Finance and Grant Officer

Creative Associates International is a dynamic, fast-growing global development firm that specializes in education, economic growth, democratic institutions, and stabilization. Based in Washington, D.C., Creative has a field presence in more than 25 countries with a strong client portfolio that includes the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department, among others. Since its founding in 1977, Creative has earned a solid reputation among its clients and is well-regarded by competitors and partners alike.

Program Description:

The USAID-funded Ethiopia Civic Engagement (ECE)Activity is a four-year activity with the overall goal to strengthen Ethiopia’s civic fabric in support of more inclusive, peaceful, and responsive governance. The project aims to strengthen civic and community-based actors’ capacity to engage in policy analysis, advocacy, dialogue, and collective action for peaceful, democratic change; and foster multi-stakeholder civic partnerships in support of inclusive dialogue, respect for human rights, and advancing more effective, citizen-responsive, and accountable governance.

Position Summary:

The Finance and Grant Officer will be responsible for providing support to both Finance and Grant Units in managing the day-to-day finance and grant management activities in accordance with Creative and USAID policies, procedures, and systems.

Reporting: The Finance and Grant Officer will report to the Finance Manager with dotted reporting line to the Senior Grant Manager

Primary Responsibilities:

Financial Management

• Review the assigned sub-grantee’s financial reports and process payment through encoding it into the Dynamics SL (Creative’s Financial Software)
• Support the assigned sub-grantees on financial reporting, documentation, disbursement management, spending plans and cash forecast, and general donor compliance
• With the support of Senior Grant Officer (SGO), upload financial documents to SMART (Creative’s Grant Management Software) to process reconciliation and advance requests
• Review Subgrantee advance liquidations and process their next advances on monthly basis.
• Serve as a focal person for requesting and processing VAT refunds for both Creative ECE and subgrantees
• Prepare and submit monthly Procurement Reports to the tax authority
• Review AP data entered into Dynamics SL to ensure that project payments are coded to the right GL codes and that the payments are authorized by the relevant authorities and are supported by sufficient documentation
• Prepare Journal entries for advance settlements, utilization on prepayments, cash transfers from HQ, bank charges, adjustments, and transfer from one bank account into another, etc.… in a timely manner ensuring proper & adequate documentation, review & approval
• Enter Journal entries into Creative Finance System (Dynamics SL) at least weekly and provide the financial documents for review to the Finance Manager at least on weekly basis
• Prepare bank reconciliations, and reconciliation of all advances and payables monthly
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Finance Manager

Grant Management

• Assist in conducting sub-grantee due diligence, execute sub-grant agreement, memorandum of understanding (MOUs) and contracts, and organize project cycle meetings for sub-grantee
• Collaborate on the planning and implementation of organizational capacity assessment and periodic review of potential sub-grantees
• Support in the preparation and implementation of training and technical assistance, as required, to address capacity needs and reinforce grants management
• Provide technical support, mentoring, and training to assigned sub-grantees within the Addis Ababa hub
• Closely work with the Sr. Grants Officer (SGO) to provide mentoring to the assigned grantees’ staff on their internal control systems, reporting requirement, and documentation process
• Maintain and update the reporting schedule of the assigned ECE sub-grantees
• Maintain all documentation related to sub-grant management for the assigned grantees
• Maintain a filing system (soft copy) of all assigned sub-grantee proposals, due diligence checks, agreements, modifications, program and financial reports, monitoring reports, and relevant correspondence
• Support the Sr. Grant Manager (SGM) in the preparation and updating of the sub-grant tracking sheet and support plan
• Work with the SGO to develop standard templates and toolkits to ensure timely submission of narrative and financial reports
• Participate in and contribute to sub-grant project review meetings, and sub-grant monitoring and training events as relevant
• Under the guidance of the SGM, collaborate with other team members in conducting on-site assessments of internal controls and providing guidance and technical support to local partners
• Keep the SGM informed of any sub-grant compliance issues, major budget fluctuations, significant overspending or underspending as quickly as possible to ensure timely mitigation.
• Perform other grant related tasks as assigned by the SGM

Required Skills & Qualifications:

• BA degree in Accounting, Finance or related field required
• At least 4 years of general work experience including at least 2 years of specific experience related to the position required
• Medium level knowledge of Spoken and Written English required. Advanced knowledge of Spoken and Written English highly desired
• Demonstrated knowledge and effective application of USAID rules, regulations and procedures
• Experience with USAID program finances, grants, and budgeting or similar work for other donors/U.S. Government agencies, desired
• Ability to work under pressure and efficiently handle multiple tasks