Country Grants Engagement Manager (GEM) – Zambia

About the job

Panagora seeks a full-time Grants Engagement Manager (GEMs) based in Zambia for the recently awarded USAID Localize Global Health Security (LGHS) Project. The GEM will report to the Deputy Project Director, and work in close collaboration with the Country Support Manager, Director of Grants, and Grants Coordinator who are based in the US.

The purpose of the LGHS project is to work with local entities to address prioritized critical health security gaps at the sub-national level. LGHS will do this by establishing and managing a flexible grants program that finances local entities to address subnational gaps in various sectors related to global health security (i.e. Zoonotic Diseases, Human Resources in the human and animal health sectors, and Community-level Zoonotic Disease Surveillance).

Position Description: The Grants Engagement Manager will serve as the project’s main in-country focal point and will provide end-to-end facilitative support to local grantees and coordinate locally-sourced technical and organizational capacity strengthening support provided to them. The GEM is responsible for supporting the grant-making process, monitoring grantee performance, and ensuring compliance with USAID regulations and Panagora’s policies. The in-country GEM will support grantee identification, grant management, coordinating grantee capacity building, M&E, reporting and documentation management, and risk assessments. As main focal point in-country, they will need to liaise closely and effectively with colleagues based in the US, as well as with in-country grantees. The GEM may also serve as a point of contact with USAID-Zambia staff engaged in LGHS.

Responsibilities will include:

Grant Management:

• Manage the coordination of the grant solicitation process, including identifying grantees, assisting grantees with proposal submissions in alignment with USAIDs priorities, guidelines, and regulations.
• Manage the administration of the grant lifecycle, from pre-award assessments to post-award compliance and reporting including mitigating conflict of interest.
• Collaborate with (remote) LGHS colleagues to identify grant opportunities aligned with the program’s mission and objectives.
• Support the onboarding and orientation of grantees to Panagora’s GUC manual and GrantsAgora
• Collaborate with grantee staff, implementing partners, and other stakeholders to foster effective communication and coordination.
• Support and coordinate the regular monitoring of grantees to ensure that the grants are implemented in accordance with the grant agreements and meet USAID standards.
• Support the grants coordinator to monitor grant budgets to ensure cost-effectiveness and compliance with financial regulations.
• Performs routine grants reviews to identify and mitigate risks associated with grantee performance, ensuring funds are used efficiently and effectively.

Organizational Capacity Building:

• Facilitate “buy-in” from partner leadership and mobilize internal change champions to support organizational transformation
• Coordinate with local service providers to ensure high quality capacity-strengthening services including training, mentorship, policy guidelines and technical assistance for grantees/partners, to improve their administrative, financial, grant, procurement, and program management capabilities to comply with regulations and deliver program results. Where feasible and appropriate, may lead the delivery of some of these trainings.
• Support and coordinate training, mentorship, and technical assistance to grantees to enhance their program technical capacity.

Technical Support:

• Collaborate with the Technical Advisor and Organizational Capacity Strengthening team to foster effective communication and coordination.
• Assist the OCS Specialist with assessing technical health security capacity as well as their organizational capacity.
• Provide risk management support during the implementation of each grantee’s OCS roadmap.

Documentation, Evaluation and Learning:

• Support the preparation and timely submission of reports, including financial, programmatic, and compliance reports.
• Maintain comprehensive documentation of all grant activities and communications for audit purposes.
• Contribute to the evaluation and adaptive management of grant programs, capturing lessons learned and best practices for future projects.

Requirements

• Bachelors Degree and a minimum of 7 years of professional experience in organizational development, grants management or public health, Masters degree and a minimum of 5 years of professional experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Demonstrated experience building the capacity of local NGOs/ CSOs or private sector entities in Zambia.
• Demonstrated experience in the administration, management, and oversight of grants and grant programs.
• Experience working with USAID, and knowledge of USAID regulations required.
• Experience managing budgets and advising on the financial aspects of partnerships, invoicing, budget management, and forecasting.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Confident with interpersonal and facilitation skills, and ability to work collaboratively in a team-oriented setting and remotely.
• Self-motivated and able to manage time and meet deadlines working independently.
• Prior experience coaching or mentoring organizations or staff preferred.
• Proven ability to work under pressure, and with multiple concurrent demands.
• Excellent writing and communication skills in English; proficiency in one or more local languages is strongly preferred.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office and SharePoint.
• Ability to travel throughout the country (or region depending on whether or not we combine countries into one GEM’s portfolio) approximately 25% of the time.