COVID-19 Relief Grants Assistant by Palladium Group

Accra
Permanent
Full-time

29 days ago

Job DescriptionJob DescriptionAbout Palladium - Palladium is a global leader in the design, development and delivery of Positive Impact - the intentional creation of enduring social and economic value. We work with governments, businesses, and investors to solve the world's most pressing challenges. With a team of more than 3,000 employees operating in 90 plus countries and a global network of over 35,000 experts, we help improve economies, societies and, most importantly, people's lives.Diversity, Equity & Inclusion - We welcome applications from all sections of society and actively encourage diversity to drive innovation, creativity, success and good practice. We positively welcome and seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce; and that all job applicants and employees receive equal and fair treatment regardless of their background or personal characteristics. These include: (but are not limited to) socio-economic background, age, race, gender identity, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, nationality, veteran, marital or Indigenous status.Should you require any adjustments or accommodations to be made due to a disability or you are a neurodivergent individual or any other circumstance, please email our team at accessibility@thepalladiumgroup.comSafeguarding - We define Safeguarding as “the preventative action taken by Palladium to protect our people, clients and the communities we work with from harm”. We are committed to ensuring that all children and adults who come into contact with Palladium are treated with respect and are free from abuse. All successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced selection process including safeguarding-focused interviews and a rigorous due diligence process.Project Overview and Role:The Feed the Future Ghana Mobilizing Finance in Agriculture (MFA) Activity is a $19 million, USAID-supported project that aims to improve access to finance for agribusinesses in Ghana. To accomplish this, MFA will engage business advisory service providers to improve their capacity to support agribusinesses, as well as deploy incentives to financial institutions that expand their lending to agriculture. The finance facilitated will enable farmers to purchase agricultural inputs, boost production, invest in processing, or undertake other activities to expand their businesses. From 2020 to 2024, MFA will unlock $261 million in finance, driving sustainable agricultural lending and promoting inclusive growth.COVID-19 has brought significant hardship to agricultural stakeholders and those in Ghana's export industries of cacao, cashew, mango, and shea including, but not limited to, purchase contracts being canceled overnight; closure of processing facilities, lack of cash to pay for new costs of safety equipment, challenges accessing working capital or training, and volatile commodity prices and limited supply of commodities to process. The MFA activity aims to mitigate COVID-19 impacts by providing financial institutions with grants to support their ability to assist SMEs and other firms. The COVID relief grants will strive to save jobs, and keep SMEs, processors aggregators in business to maintain the supply change for farmers.The COVID-19 Relief Grants Assistant position is to supports the COVID-Relief team in all duties related to managing COVID-Relief resources, compliance and reporting activities. The assistant focuses principally on administrative tasks related to GUCs, such as maintaining files on each grant and its status, funding level, expenditure, and reporting, conducting due diligence and spot-checks of sub-awardees and final beneficiary firms and reviewing and recommending approval of invoices. The Assistant reports to the COVID-19 Relief Manager.Primary Duties and Responsibilities:The COVID-19 Relief Grants Assistant's primary tasks include the following:

In accordance with Palladium's USAID-approved Grants Under Contract (GUC) manual, support all aspects of the COVID-19 relief GUC process
Coordinate with the COVID-19 Relief Manager and Relief Deputy to ensure process standardization and compliance with Palladium policies and procedures
Support in the development of the COVID-19 Relief Grants Manual
Support the evaluation of grant proposals by organizing the evaluation committee, preparing the necessary scoring sheets and negotiation memo and ensure that required grant documentation is maintained and completed for each grant activity
Work directly with grantees and potential grantees to perform due diligence checks and support budgeting
Support the Deputy Manager to finalize cost analyses with all associated documentation.
Review all grantee milestone submission and invoicing for compliance with the agreement. If approved, submit the payment request to the home office.
Review all grant invoices for completeness and, if incomplete, work with the partner to revise the invoice and deliverable submission accordingly
Any other tasks as required by the COVID-19 Relief Manager or COVID-19 Relief Deputy

Required Qualifications:

Demonstrated contracting and procurement experience especially with USAID-funded projects, preferably with OTI/SWIFT co-design processes
Experience supporting Grant Under Contract (GUC) awards under USAID policies
Knowledge of USAID policies and procedures, specifically in grants, procurement, accounting, and financial compliance.
Microsoft office suite proficiency and the ability to operate spreadsheet and word-processing programs at a highly proficient level
Proactive problem-solving, decision-making, and good judgment skills
Demonstrated ability and commitment to manage confidential information
Attention to detail and ability to perform multiple tasks and balance competing priorities effectively and efficiently
Strong written and verbal communication skills in English.
Ability to communicate effectively with managers, colleagues, service providers and clients
Professional and mature demeanor and conduct
Ghanaian nationals preferred.

Experience/Education

A degree or equivalent in finance, management, international development
At least three years of experience in a Grants role, preferably with USAID

Closing Date : 10th December. 2021HOW TO APPLY

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