Sub Award and Enterprise Fund Manager

Title: Sub Award and Enterprise Fund Manager

Program: Blue Biz Program

Reports to: Deputy Country Director

Location: Nairobi with frequent travel to Mombasa

Grade: 9

TechnoServe Background:

Everyone deserves the opportunity to build a better future. This simple idea has been at the heart of TechnoServe’s work around the world for over 50 years. TechnoServe is a pioneer in leveraging the power of businesses and markets to create sustainable pathways out of poverty.

The low-income communities in which we work are full of enterprising people. Their small-scale farms and businesses are the keys to economic development. But they face many challenges: low literacy, lack of access to jobs and markets, unpredictable political dynamics and, increasingly, the effects of climate change. For many women and young people, the challenges are even more daunting. Working with TechnoServe staff, people around the world are lifting themselves out of poverty. The results are amazing...when incomes increase, and living conditions for families get better, they are able to access health care and education previously out of reach. Communities and even whole countries are better off. 

Program Description:

TechnoServe is implementing the 3-year BlueBiz program, which seeks to advance education through skills development aimed at technical, enterprise development, financial literacy, and soft skills that young people need to launch, operate and grow microenterprises in the “Blue Economy''. For the purpose of this project, the Blue Economy is the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods and jobs while preserving the health of ocean ecosystems. Blue Biz will focus on the 5 riparian coastal counties of Kwale, Kilifi, Tana River, Mombasa and Lamu counties in Kenya.

The Program is designed to sustainably respond to the key constraints that young women and men face in starting and growing microenterprises in Kenya’s Blue Economy by affecting change at the systems level through engaging and catalyzing local actors. Constraints addressed include skills development, access to financial solutions and appropriate technology, links to markets, and enhanced networks and leadership, with specific plans tailored to the local context, core issues, and solutions identified by youth leadership. The Blue Biz program includes a grant funding component, designed to stimulate investment in early stage youth-owned businesses and to build the capacity of local organization to provide value-added services to entrepreneurs in the target counties.

Position Description:

As fund manager, the Sub Award and Enterprise Fund Manager is responsible for providing overall guidance and coordination of grants including sub granting processes. Working with the Senior Program Manager, Finance Manager, Monitoring and Evaluation Manager and the TechnoServe Kenya Country Leadership, the Sub Award and Enterprise Fund Manager is responsible for: providing leadership in the planning, coordination and implementation of grants preparation processes; managing sub-granting processes; drafting and monitoring grants budgets; managing grants contracts and agreements; tracking results, analyzing financial data per grant; and ensuring prompt reporting and compliance to grant conditions. The Sub Award and Enterprise Fund Manager will also lead the grant compliance and financial management capacity effort for local organizations receiving funds from the Blue Biz’s substantial grant pool. The Sub Award and Enterprise Fund Manager will ensure effective communication, reporting and compliance with grant-related activities.

The position presents a unique opportunity for the candidate to deepen their professional skills in donor portfolio administration in areas ranging from procurement, project management, agreement negotiation, and financial management.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

The Sub Awards and Enterprise Fund Manager is responsible for prudent and efficient management of all grants and sub-grants. A fund manager is responsible for implementing a fund's investing strategy and managing its portfolio trading activities. The duties and responsibilities include but not limited to the following:

