Grants and Programs Officer Grassroot Soccer Zambia

Reports to:   Senior Manager, Global Impact and Operations Division (based in Johannesburg, South Africa)

Start Date: 21 March, 2022

Overall Description

This role provides and coordinates administrative, financial, and program support for GRS’s global health projects in Africa. The Grants and Programs Officer position will be responsible for a portfolio of private and public grants and contracts with an emphasis on program delivery, grant administration, donor compliance, financial management, and reporting.

Grassroot Soccer (GRS) is a rapidly growing adolescent health organization that leverages the power of soccer to educate, inspire, and mobilize at-risk youth in developing countries to overcome their greatest health challenges, live healthier, more productive lives, and be agents for change in their communities. Since 2002, GRS programs have reached 13 million young people in more than 60 countries with life-saving HIV prevention and sexual and reproductive health information and services. Grassroot Soccer is looking to continue scaling its impact via partnerships over the next five years.

Position Summary: The Grants and Programs Officer should be a proactive problem-solver with demonstrated ability to manage tight deadlines and concurrent deliverables. The successful candidate will thrive working across teams and time zones in a multicultural environment. The Grants and Programs Officer will work closely with members of the Impact and Operations; Finance; Programs and Partnerships; Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning; and Strategy and Innovation Teams.

The locations of this position may be: Bulawayo, Zimbabwe; Cape Town, South Africa; Johannesburg, South Africa; and Lusaka, Zambia. Only candidates who are legally authorized to work in one of these locations will be considered.

Responsibilities:

Project Management and Delivery (80%)

• Responsible for coordinating, managing, and reporting on project implementation in line with donor rules and regulations, GRS policies and procedures, and project aims;
• Coordinate technical assistance, including but not limited to workshops, trainings, and support visits;
• Track all grant deliverables, travel, deadlines, and other key timelines in the appropriate platforms;
• Prepare, review, and disseminate reports for grants, funders, and internal stakeholders;
• Monitor and manage project expenditures to ensure spending is in line with budgetary limits and GRS policies and procedures;
• Ensure all grant communication is documented and timely, and includes all necessary stakeholders through the grant cycle;
• Develop and oversee task lists and schedules that effectively allocate time and resources for all project objectives;
• Conduct sub-partner assessments and build out action plans to ensure partners are able to deliver GRS programs effectively;
• Monitor sub-partner performance, finances, and deliverables;
• Work closely with the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning team to ensure targets are met, data is captured, and outcomes are achieved on all programs;
• Work with technical staff to identify, recruit, and manage consultants for project assignments;
• Lead internal grant and program kick-off calls;
• Track and document learnings, successes, challenges, and best practices from technical assistance (TA) visits and trainings to share out with broader organization;
• Support evaluation and research projects to build evidence-base and strengthen case for GRS in country;
• Identify and articulate good practices that have potential for growth and scale, develop and execute dissemination plans nationally, regionally and across the sector; and
• Other tasks as required.

Organizational Development & Business Development (20%)

• Acting as a liaison with Impact and Functional Team staff in order to provide effective grant management and support;
• Provide capacity development to Impact Team staff in grant management and program planning;
• Develop and strengthen organizational grant management tools;
• Work in coordination with the Business Development team on donor reporting and management;
• Work as part of a team in the preparation of proposals for new projects, including development of program workplans and timelines;
• Maintain excellent relationships with partners, donors, and other relevant stakeholders; and
• Coordinate across GRS internally to share insights and support a culture of learning.

Qualifications

• 2-5 years of experience managing, implementing, and monitoring concurrent, international development projects
• Strong project management skills
• Demonstrated experience working with a range of international donor organizations, with clear knowledge of donor rules and regulations
• Familiarity with basic accounting and financial reporting
• Outstanding written and oral communication skills in English
• Excellent organization and strong ability to meet concurrent deadlines
• Demonstrated ability to lead meetings and operate in cross-cultural contexts and across geographies and time zones
• Excellent proficiency in Microsoft Office suite including Excel, Word, and PowerPoint
• Demonstrated ability to acquire understanding and absorb new information rapidly
• Willingness and ability to travel internationally, as required
• Legal work authorization for South Africa, Zambia, or Zimbabwe

Preferred Qualifications

• Proficiency working with Google Workspace and other Google products
• Demonstrated experience managing US Government-funded programs
• Demonstrated experience managing corporate- or foundation-funded grants
• Demonstrated experience in budget development and monitoring

Ideal candidate should have exceptional skills in the following:

• Attention to detail
• Time management and prioritization
• Ability to proactively identify issues, propose and implement solutions
• Ability to build relationships with a wide range of staff and partners, and operate within diverse social and cultural contexts, often virtually over multiple continents and time zones
• Successful leaders at Grassroot Soccer are bold, yet humble. They are passionate about the mission of Grassroot Soccer and understand their role on the Grassroot Soccer team to achieve its mission.

Day to day, they are…

• Proactive: can anticipate both opportunities and obstacles and take action
• Professional: level-headed; ability to de-escalate difficult situations, behave exceptionally, and manage/minimize distractions
• Problem Solvers: comfortable with ambiguity, can creatively unlock bottlenecks and turn problems into opportunities
  …they demonstrate lots of…
• Common Sense: prioritizing the right things at the right time; making good, quick, informed decisions balancing multiple issues and points of view
• Self-awareness: know where one’s blind spots are, recognize differences, and build a team to complement one’s skills and weaknesses

…and a strong bias for…

• Follow-through and Outcomes: deliver results, not just create lots of activity
• Treating People Well: empathetic, kind, great listener, yet can make tough decisions and hold oneself/others accountable