Since 1963 and in 148 countries, ACDI/VOCA has empowered people in developing and transitional nations to succeed in the global economy. Based in Washington, D.C., ACDI/VOCA is a nonprofit international development organization that designs and delivers technical and management solutions in agriculture, economic growth, and resilience to promote economic prosperity and social inclusion.

ACDI/VOCA Headquarters has been named a Top Workplace in 2024 by the Washington Post! In just our first-year vying for the award, ACDI/VOCA ranked 7th out of the 100 companies named to the list in the mid-size category.

OVERVIEW:

ACDI/VOCA is an international development organization dedicated to promoting economic prosperity, fostering food security, and supporting social inclusion through market-driven, locally focused solutions. This organization collaborates with diverse partners to empower people to succeed in the global economy. Their efforts focus on increasing incomes, improving livelihoods, and creating opportunities for traditionally excluded groups. ACDI/VOCA's work spans various countries and communities, making a tangible impact on lives and societies.

We foster an organizational culture that embraces our commitment to racial justice, gender equality, women rights and inclusion. We want ACDI/VOCA to reflect the diversity of the communities we work with, offering equal opportunities to everyone regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. ACDI/VOCA is based on a culture of inclusivity, and we strive to create a workplace environment that ensures every team, in every office, in every country, is rich in diverse people, thoughts, and ideas.

The position “Grants Manager” provides overall grant management for the Activity, including grant-making and carrying out a wide variety of duties in support of the implementing of the strategic plan. Grants Managers advise and assist in the design, development, and oversight of the Contractor’s grants management policies, procedures and practices. Grants Manager provides policy guidance and interpretation for staff as well as grantees, and analyze and evaluate grant applications, proposals, and awards to ensure adherence to grants management policies. He/she also ensures proper negotiation of the terms and conditions for grants and views and analyzes budget estimates for allowability, allocability, reasonableness, and consistency.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Develops and manages the grants portfolio, manages grant funding and usage of funds.

• Coordinates the grantee selection process. Establishes selection committees, defines selection criteria, develops process documentation templates
• Draft and issue requests for applications (RFAs)/Call for Applications (CFA), and annual program statements (APSs).
• Participate co-creation meetings with Market System Development (MSD) and Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) team to develop grant description for potential grantees.
• Prepare grant agreement based on content developed by the program team, modification and negotiation memo. Maintain grant tracking database.
• Advise grantee recipients on Grant Fund process including the preparation of applications, financial management and reporting requirements.
• Distribute grantee applications to evaluation committee members; tabulate evaluation score sheets, finalize the list of recommended grantee recipients; and maintain records on the results of the Evaluation Committee.
• Communicate with grantees on selection or non-selection of their applications. Conducts debriefs with non-selected grantees as requested by the grantee or as directed by the COP.
• Perform pre-award survey/assessments and report results to evaluation committee. Meet with subrecipient to discuss the pre-award survey/assessment report as appropriate. After assessment of potential grantees, if the grantees fall in moderate and high-risk categories, propose risk mitigation plan in consultation with Award Management System (AMS) team of HQ.   Conducts other due diligence as required.
• Prepares and compiles close out documents for all completed grants.

2. Establishes systems and procedures for management of grants activities, in accordance with the approved Activity Grants Manual, ACDI/VOCA grants templates, and USAID regulations.

• Responsible for the finalization of timely grantee technical and financial reports. Works with technical and finance teams to ensure all reports meet quality standards and are in compliance with the terms of the grant agreement.
• Reviews and approves financial reports, deliverables, payment invoices, grantee related procurements, and fund transfer requests to sub-recipients in conjunction with the Activity finance team.
• Managing the budget for Innovation and Inclusion Fund (IIF), ensure funds are allocated appropriately and in compliance with regulations. Keep a list of anticipated potential grantees and proposed budgets for them. 
• Provide grant fund projections to finance and headquarters in a timely manner when requested.
• Identifies bottlenecks or constraints to effective and timely grants distribution and provides recommendations for resolution.
• Develop the Milestone Payment Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and revise it in a timely manner if circumstances required.
• Resolve MEL findings in discussion with Market System Development (MSD) team and the grantees to proceed payments.
• Develops and implements a grant tracking / monitoring system. Design grants tracker and update grants tracker in a timely manner on a regular ongoing basis.
• Together with COP and/or MEL teams, conduct grantee site visits to ensure the terms of the grant agreement are being followed.
• Responsible for preparing grant documents/packages and submitting to COP for approval.

