Director of Grants and Subcontracts | Pretoria, South Africa | 2023

Chemonics seeks a Director of Grants and Subcontracts for the USAID Empower Southern Africa (ESA) project. ESA is a 5-year regional program that covers South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Madagascar, Comoros and Sao Tome and Principe. The primary purpose of ESA is to increase the availability of, access to, and use of affordable, reliable, sustainable and clean energy in Southern Africa in order to reach measurable development outcomes. Measurable development outcomes include economic growth, reducing poverty, improving livelihoods, and increasing inclusive access to electricity-enabled services in such areas as health, education, sanitation, and food security. This position will be based in Pretoria, South Africa. We are looking for individuals who have a passion for making a difference in the lives of people and communities around the world.

Responsibilities include:

Grants Management

• Responsible for the contractual and administrative management, implementation, and close-out of all subawards under the ESA activities. The Director will be responsible for leading the drafting of the Grants APS or RFA required to compete and selection grantee applicants
• Coordinate closely with the Deputy Chief of Party-Program Support when questions arise between the field office, home office, and partners regarding grant compliance and negotiation
• Establish and revise, as deemed necessary, the systems and procedures for grant agreement execution (from solicitation to award, payments and close out), and provides appropriate guidance and training to technical specialists to foster clear understanding of the grant procedures, and of their roles and responsibilities on the implementation and management of grants under contract
• Review and finalizes RFAs in cooperation with ESA’s team to ensure compliance with USAID policies and procedures
• Serve on Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) meetings as required to review and approve grant activities. Spearheads effective interactions between the grants team and the technical team at the beginning of the award process to ensure the soundness of all background documents and materials for the effective execution of grant agreements
• Lead the Subcontracts and Grants Managers in the creation of tools, such as, a grants disbursement tracker to ensure the tracking of grants
• Support the Grants Manager in the execution of grant agreements and ensure the proper closure of all activities
• Monitor individual grant budgets to ensure availability of funds
• Develop and submit to the Deputy Chief of Party-Program Support, regular reports on grants activities, including analysis of issues, constraints and bottlenecks, documentation of lessons learned, and description of corrective measures taken during the reporting period or proposed for future actions
• Work with the Deputy Chief of Party-Program Support to determines the most reasonable, fair, and expeditious procurement option for each item procured, in compliance with Chemonics and USAID policies and procedures, and the Grants Manual
• Support the Deputy Chief of Party-Program Support in reviewing and analyzing budget estimates for reasonableness, and consistency
• Perform pre-award determinations of applicant management and technical capacities to administer grant awards responsibly and advise on how to enhance recipient capabilities as necessary and appropriate
• Review how the grantees manage procurement, source, origin, inventory, care, maintenance, and disposition of grant purchased equipment, and assists in improving their processes, as necessary
• Empower the Subcontracts and Grants Managers to lead trainings and management of grants and build capacity in grants lifecycle management

Subcontract Management

• Oversee procurement requirements and ensures compliance with corporate policies, contractual requirements, US Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), and any other applicable policies and regulations
• Review the draft RFP/RFQs before they are released to properly compete vendors and subcontractors
• Review all neg memos and subcontracts produced by the Subcontracts Manager, prior to execution
• Provide oversight support to Subcontracts and Grants Managers as they work directly with local, regional, or international vendors and service providers to obtain quotations and/or initiate procurements of requested commodities and services
• Monitor contracts and purchase orders issued to vendors and follow up as necessary to ensure compliance to contract terms and conditions
• Review subcontract deliverables and confirms deliverables are in accordance with contract terms and conditions
• Provide training to project staff in procurement and subcontract policies and procedures
• Ensure that procurement requests are conducted in a timely manner
• Ensure that procurement and subcontract-related files are maintained in a current and complete manner and are always audit-ready
• Ensure collaboration and coordination, sharing of information, needs, and progress across all functions and components of ESA to implement as one team including but not limited to GESI, MEL, Communications, and all team leads
• Contribute to and/or lead as assigned periodic planning documents, progress, and impact reports for USAID and other partners
• Operate with integrity and assurance of confidentiality, commitment to excellence, compliance with all USAID rules and regulations, contractual requirements, and Chemonics policies, systems, and values
• Perform other project duties as assigned by the DCOP-Program Support

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in public administration, international relations, business, finance, or relevant field, Master’s degree preferred
• At least eight years of progressively responsible procurement, subcontracts, and grants management experience in terms of the job tasks and responsibilities outlined above required.
• Minimum two years’ experience with a USAID-funded project is strongly preferred
• Experience with ADS 303 and implementing USAID grants programs is required
• Strong analytical skills and attention to detail required
• Demonstrated ability to establish and develop working relationships and a high level of trust with public/private organizations as well as prepare regular and ad hoc reports, activity documentation and briefing papers
• Detailed knowledge of grants finance and subcontract budgeting for USAID or Donor projects, including USG regulations for compliance and oversight
• Demonstrated experience in strategic planning and using innovative approaches to solve complex problems
• Experience supervising staff and overseeing field accounting for USAID funded contracts, across multiple countries preferred
• Demonstrated versatility, leadership, and integrity
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English