Financial Grants Manager, ImpactHDSS _at Vital Strategies, Ethiopia

The Organization                                                                                                   

Vital Strategies, headquartered in New York City, is an international public health organization. Our programs strengthen public health systems and address the world’s leading causes of illness, injury and death. We work in more than 70 countries, supporting data-driven decision-making in government, advancing evidence-based public health policies, and mounting strategic communication campaigns.

Vital Strategies’ priorities are driven by the greatest potential to improve and save lives. They include non-communicable disease prevention, tobacco control, road safety, food policy, environmental health, civil registration and vital statistics, and overdose prevention. Our programs are concentrated in low- and middle-income countries and cities in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Pacific.

About ImpactHDSS, Ethiopia/Tets’i’noHDSS, Ethiopia                                                                                       

Vital Strategies, in partnership with the Ministry of Health (MOH) of Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Public Health Institute’s National Data Management Center (EPHI/NDMC), Health and Demographic Surveillance System Sites (HDSSs), and other key stakeholders and collaborators have recently launched ImpactHDSS, Ethiopia through a three-year grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The purpose of this project is to leverage the health and vital events data produced by Ethiopia’s current set of 13 HDSSs for public health use. These sites provide continuous, routine, and timely follow-up of pregnancies, live births, deaths, and causes of death. They also produce routinely updated direct measures of surveillance area resident populations, which provide the denominators for the calculation of rates.

While the long-term goal remains one of strengthening Ethiopia’s national Civil Registration and Vital Statistics system to provide these data, the government of Ethiopia has elected to supplement registration data in the meantime. One approach to be taken under this grant is to leverage government and other partner investments in the 13, university-sponsored HDSS sites and to explore how these can supplement and be supplemented by other mortality measurement or registration activities in the country to produce a representative picture of population health and disease burdens causing premature death.

Specifically, ImpactHDSS, Ethiopia will provide technical assistance and mentorship support to strengthen the standardization, quality, timeliness, and completeness of data collected; to undertake pooled analyses and produce the indicators, statistics, or data required to meet documented use cases in health policy and planning. Additional emphasis will be placed on linking the HDSS systems to the civil registration system and integrating HDSS data with those from other health information system platforms (e.g., DHIS2).

Ultimately, improved data, including mortality and cause of death estimates, fertility estimates, as well as health service utilization information, will be provided to government decision-makers in a timely manner, synchronized with decision-making processes. Vital Strategies experts will be embedded within Government of Ethiopia institutions, as well as in a small project management and support team in the Vital Strategies Ethiopia office.

Job Purpose

The Financial Grants Manager, ImpactHDSS will be responsible for the contractual, financial, budgeting, and reporting for the grant award and will work in close collaboration with the program team, the Finance Division, subgrantees, and vendors.

The Financial Grants Manager will prepare donor financial reports and accompanying narratives, projections, budget submissions/authorizations, and respond to requests for financial information and audits. They will ensure the accuracy, quality, and timeliness of all financial transactions charged to the grant and approve disbursements and reconciliation of project funds transferred to sub-grantees. The Financial Grants Manager will review all invoices and staff/consultant payment requests presented for approval before submission to the Finance Officer and serve as a point of contact for all subgrantees and vendors working on this project.

Duties and Responsibilities

Financial Management

• Serve as the primary grants management support for assigned grant portfolio;
• Provide scheduled financial donor reports/projections, budget submissions/authorizations, and respond to requests for financial information and support to audits;
• Create monthly cash flow reports, respond to subgrantee data requests, and develop fiscal year and reforecast expense budgets in collaboration with program teams;
• Work with the Business Intelligence Analyst to update Power BI budget dashboard reports and ensure accurate accounting of incurred commitments and expenses;
• Provide budget updates and projections to inform the business decisions of project leadership;
• Ensure the accuracy, quality, and timeliness of commitment and expense data to accurately complete scheduled financial donor reports/ projections, budget submissions/authorizations, and respond to requests for financial information and support to audits;
• Review and submit all contractor invoices and consultant/staff expense reports to the Finance Officer for payment processing and work to troubleshoot any problems that arise with payment execution.

 Contracting

• Review and approve all assigned requisition forms and agreement financial clauses, payment terms, financial reporting schedules, etc;
• Assist in the negotiation of vendor agreements as requested by the Program team;
• Provide orientation to vendors on matters related to payment and reporting terms included in their agreements and Vital invoice submission and requirements;
• Review all independent contractor and service provider requests for fee revision due to local currency exchange rate or inflation increases and make recommendations to contract managers;
• Review and reconcile financial reports from subgrantees, ensure they are completed according to grant reporting requirements, and submitted in a timely manner;
• Conduct risk assessments, or reassessments, of subgrantees as determined by internal risk management policy;
• Keep abreast of, interpret, and provide guidance to assigned program staff on donor and organizational regulations and policies; educate staff on contract compliance and operational topics.

General

• Assist the Senior Grants Manager and Director of Grant Management and Administration to ensure portfolio compliance with donor regulations, internal policies and standard operating procedures;
• Assist in the review and development of Grants & Contracts Department standard operating procedures;
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Education and degree

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, business management, or a related field preferred.

Skills & abilities

• High attention to detail and accuracy;
• Advanced expertise in MS Excel, including proficiency in using pivot tables, V-lookups, and working knowledge of PowerPoint;
• Ability to multi-task, and provide excellent customer service and courteous team support;
• Strong skills in establishing work priorities and the timely meeting of deadlines and milestones;
• Able to communicate with varied audiences clearly and credibly;
• Commitment to valuing diversity and contributing to an inclusive working and learning environment;
• Ability to work in an international setting with colleagues in different time zones.

Experience

Experience required

• Minimum 6 – 7 years of finance and/or grants management, and budgeting experience;
• Experience in reviewing financial data for donor reporting and creation of routine monitoring reports for budget holders;
• Experience working with global teams in multiple time zones.

Experience Preferred

• Experience working in a non-profit or foundation setting preferred;

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements:

• This is a full-time position that will be based out of the Vital Strategies Office located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Vital Strategies offers highly competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits. The salary range for this position in Ethiopia is $33,000 USD to $36,700 USD. Interested candidates should note that the salary for this position is temporarily pegged to the USD;
• The candidate must have authorization to work legally in Ethiopia at the time of hire;
• Relocation support is not offered for this position; candidates are expected to be based in or able to independently relocate to the role’s location;
• Travel may be required in Ethiopia to attend in-person meetings;
• Vital Strategies strongly encourages qualified female candidates to apply.