About Action Against Hunger

Action Against Hunger-USA is a global humanitarian organization that takes decisive action against the causes and effects of hunger. We save the lives of malnourished children and we enable entire communities to be free from hunger. With more than 8,000 staff in over 50 countries, our programs reached 17 million people in 2019.

About the Country Program in Ethiopia

Action Against Hunger has been operational in Ethiopia since 1984 responding to both chronic and acute needs through a multi-sectoral strategy where nutrition, Food Security and Livelihoods, WASH, and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support activities are integrated to have a meaningful impact on people’s resilience.

Action Against Hunger currently operates in 5 different regions (Oromia, Somali, Amhara, Benishangul Gumuz, and Gambella) with a portfolio of 20m USD/year of emergency, resilience building, research, and innovation programs. We have a country team of around 600 staff in 17 regional and satellite offices. Our main donors in Ethiopia in 2020/2021 are BHA, ECHO, Europaid, UNHCR, UNICEF, GFFO, BPRM, SIDA, EHF, WFP, CIAA, and others.

I. Summary of position

The Deputy Head of Grants and Reporting Department (DGRHOD) will be part of the leadership team of the Grants and Reporting Department on overall Country Portfolio Management and provide support in leadership and representation of the department in line with Action Against Hunger – USA policies and guidelines.

The Deputy Head of Grants and Reporting Department (DGRHOD) reports to the Grants and Reporting Head of Department (GRHoD).

This position is based in Addis Ababa at the country office with frequent travel to field sites of the organizational operational areas. The position also requires a dynamic individual who can manage multiple priorities in a short period, which also requires a commitment to working long hours beyond the regular schedule.

The Deputy Head of Grants and Reporting Department (DGRHOD) roles, purpose, engagement, and delivery are:

• Purpose:  Provide support in leadership and coordination and system strengthening of Action Against Hunger work in the Grants and Reporting Department.
• Engagement: Engages with HQ, Regional, and in-country partners and actors on issues related to the organization’s activities; monitors response to the organization’s engagement effort.
• Delivery: Identify opportunities and challenges for collective engagement and organizational learning and improvement. Enhance partnership and grants management system, build capacity based on identified gaps.

Objective 1: Overall Grants Management and Coordination

• Provide support in the coordination, and the leadership of the Grants management team in organizing project cycle management meetings i.e. kick-off, review, closure, and representation in external partnership/donor meetings.
• Providing support in the coordination, and leadership of regular and periodical grant management meetings ensures the recording and dissemination of minutes of all grant-related meetings, and shares and follow-up action points with all the relevant teams at different levels.
• Provide support in the coordination, and leadership of the Grants management team in ensuring that final contract/agreement packages (Narrative, Budgets, Work plans, etc.) are shared with program and support teams on time and highlight relevant donor compliance regulations.
• Ensures that  the Grant management team effectively facilitates donor contracts modifications (both programmatic and financial changes)
• Provides Support and participates in field-level program monitoring activities in collaboration with other technical, operational, and MEAL teams.
• Provide support in the coordination, and leadership of t the grants management team and facilitate the monthly grants review meeting (BFU) with Capital and Base teams.
• Provide support in the coordination, and leadership of donor visibility guidelines and requirements to field teams. Support t field team in the implementation of visibility requirements, and monitor visibility activities at the field level.

Objective 2: Reporting

• Provide support in the coordination, the leadership of the  Grants Management team to prepare, update and share regularly donor and internal reporting schedules on time
• Follow up with Field Coordinators (FCs) and Technical Advisers (TAs) for the timely preparation and submission of reports.
• Support the Grants and Reporting Department to produce high-quality program reports as per donor and AAH requirements by providing high-quality editing and formatting skills.
• Provide support in the coordination, and leadership of the grants management team in the overall reporting procedures with a good deal of attention to detail like proofreading, copy editing, reports compilations, update preparations, and presentations.

Objective 3: Partnerships Management 

• Provide support in the coordination, and leadership of the grants management team in partners mapping, identification, and selection processes under the organization’s partnership portfolio.
• In conjunction with the grant management team, conduct diligence checkups for partners who work with AAH in the consortium and provide recommendations that address risk mitigation strategies.
• Provide support in the coordination, leadership in preparation, and review of grant agreement documents, including sub-agreements, pre-teaming agreements, and teaming agreements.

