Job Title: Senior Advisor, Projects
Hiring Organization: Living Goods
Location – Locality: Nairobi
Location – Region: Kenya
Industry: NGO
Job Type: Full Time
Salary: KES
Date Posted: 05/27/2024
Introduction:
Do you
want your work to matter? Do you want to use your skills to make a difference,
not just a living? Do you want to improve millions of lives, including your
own?
Living Goods endeavours to improve access to essential healthcare services in underserved regions, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. We believe community health is critical to deliver Universal Health Coverage and that community health workers (CHWs) are essential, because they bring health services to people’s doorsteps. But to truly make an impact, CHWs need to be digitally empowered, equipped with treatments, effectively supervised, and compensated.
We also
help governments transform their community health systems and workforces. We
have transformed ability of community health workers to have a lifesaving
impact across Africa. These community health workers educate, assess, treat,
and refer for common illnesses like pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria that
affect children under 5, they help ensure children get immunized on time, and
they support women through their pregnancies and with family planning. They
also provide primary healthcare to millions of people at a fraction of the cost
of doctors and nurses.
At Living
Goods, you will have the chance to apply your ideas and creativity at work
every day.
The
position:
The
Senior Advisor Projects, focuses on driving end-to-end project management
related to restricted grants and reporting processes, working in collaboration
with the Grants and Compliance unit, Business Development, Program Operations,
and the entire project teams to support effective grant implementation and
management, produce high-quality and timely donor reporting, and conducting
staff capacity building on projects and reporting.
The
Senior Advisor Projects will be responsible for providing program and support
teams oversight on deliverable management and report compliance in line with
donor compliance and LG policy & regulations to ensure restricted projects
are implemented on-track, on-time, and on-budget while adhering to funding and
reporting requirements from project inception to close.
Responsibilities:
Processes
and Procedures:
Maintain
and enhance organizational processes, guidelines, and tools that support
project and restricted grant management, in collaboration with the Grant and
Compliance
team. This includes:
Collaborating
with key stakeholder to improve existing resources to make them more
user-friendly and fit for purpose.
Identifying
outstanding gaps, developing solutions, and fostering buy-in and approval.
Regularly
gathering insights from users and other stakeholders to inform changes or
improvement.
Guide the
Business Development team to fill out the hand off form and store grant related
documents in alignment with organizational guidance.
Ensure
familiarity with all contracts and related documents.
Facilitate
project kick-off by guiding project team in the development of the Project
Management toolkit, providing support as needed to ensure : clear and realistic
workplan is developed, including key milestones, reporting, etc; the workplan
with budget and budget restriction roles and responsibilities clearly assigned;
project risks and mitigation plans are identified and detailed; a stakeholder
engagement plan is developed as needed; and other tools for supporting
effective management of the grant are utilized as appropriate.
Support
regular grant monitoring, using appropriate grant management tools and through
facilitation and support of regular and timely Grant Review, Opening, and
Closing Meetings.
Serve as
a member of the project team, participating in regular workplan reviews to:
ensure
that the project team is leveraging the Project Management toolkit and
regularly updating the workplan, issue log, and other PM tools.
proactively
support identification and mitigation of risks and advise programs, support
teams and senior management on necessary actions.
Track
progress against deliverables, milestones, and targets. Advise project manager
based on incongruencies and risks of not meeting these targets on time.
Oversee a
maintenance of comprehensive information management, ensuring donor contractual
documents, reports, and key correspondences are duly filled.
Stakeholder
Management:
Donors:
Maintain a broad and deep understanding of relevant donor policies, regulations
and procedures and; advise and support Director of Compliance and Grants,
Director of Financial Planning and Analysis, Country Heads of Finance and
Administration, BD team and Project Managers in liaison or representation to
donors.
Partners:
Coordinate partner engagement by:
Reviewing
sub-award modifications and provide expert advice to Program/Project staff on
sub-awards related matters.
Monitoring
progress of subs in line with contract deliverables, engaging them regularly as
needed to ensure alignment. Ensure any issue or changes are understood,
communicated early, and receive appropriate approval. Collaborate with Project
staff on subrecipient/subcontract monitoring invoices, compliance with
regulations, as well as terms and conditions.
Liaising
with Prime and/or consortium partners on logistic and administrative issues, as
well as facilitating regular collaboration as needed, in alignment with the
Project Manager. Ensure any issue or changes are understood, communicated
early, and receive appropriate approval.
Overseeing
maintenance and timeline updates to the program sub-award tracker and
regulatory reporting requirements.
Facilitating
partner/ sub awardee institutional capacity strengthening plans to ensure
effective, efficient implementation of projects if needed.
Advise
and support program/project staff on matters related to preparation,
administration and close out of grants and sub-awards.
Reporting:
Work with
the Project Manager and relationship manager to coordinate and support the
development of timely donor/prime updates and reports, including engaging other
internal stakeholders in the process as needed to gather necessary insights and
feedback.
Ensure
donor reports are produced in alignment with donor guidelines and all required
report elements are included.
Capacity
Building:
Train
staff on effective practices for managing grants, including:
Internal
governance structures and decision making.
Effective
creation and management of workplans and how to leverage them to provide
updates and track progress.
Effective
ongoing documentation on and management of project issues
Roles and
responsibilities including project team roles, support roles, and expectations.
Understanding
how contracts and proposals are integrated into project implementation.
Best
practices for effective planning and monitoring budget against project
activities
Developing
instructions and conducting training for any new or updated resources.
Support
training to program staff related to LG and donor regulations.
Skills
and Competencies:
Experience
in an International NGO managing restricted multi-country projects with a
budget of more than $8 million annually.
Broad
experience managing grants with including the US government, other country
governments, other bi-and multilateral donors and corporates and foundations.
Experience
with the rules and regulations of multilateral donors.
Strong
written and verbal communication in English.
Demonstrated
understanding of grants management and project management, with proven
experience in managing large donor portfolios.
Familiarity
in capacity building of staff, especially with regards to program oversight and
reporting (Financial and Programmatic).
Demonstrated
proficiency in donor reporting, with strong writing, editing, and critical
analysis skills.
Solid
ability to communicate concisely, respectfully, and with impact.
Flexibility
to adapt to changing requirements and needs.
Experience
working in Africa.
Education
and Experience:
Bachelor’s
degree in Business Management, Public Health or related field; Post graduate or
Masters preferred.
Experience
in project and grant management.
PMP
Certification preferred.