Fund Management: Lead financial oversight for the administration of grant funds, and implement the project's grant investing strategy and grant portfolio activities. Sub award and grant acquisition and agreement management: Spearhead and or coordinate the project grant development processes including preparing the grant application process and documentation, reviewing grantee applications, verifying all related information, and ensuring timely submission of all grant documents to the grant selection committee. Sub award and grant financial monitoring: Actively monitor adherence to grant agreements, TechnoServe policies and procedures and, relevant external statutory rules and regulations. Compliance oversight and management: In collaboration with the project director and TechnoServe Country Leadership, establish and ensure compliance to strong financial and administrative procedures. Actively monitor adherence to grant agreements, TechnoServe policies and procedures and relevant external statutory rules and regulations. Sub award and grantee donor reporting: Support the finance team in preparation of financial accountability reports. Coordinate the accounting for expenditures of grant funds including monthly/ quarterly reports and ensure completion and submission of required financial reports in accordance with grant/contract guidelines. Due Diligence, Sub award and grantee risk assessment and management: develop and continuously improve a risk management framework, carry out due diligence on potential grantees and sub grantees to mitigate associated risks, and where necessary, advise management as required. Participate in the due diligence processes to select sub-grantees, lead contracting and award of sub-grantees, track performance and compliance of sub-grantees. Sub award and grantee monitoring: conduct routine monitoring; preparation of grant budgets, budget amendments, budget change forms, and related documents. Documentation: Build and maintain an up-to-date grant related computerized and or manual data/ information system. Maintain custody of the sub-grant agreements and/ or contracts and ensure that information therein is adequately disseminated to responsible persons and ensure full compliance. Track commitments made in the grant agreements and ensure compliance to all conditions. Grantee Capacity Building: Provide technical assistance to project staff and to grantees with respect to grant management and compliance. Overseeing the partnerships manager and finance and grants officers to ensure efficient management of all grants. Build the capacity of grantees to comply, manage disbursed funds and reporting. Sub award and grant closeout activities: ensure effective close out of all sub-awards and grants. Maintain partner factsheets and share changes with project staff. Review partner procurements for goods and services contracts and purchase orders (POs) for adherence to donor compliance. Review all Purchase Requisition and Local Purchase Order ensuring that competitive bidding is done. Work with the Program Finance Manager in process and workflow monitoring and Guide the partners on various TechnoServe policies including the Procurement Policy, Vehicle Usage Policy and Conflict of Interest Policy. Maintain a database of program and partner assets, ensuring that they are insured, tagged, and updated in the asset/inventory register. Support program partners in vendor sourcing and management. Oversee subgrantee audits. Liaise with the finance team regarding financial and administrative oversight, as needed.

Basic Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree in business administration, finance, economics, agri-business, or another relevant field, and at least 7 years of experience ideally within a top-tier management consultancy, economic development or technology firm. Or a Master’s degree plus 5 years of relevant experience. Experience in budgeting, financial reporting, project governance, reporting and donor relations Proven success qualifying, engaging, working through, building capacity of and monitoring local partner institutions Experience leading projects with a focus on women and youth Fluency in English required. Understanding of Swahili is an advantage. Strong interpersonal and communications skills and ability to effectively motivate and manage teams in a multi-cultural environment Ability to work under tight deadlines while managing multiple tasks and activities Ability to develop well written, cohesive analyses and reports Experience building win-win partnerships between multiple stakeholders, including civil society, supply chain actors, financial institutions, technology providers, and others Ability to clearly communicate a high-level strategy to internal and external stakeholders, while driving execution of a workplan and achievement of short-term milestones. Experience and comfort apply adaptive management principles to make strategic, data-driven decisions in the face of uncertainty and complexity Strong capabilities and expectations around work products and communication skills

Preferred Qualifications:

Additional qualifications that would make a candidate more desirable. We seek candidates who bring experience with:

Leading complex economic growth including agriculture, enterprise development, blue economy programs in Kenya and/or Sub-Saharan Africa strongly preferred Influencing and collaborating with senior management of businesses (input suppliers, producer organizations, processors, traders, etc.), financial institutions, and other private sector actors to achieve partnership results Sourcing and delivering demand-driven technical assistance and business development services particularly through technical assistance facility mechanisms Designing and implementing inclusive business models that integrate women and youth (farmers, entrepreneurs) and successfully removing structural barriers that bar entry from entering or thriving in agricultural and or blue economy-related value chains Designing and implementing climate-smart approaches that improve the resilience of value chain actors and agricultural sectors as a whole