Grants Manager-Digital Financial Services and Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative

Job Description

Title: Grants Manager-Digital Financial Services and Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative

Company Name: BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), BRAC University

Vacancy: Not specific

Job Location: Dhaka

Employment Status: Full-time

Educational Requirements:
∎ Master's in Accounting/ Finance/Economics /Business Administration or relevant disciplines

Experience Requirements:
∎ At least 6 year(s)

Job Responsibilities:
∎ Digital Financial Services and Women's Economic Empowerment Research Initiative: There is a growing body of evidence on the welfare impacts of access to DFS and the product and policy design choices unlocked through the digitisation of financial services. WEE is a crucial development issue, which DFS can impact through a number of pathways. Understanding these pathways-the causal mechanisms between digital financial services and women's economic empowerment-is essential for advancing practical policy recommendations on the effective use of these services to empower women economically. But rigorous and generalisable evidence on the impact of DFS on WEE, particularly on the causal mechanism between the two, is limited. BIGD's new DFS-WEE Research Initiative seeks to fill this critical evidence gap by funding rigorous research studies by leading researchers for projects across South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
∎ In DFS-WEE Research Initiative, BIGD will manage the selection and funding of compelling research projects, which may be implemented through any qualified field partner, including but not limited to BIGD's own internal research project teams. An independent Academic Steering Committee (ASC), composed of academics with a strong interest on the issue, will select the proposals for funding.
∎ Responsibilities:
∎ Subgrant Management (50%):
∎ Develop and execute a subgrant management system that ensures efficiency, accountability, and compliance
∎ Assist in the subgrant selection process, including designing and issuance of Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and reviewing the financial documents submitted by the applicants and making necessary recommendations
∎ Conduct due diligence on new partners
∎ Develop and execute subgrant agreements fulfilling all relevant legal and compliance requirements
∎ Define a standard set of deliverables and reporting templates for each award for monitoring and reporting purposes
∎ Advise the grantees of the responsibilities, requirements, and grants management policies and procedures regarding the proper use of funds throughout the life of a subgrant
∎ Negotiate with grantees to resolve problems of grant obligations and determine actions
∎ Manage and coordinate the approval of agreements and sub-agreements, amendments, cost extensions, and no-cost extensions, as applicable
∎ Process subgrant payments as per the subgrant agreements
∎ Check the financial reports submitted by the grantees for accuracy and compliance
∎ Financial management (50%):
∎ Treasury management for the initiative-managing fund inflow and outflow, reconciliation of fund balance, Invoicing, and disbursement
∎ Report fund status-receipts, payment, and budget variance
∎ Ensure that proper documentation is submitted and retained for all transactions
∎ Coordinate with internal and external audit teams for proper audit execution
∎ Support all reporting to the donor as per prescribed templates
∎ Reply to inquiries from BIGD's senior management, as an when requested
∎ Perform any other duties assigned by the management

Additional Requirements:
∎ Required:
∎ At least six years of relevant experience including two years of experience in managing complex grants
∎ Demonstrated ability to work across teams
∎ Strong problem-solving skills and ability to work under tight deadlines
∎ Strong communication skills, including speaking and writing effectively in English
∎ Excellent project management skills and ability to prioritize work and resources
∎ Preferred:
∎ Professional qualification, for example, ACA, ACCA, CMA, and CIMA
∎ Experience in leading/managing research grant-making facilities

Application Deadline: February 15, 2020

Company Information:
∎ BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), BRAC University

Category: NGO/Development