 3. Coordinates the work with key program unit and staff related to grants.

• Prioritizes, organizes, distributes, and monitors the flow of work related to grant management.
• With support from ACDI/VOCA Headquarter, train all project staff on grants manual and grants management system.
• Ensures adherence to Grants Manual, ACDI/VOCA and USAID grant policies, procedures, and schedules.
• Resolves routine operating problems as they arise related to grants management.
• Work with program unit such as MEL, PSE/MSD and finance team and staff to establish and effectively maintain a compliant grants management system, including effective and timely communications with all program unit and staff to ensure successful grant management and support to grantees is provided.
• Undertake proactive assessment of potential risks in managing grant partnerships and inform the Director of Finance and Administration, the COP and other senior staff as appropriate to take timely risk mitigation measures.

4. Grantee’s capacity building.

• Building and maintaining relationships with grantees, sub-awardees and stakeholders to foster collaboration and support.
• Participate in kick off meetings with grantees and train the grantees on milestone submission procedure, modification of agreements and compliance requirements.
• Provide capacity building training, hands on training for all grantees on the terms of the grant agreement, including but not limited to financial and technical reporting requirements to build grantees capacity.
• Proactively interpret and assess grantee capacity gaps, provide assistance as necessary and address issues.
• Implement grant special award conditions, if any.  On an ongoing basis assess risks on grantee’s performance from a compliance perspective; develop and roll out capacity building actions to address and mitigate risk in coordination with all concerned, including ACDI/VOCA headquarters as needed.

5. Effective internal & external communication.

• Communicate all financial transactions to ACDI/VOCA HQ directly or to the Activity’s Accounting Manager when requested.
• Coordinate with finance, MEL and MSD/PSE team to develop a process for reviewing grantee invoices and issuing payment and orient the grantee on such process accordingly.
• Coordinate with the Activity’s procurement team as required.

6. Internal & external audits and documentation.

• Support internal and external audits and provide grant and grant supporting documents as requested.

7. Undertakes other duties and projects as may be assigned from time to time.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

Educational Background and Experience:

• Master’s degree in accounting or finance, or bachelor’s degree in accounting or finance
• Minimum 7 years’ working experience in managing grants.
• Experience of previously working on USAID projects as a Grants Manager or similar capacity is preferred.

Required Skills and Competencies:

• In-depth knowledge of relevant USAID rules and regulations for contracts and grants, including ability to ensure grants manual is compliant and customized.
• Demonstrated ability to proactive outreach communications and management of the grants process life cycle using current methodologies and analytical techniques.
• Proven ability to design and develop successful and achievable project-related grants in collaboration with finance, MEL and MSD/PSE and other program unit.
• Excellent critical thinking skills and judgment. Proven willingness to make timely and sound decisions.
• Excellent oral communication skills. Ability to communicate effectively with people on all levels both inside and outside the company.
• Strong written communication skills, including demonstrated ability to write required documents in a clear, concise, well-organized manner.
• Strong presentation skills, including experience in the design and facilitation of short- and long-term training programs.
• Awareness, sensitivity, and understanding of cross-cultural issues particularly in representing a US-based agency.
• Proven ability to effectively use Microsoft databases, spreadsheet, word processing, and position-specific software. Advanced knowledge and experience with accounting software.
• Ability to travel independently.
• Fluency in English, written and oral. 
• Fluency in Bangla.

TO APPLY:

Please submit a resume to BangladeshLAN@joinav.org no later than October 20, 2024.

Please include the position title in the subject line.

Due to the high volume of applications, we are not able to respond to inquiries via phone. Only those candidates considered for an interview will be contacted.

ACDI/VOCA provides equal opportunity and fair and equitable treatment in employment to all people without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, political affiliation, marital status, or sexual orientation.