Objective 4: Donor Compliance

• Provide support in the coordination, leadership to Grants and Reporting HoD, Review Partnership and teaming agreements, and support in coordinating their reviews with relevant focal persons.
• Provide support in the coordination, and leadership ensuring t grants are implemented in compliance with AAH and relevant donors’ regulations.
• Provide support in the coordination, and leadership t in maintaining and updating accurate grant files regularly.

Objective 5: Documentation & Learnings

• Support and collaborate on the development and maintenance of comprehensive information management and filing system that ensures all grants documents (contractual documents, reports, key correspondences, modifications, etc.) are appropriately filed in up-to-date and consistent soft and hard libraries available as needed
• Support and collaborate in documenting and dissemination of proposals and reports on different donors’ portals and online platforms and ensures these portals are updated with the latest information updates when required.
• Provide support and Participate in senior management meetings when required, track, and disseminate notes and action points when necessary.

Objective 6: Capacity Building and Monitoring

• Provides capacity building on grant Management and Coordination based on gaps identified in the grant cycle management.
• Provides training and capacity-building sessions and organizes learning exercises on donor compliance, regulations, and updates to team members at Addis and Field Office teams.
• Conducts progress monitoring of grants based on standard parameters of grant management.
• Provide support in capturing best practices and lessons learned in the cycle for organizational learning.

II.Supervisory Responsibilities

• Functional supervision:  Senior Grants and Reporting officers

III. Gender Equality Commitments  

• Foster an environment that supports the values of women and men, and equal access to information.
• Provide a work environment where women and men must be evaluated and promoted based on their skills and performance.
• Respect beneficiaries’ women, men, and children (boys and girls) regardless of gender, sexual orientation, disability, or religion. Race, color, ancestry, national origin, age, or marital status.
• Value and respect all cultures.

IV. Fiscal Responsibility

• N/A

V. Physical Demands

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is required to sit for long periods and to concentrate on work, including typing, and turn out heavy volumes of work accurately, within short time frames under stressful situations in the context of a moderately noisy office with many interruptions. Must be able to proofread own work accurately so that only minor corrections are needed on an infrequent basis. Regular field monitoring and provision of technical support across the field offices are also demanded.
• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

VI. Working Conditions, Travel, and Environment

• The duties of the job require regular job attendance at least five days per week. Must be available to work outside normal office hours or on the weekends as required.
• Must be able to travel as required for standard domestic and international business purposes. While performing the duties of this job in the field, the employee may be exposed to precarious settings under high-security risks and/or very basic living conditions and outside weather conditions, as well as to infectious diseases.

VII. Required Qualifications and Professional Experience

• Degree in International Relations, Development Studies, Project management, Humanitarian Action, or other related social sciences. A masters' Degree is desirable but not mandatory.
• 5 – 8 years previous and progressive work experience in grants management, partnerships, donor relations, and program development in the field of Humanitarian & Development programs and contexts is strongly desired.
• Strong experience in report writing with good command of the English language (both written and spoken).
• A strong record of budget and financial analysis in project cycle management, and program development is an asset.
• Prior experience in capacity building, team management, leadership, and coordination
• Experience working with complex humanitarian programs and diverse teams
• Sound experience in partnership management and coordination

IIX. Required Skills & Competencies

• Strong organization and planning skills, with rigorous, analytic and details oriented personality
• Prior knowledge of institutional donors guidelines: ECHO, EU, BHA, UN Agencies (OCHA, WFP, UNHCR, UNICEF, IOM),  SIDA, BPRM, GFFO is added advantage
• Demonstrated experience in donor reporting and program development.
• Excellent financial analysis and project cycle management
• Flexible, self-starter, quick learner, and adaptable.
• Proficiency in written and spoken English;
• Computer literate: good command of Microsoft Office (MS. Word, MS. Excel, and MS Powerpoint). Familiarity with office 365 tools and data management platforms is an added value.
• Strong understanding of project cycle management, monitoring, and evaluation.
• Interpersonal skills: communication, autonomy, team player, creative and innovative thinking & leadership.