policy and guidelines. Ensure that good and services are maintained according to processes and specifications that maximise quality and minimise lifetime cost and fully comply with DFID Guidelines with asset management.
• At close out verify the completion of all grant funded activities, confirm that they are completed to the expectations set out in the Grant Agreement, and confirm that all the expected deliverables have been provided and outputs achieved.
• Any variances to either the technical implementation or the budget must be explained and justified.
• Ensure that the Grants Manual is up to date regarding grant management policies and procedures.
• Work with team members in the preparation and completion of financial audits as required.

Relationship Management:

• Develop and manage strong working relationships with the project’s contact points at GSMA, project partners and other stakeholders.
• Represent the project both with the client, and external audiences as needed
• Develop strong working relationships and a regular dialogue on project progress and challenges with the Palladium team working on the project

Training:

• Support in training Grants Administrators to ensure the above client requirements are met.
• Advise and assist grantees in drawing up business agreements alongside Grants Team.
• Provide necessary training, capacity building and information to grantees to enable compliance with the financial accounting, reporting and procurement requirements of their funding agreements.

Reporting:

• Ensure that grantees are meeting grant reporting requirements in a timely and accurate fashion, including quarterly narrative and financial reporting; review and provide feedback to the grantees and feed into Project Management’s Reporting Requirements.
• Work with the Project Management team in preparation of quarterly and annual reports and work-plans.

Team Management:

• Guide, nurture and line manage members up to three Grants Administrators, supporting them in delivery of their workplan deliverables
• Coach and offer feedback and advice and technical input in and when required

Other Duties:

• Performing any other duties reasonably required by the Grants Lead

Required Qualifications

• Significant experience managing multi-million pound UK-funded grant funds on complex international programmes is required.
• Knowledge of FCDO contracting regulations, contract procedures and reporting requirements.
• Demonstrated financial acumen and experience with budget or project management
• Strong attention to detail and diligent approach to compliance matters
• Experience managing or coaching junior team members
• A positive team work ethic, and supportive attitude
• Interest in International Development and/or Digital Technology Development would be an advantage.
• Confident working with IT systems, including databases and Microsoft Excel.

Working Environment:

• This role can be located either in the United Kingdom or Nigeria. The Palladium team on this project are based in offices near Bristol, UK and in Abuja, Nigeria.
• We are open to remote working circumstances, but you must be able to travel to the nearest office on an agreed regular basis. Please note that we are unable to sponsor visa applications for the UK or Nigeria.