Grants and Finance Manager - The Kenya-Somalia-Ethiopia Borderlands Project (Deris Wanaag)

Country: Kenya

Organization: Adam Smith International

Closing date: 15 Jul 2023

Project Description

Deris Wanaag is a cross-border project seeking to enhance peace and stability, and strengthen social and economic dynamics, in the border areas between Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia.

The project acknowledges that enhancing peace and stability, and improving social and economic conditions, can only be achieved through increasing collaboration between the three countries, respective local administrations, and between the communities located across the borders.

To enhance peace and stability in a meaningful and sustainable way, the project integrates ongoing security, development and peacebuilding efforts by strengthening the effectiveness of national responses to insecurity along the border, supporting local conflict resolution and management structures, and building individual and community resilience to the influence of violent extremist actors. Recognising the transnational nature of insecurity, the project will support ongoing coordination mechanisms between Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia, situating itself within regional developments and their impact at local level.

The project leverages successes of previous and ongoing programming, to ensure that security, development and peacebuilding efforts are coordinated in order to benefit national and sub-national partners and communities in the border areas.

Project objectives

The project acknowledges fully that there are diverse and locally-specific, yet interconnected, dynamics at play in the border areas. Understanding these dynamics and how they evolve is therefore at the heart of theproject. It equally recognises that solutions for long term peace and stability are only effective when designed in close consultation with partners and communities. The projecttherefore places knowledge and joint working at its core, ensuring that solutions at national, sub-national and community levels are sensitive to dynamics and developed in partnership with partners and communities.

The project’s three primary objectives are to:

1. Support effective policy and programming, informed by a comprehensive understanding of the conflict and violent actor dynamics, structures and actors. Support at national, sub-national and community level is rooted in an understanding of the locally-specific social, economic and political dynamics, resulting in effective policy and interventions.

2. Strengthen formal and informal mechanisms (including cross-border mechanisms) to build resilience. Support at national, sub-national and community-level strengthens relationships between countries, between local administrations, and between communities, in a way that is sustainable and inclusive.

**3. Address community needs to mitigate against drivers of instability and violent extremism.**Interventions respond to needs at community-level, and support national partners to demonstrate commitment to reducing insecurity in the border areas.

The project is committed to working in a sustainable way and ensuring lasting changes beyond the lifetime of the project. This can only be achieved by working closely with national and sub-national partners, hard-to-reach communities and civil society to include voices across the border areas in order to strengthen understanding, support policy, and design interventions which will collectively strengthen the joint purpose of building peace and reducing instability.

Role Description

• Overall responsibility over project finances, through delegated authority from the Project Manager, including financial management; oversight of expenditure; accurate financial forecasting; financial reporting; procurement; fiduciary risk management; due diligence; and respect of relevant laws and regulations.


• Overall responsibility over the project’s granting mechanism, including establishing and/or revising processes and procedures; ensuring adherence to conflict sensitivity; risk management; and establishing and/or revising the project’s grantee due diligence and capacity building strategy


• Overall responsibility grantee financial reporting and expenditure verification; oversight of the Field Team supporting financial and grant management; support to tracking grant progress; and oversight of grant portfolio financial reporting


• Responsible for grant portfolio risk registers, including identifying and escalating risks to the project team


• Overseeing grant application and budget submissions ensuring packages reflect cost allow ability, cost reasonableness and consistency. Also overseeing budget negotiations, ensuring favourable terms and conditions for Deris Wanaag and CSSF


• Responsible for project and grant portfolio VfM tracking and reporting.


• Responsible for project Asset management and reporting.


• Overall responsibility for ensuring adherence to Grant Mechanism SOPs, including financial management procedures, grantee procurement procedures (selection, due diligence, contracting, expenditure, reporting)


• Responsible for developing tailored grantee capacity building plans, ensuring inputs from the project team; and oversight of their implementation


• Building and maintaining relationships with stakeholders (e.g. grantees in delivery locations), and contributing to the project’s stakeholder engagement strategy


• Contributes to project monthly and quarterly reporting, and to project learning products/events


• The role is expected to include up to 70% travel to project locations.

Qualifications

• A degree or post-graduate qualification in a relevant field (Finance, Procurement and Grant Management)


• Minimum seven years of experience managing large and complex development projects


• Demonstrable experience in overseeing grant and/or project implementation in conflict environments Demonstrable experience in conducting downstream partner capacity assessments, and designing and delivering partner capacity building plans


• Good command of English, including report-writing skills; and Somali


• 5 years’ experience in Somalia;


• Substantive knowledge and prior experience working on governance, stabilisation or peacebuilding programmes.


• Experience in managing small teams, including remote management

Location:

• Border areas between Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia; namely Mandera, Garissa, Wajir and Lamu (Kenya), Jubbaland (Somalia) and Dolo Ado, Somali Region (Ethiopia)

Implementing partners:

• Adam Smith International (ASI), the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), and the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI)

Reporting

• The Grant Manager will report to the Team Leader and Programme Manager, and who will direct and manage tasking.

How to apply

Interested candidates are required to send cover and CV through the link provided below by 15th July 2023.

https://adamsmithinternational1.recruitee.com/o/grants-and-finance-manager-the-kenyasomaliaethiopia-borderlands-project-deris-wanaag