Grants Manager

Chemonics seeks a Grants Manager for the five year, $15 million USAID Advancing Youth Leadership (AYL) Activity in Cambodia. The primary purpose of the Advancing Youth Leadership activity is to enhance the capacity and leadership of youth, including those from marginalized groups, to fully participate in socio-political life, to address local development issues, and to increase civic participation. The Grants Manager will be responsible for the overall management and execution of grants under contract (GUC) portfolio of the AYL Activity including assessment and oversight, with a strong emphasis on due diligence, value-for-money and cost effectiveness. The Grants Manager is expected to oversee sub-grants and/or subcontracts to local entities, including preparation of the solicitation, application review, negotiation, and awards. The Grants Manager will provide financial, contractual, and operational leadership and support to the grant recipients, ensure contract compliance, and liaise with Chemonics and USAID related to grants management. The Grants Manager will collaborate and support the Youth Engagement Coordinator and MEL and Communications staff members on culturally sensitive and effective promotion of AYL’s GUC portfolio to Cambodia’s larger youth population. This will be a long-term key personnel position that will be based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. All members of AYL’s team are expected to uphold Chemonics’ values of leadership, versatility, and integrity. We are seeking individuals who have a passion for making a difference in the lives of people around the world.

Responsibilities:

• Adapt Chemonics’ comprehensive grants manual for AYL that specifies the funding process (eligibility and selection criteria, advisory committee constitution, application forms, guidance notes and systems for fund disbursement, governance, transparency and performance monitoring, etc.)
• Establish a USAID compliant grants database to ensure timely and correct execution of all grant agreements
• Train the grants associates on grants solicitation, award, monitoring, and closeout
• Screen and appraise grantee applications for funding and ensure appropriate due diligence is carried out on grantees’ to assess whether their policies adhere to USAID requirements.
• Ensure proper negotiation of the terms and conditions for grants and review budget estimates for allocability, reasonableness, and consistency
• Ensure compliance of grant disbursements with USAID and Chemonics requirements, procedures and best practices
• Provide attentive monitoring and proactive support to all grantees throughout implementation, ensuring that if needed, grants are modified in accordance with Chemonics’ best practices and the AYL contract and governing AIDAR/ADS requirements, and appropriate mitigation measures are taken when issues arise (either
  technical or managerial).
• Ensure proper closeout of all grants
• Collaborate as needed with technical and operational staff on the AYL team.

Qualifications:

• Minimum Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, auditing, business administration, or other related fields; graduate degree preferred
• At least 5 years of experience managing design and administration of donor-funded, large-scale sub-grants and/or sub-contracts
• Extensive understanding of USAID regulations and procedures pertaining to grants management and subcontracting
• Prior experience working with civil society or local entities on issues related to development, democracy and governance
• Demonstrated ability to appraise, develop and manage large civic engagement-focused grants smf/or sub-contracts for international development projects
• Ability to maintain the grant tracking system to ensure timely and correct execution of all grant agreements
• Superior organizational and time-management skills; ability to manage competing priorities and meet multiple deadlines
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, negotiation, and relation management skills and experience
• Excellent written and oral communication and presentation skills in English required; knowledge of Khmer is a plus.