Grant Compliance Officer

The Organization

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organization that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.

We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination, and girls are most affected.

Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children.

We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood. And we enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.

We have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 80 years, and are now active in more than 70 countries.

ROLE PROFILE

Title:  Grants Compliance Officer
Functional Area: Grants
Reports to: Business Development Manager
Location: CO – Yaounde    Travel required: Frequent
Effective Date: July 2023    Grade: C2

ROLE PURPOSE

Value Proposition
The Grants Compliance Officer is responsible for ensuring compliance with statutory donor rules and regulations within his/her assigned portfolio. This role ensures a culture of compliance by providing advice and guidance on statutory donor rules and regulations for grants and contracts, enforces administrative policies, and promotes adherence to procedures to ensure that all PIC staff, project partners, subcontractors, and sub-awardees (partners) are in compliance with statutory donors and local government requirements. The Grants Compliance Officer provides guidance to relevant staff to improve their understanding of the terms and conditions of grants and contracts by providing donor compliance advice and training so that programs are delivered responsibly with minimized compliance risk. The role also advises implementing teams in areas of risk analysis and mitigation.

Dimensions of the Role

Under the supervision of the Business Development Manager, the Grant Compliance Officer will have to perform the below main activities:

Accountabilities

1.    Act as focal point for all major compliance matters related to assigned donor portfolio
2.    Provide support for major compliance matters related to assigned donors portfolio filling in as focal point when needed;
3.    Strong knowledge of donor regulations and ability to analyze and interpret;
4.    Develop and maintain strong relations with key staff at various donors and NOs, as well as PIC internal stakeholders: Programs, Finance, ERM, etc. as needed;
5.    Advise both program and finance stakeholders of any changes made to donor compliance regulations and assess their impact on PIC programs;
6.    Engage with PUs as needed to provide input and develop solutions on major donor compliance matters;
7.    Work closely with the Program Unit, the Grants and Business Development Managers and the grants and compliance team to develop PIC policies, guidelines, tools and templates as needed to ensure optimal implementation of donor compliance requirements;
8.    Assess current contracts, systems, and procedures against donor requirements and develop tools and processes to support contract readiness and compliance, across the organization.
9.    Support or lead negotiations with donor and/or partners contacts, as needed;
10.    Work with the NOs Grants/Program Directors/Officers as needed to ensure there is a strong understanding of what issues need to be escalated and ensure there is a strong communication flow;
11.    Working with the Programs Unit team, engage with PUs, regional teams, and technical units to provide advice, input and develop solutions on Subawards, specifically on assigned donor portfolio
12.    Working with the Programs and Grants as well as the BDM to serve as a donor expert for the development of assigned donor portfolio subaward and subcontract templates, to support working in partnerships.
13.    Provide technical support for regional and financial controllers regarding assigned donor portfolio on compliance on budgetary issues;
14.    Serve as the PIC in-house organizational expert on assigned portfolio grants and contracts rules and regulations, staying abreast of all financial, administrative, and contract related business practice developments;
15.    Disseminate award/contract policy changes in a timely and user-friendly manner throughout the agency as needed;
16.    Assist country programs in resolution of grants management issues, such as delays in agreement signing, delays in payments, audit findings, irregular interpretation of award terms, etc.
17.    Ensure quality assurance is provided to select processes for internal compliance. For example, manage and conduct compliance audits to ensure that internal review and approval processes for awards are being followed;
18.    Participate in the development/revision/review of future Grants Manuals;
19.    Work closely with the Program and Grants Units to develop and provide training on donor compliance matters;
20.    Represent PIC in external fora and liaise with NOs, donors and partners as needed;
21.    Participate in special projects, as needed;
22.    Other responsibilities as assigned by the supervisor.
Ensures that Plan International’s global policies for Child Protection (CPP) and Gender Equality and Inclusion (GEI) are fully embedded in accordance with the principles and requirements of the policy including relevant Implementation Standards and Guidelines as applicable to their area of responsibility. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring staff and associates are aware of and understand their responsibilities under these policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), their relevance to their area of work, and that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures.

