Job Description

Job title:  

Senior Grant Specialist, Primary Care Expansion

Work Location:

Freetown, Sierra Leone

Department:

Policy & Partnerships

Report to:

Grants Manager

Line Management

No

Organisation Profile

Partners In Health (PIH) is an international health organization relentlessly committed to improving the health of the poor and marginalized. PIH partners with local governments to build local capacity and works closely with impoverished communities to deliver high-quality health care, address the root causes of illness, train providers, advance research, and advocate for global policy change. Our delivered services in the field are based in our partnership with the Governments and Ministries of Health and the support to education, training and mentorship to Health care workers and students is one of our pillars for the Health care system strengthening.

PIH currently has implementation programs in Haiti, Rwanda, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Peru, Mexico, Russia, Sierra Leone and Navajo Nation. Through our partnership with Harvard Medical School and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, we support a wide range of programs in dozens of other countries around the world. 

Our Work In Sierra Leone:

Partners In Health (PIH) began supporting the government of Sierra Leone in response to the Ebola epidemic in October 2014. Recognizing the large need for continued investments in the health system after Ebola, PIH is committed to long-term health system strengthening in support of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MOHS), guided by the same principles as our emergency response and our work around the world: public sector accompaniment, integrated and comprehensive services, social justice, nimbleness and flexibility, partnership, community ownership, and evidence-based interventions. In the aftermath of the epidemic, PIH is committed to supporting the delivery of comprehensive health services in Sierra Leone, from the community level to the health center and to referral hospitals.

Position Overview

PIH is embarking on an ambitious primary care program of work, with support from an institutional donor through a multi-year large grant. The Senior Grant Specialist, Primary Care Expansion will be responsible for all aspects of grants management for this grant, including ensuring compliance, expenditure reporting, expenditure planning, internal controls, and management of audits. This person will work to PIH-Sierra Leone’s Grants Manager and will work very closely with the project’s Finance Manager, Senior Project Manager and Procurement Associate, as well as PIH’s Boston-based Compliance & Grants Management team. This person will travel frequently throughout Sierra Leone to ensure compliance with all aspects of this program, and will work with Ministry of Health and Sanitation counterparts as needed. This person will also oversee sub-granting relationships and associated work. The individual will have a track record in successful management of donor-funded programs, and will be highly diligent, accountable and able to build relationships within a cross-functional team.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Financial management and reporting

• Complete monthly, quarterly and annual expenditure reports against agreed donor budget for the grant, running reports against PIH financial system, and working closely with donor and other partners to provide required financial information in the right formats as needed
• Conduct budget versus actual analyses and spending forecasts. Communicate variances to Senior Project Manager and provide recommendations in line with donor budget and regulations
• Review monthly expenses and salaries to ensure proper allocation to the grant
• Support finance team on proper financial management of grant funds including support for expense coding, collection of appropriate audit documentation, and data entry in PIH’s financial accounting software.
• Act as the primary contact for any donor audit or compliance visit
• Assist withreforecast budgeting processes
• Support other reporting for the grant as required by Senior Project Manager or donor

Budget development

• Lead budgeting processes including annual budgets, re-budgeting and communicating the grant budget to PIH staff

• Ensure budgets are fully costed and structured in a way that lends itself to straightforward compliance.

Grant management & reporting

• Work closely with Sierra Leone and Boston staff inside and outside the project to ensure full procedural compliance with grant agreement

• Establish required systems for grant management and provide training and technical assistance to project teams as needed
• Independently track all deliverable dates and collaborate with program managers and MEQ team to compile programmatic information and data for routine reporting, both internal and external 
• Lead budget revisions, funding requests, or other requests to donors during the lifetime of a grant
• Proactively identify potential challenges and initiate or recommend corrective action.
• Ensure accurate and timely record keeping that is aligned with donor preferences, expectations, and requirements.
• Lead preparation of any PIH-driven and review of any other MOU, contract, or other dually signed agreement, including facilitating review by PIH-SL senior leadership team and Boston legal team. Serve as focal person for all compliance items for this grant, and liaise with others to interpret applicable regulations and translate into operational policies as needed.

Compliance

• Advise on proper procurement procedures, in line with donor guidance and PIH policies.
• Advise on required HR processes and contracts given donor restrictions and project timelines.
• Assist with tracking of grant assets and inventory including coordination of asset disposal and expensing shared operation costs.
• Monitor branding and marking requirements and advise operations and programs teams to ensure full compliance.
• Liaise between various teams in country and Boston to support completion of grant activities. 
• Provide trainings on grant management and compliance best practices for staff at all levels.
• Support department heads to strengthen organizational systems and controls, providing trainings as needed.

Sub-grantee management

• Support identification, contracting and management of any sub-grantees, including developing MOUs, in partnership with Boston Legal team, developing reporting templates and systems, and reviewing and signing off reports prior to sub-grant payments
• Build a strong relationship based on mutual trust with sub-grantee partners

Miscellaneous

• SupportPolicy & Partnerships leadership, Grants Manager and Senior Project Manager with other priority tasks and special projects as needed, including writing, editing, and presentation support

Primary Financial Deliverables:

• Responsible for monthly, quarterly and annual expenditure reports
• Responsible for budget versus actual analyses and spending forecasts
• Responsible for monthly expenses and salaries to ensure proper allocation to the grant
• Responsible for expense coding, collection of appropriate audit documentation, and data entry in PIH’s financial accounting software
• Responsible for annual budgets, re-budgeting and internal grant launch meetings

How performance will be assessed:

• Quality and timeliness of primary deliverables each month.
• Feedback from the Senior Program Manager, Finance Manager and Boston-based Grants and Finance staff on the on the quality of support provided.  
• Feedback from the Grants Managers on the rigor and accuracy of documentation provided.
• How efficiently any issues identified with reporting are resolved.

Education and Work Experience Requirements:

Qualifications

• A minimum of five years relevant work experience, with at least 3 years of experience in grants management or administration, including budget management
• Experience working on a donor-funded project with a high compliance donor, such as USAID, US CDC, FCDO, Global Fund, EU, World Bank, Global Affairs Canada, or similar donor
• Bachelor’s degree or an additional 3 years of work experience
• Highly numerate with strong Excel skills and adequate writing skills
• Experience working with individuals of various skill sets and cultures.
• Excellent facilitation, oral and interpersonal communication, and presentation skills including excellent writing skills.
• Excellent planning and prioritization skills as well as creative problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Strong project management and time management skills; highly organized and detail-oriented.
• Ability to work independently and effectively in high-pressure, fast-paced environment and handle multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Ability to work with patience, humility, and a sense of humor.
• Commitment to health and social justice.
• Ability to live in Sierra Leone full-time required. 

Commitment to Safeguarding and Prevention of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Sexual Harassment

At Partners In Health, we are committed to ensuring that those who benefit from our work- including our patients, families and community members – as well as our staff are treated with dignity and respect and protected from sexual exploitation, abuse and sexual harassment. A range of pre-employment checks will be

undertaken in conformity with Partner In Health’s PSEAH policy. Partner In Health will request information from applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment.  By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms their understanding of these recruitment procedures.

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