Dealing with Problems/Risks

1.    Ability to draft clear and precise report in responding to grants compliance queries
2.    A good understanding of Plan grants management system for efficiency and compliance
3.    Ability to work independently with minimal supervision
4.    Must have very good interpersonal relationship with colleagues and supervisors

Key relationships

Internal
1.    Grants Project/Program Coordinators and manager – High
2.    Program Technical Advisor – Medium
3.    Head of Programme – Medium
4.    Head of Operation – Medium
5.    Country Finance Manager – High
6.    Grants Accountant – High
7.    Business Development Manager – High
8.    Country Accountant – High
9.    Business Analyst- High
10.    PIIAMs- Low

External
1.    Partners (High)
2.    NO finance/compliance staff (High)

Technical expertise, skills and knowledge

Relevant knowledge and experience;

Qualification and Experience
1.    University degree in Finance/Economic/Accounting with a certificate in audit or donor Compliance
2.    5 -7 years of relevant professional experience
3.    Demonstrated knowledge and prior experience working on multilateral and bilateral donors’ grants and contracts
4.    Proven expertise in interpreting and applying statutory and regulatory language in executing awards and contracts from donor entities and in maintaining a current knowledge of changes in the language, application and enforcement of this language;
5.    Developed understanding of professional business standards required to create a high performing and accountable environment;
6.    Experience with contracts’ compliance a plus;
7.    Experience in organizational problem solving, operations, high performance management in complex organizations;
8.    A positive thinker and collaborative problem solver.
9.    Previous experience with large international nonprofit organizations preferred;
10.    Strong interpersonal relations, teambuilding and communication skills;
11.    Previous experience providing compliance training in a multicultural setting.

Skills
1.    Good team player (ability to work in a team)
2.    Proficient in Microsoft applications especially spread sheets (e.g. excel)
3.    Good communication skills both oral and written
4.    Ability to work and deliver to tight deadlines
5.    Self-starter and innovative
6.    Good English and French (spoken and written) is an asset

Behaviours
1.    Independent minded, objective and demonstrate a sense of integrity.
2.    Organized, methodic and meticulous
3.    Innovation and willingness to learn at a faster rate
4.    Remains calm and positive under pressure and in difficult situations
5.    Aware of impact on others and adjusting own behaviour accordingly
6.    Tolerant of differences – cultural sensitivity in relation to its impact on HR
7.    Monthly feedback on time
8.    Monthly Reporting on time.

Plan International’s Values in Practice

We are Open and Accountable

1.    Promotes a culture of openness and transparency, including with sponsors and donors.
2.    Holds self and others accountable to achieve the highest standards of integrity.
3.    Consistent and fair in the treatment of people.
4.    Open about mistakes and keen to learn from them.
5.    Accountable for ensuring we are a safe organisation for all children, girls & young people

We Strive for Lasting Impact
1.    Articulates a clear purpose for staff and sets high expectations.
2.    Creates a climate of continuous improvement, open to challenge and new ideas.
3.    Focuses resources to drive change and maximise long-term impact, responsive to changed priorities or crises.
4.    Evidence-based and evaluates effectiveness.

We Work Well Together
1.    Seeks constructive outcomes, listens to others, willing to compromise when appropriate.
2.    Builds constructive relationships across Plan International to support our shared goals.
3.    Develops trusting and ‘win-win’ relationships with funders, partners and communities.
4.    Engages and works well with others outside the organization to build a better world for girls and all children.

We Are Inclusive And Empowering

5.    Seeks constructive outcomes, listens to others, willing to compromise when appropriate.
6.    Builds constructive relationships across Plan International to support our shared goals.
7.    Develops trusting and ‘win-win’ relationships with funders, partners and communities.
8.    Engages and works well with others outside the organization to build a better world for girls and all children.

Physical Environment
This position is based in the County Office – Yaounde, with approximately 40% travel to Program Areas and other locations when required.

Level of ontact with children

Low contact: Occasional interaction with children.

Closing Date: June 05th, 2023

Early application is encouraged as we will review applications throughout the advertising period and reserve the right to close the advert early.

Plan International believes that in a world where children face so many threats of harm, it is our duty to ensure that we, as an organization, do everything we can to keep children safe. This means that we have particular responsibilities to children that we come into contact with and we must not contribute in any way to harming or placing children at risk. 

A range of pre-employment checks will be undertaken in conformity with Plan International’s Safeguarding Children and Young People policy. Plan International also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this scheme we will request information from applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By applying, the job applicant confirms his/her understanding of these recruitment procedures.

Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the very heart of everything that Plan International stands for. Our organization is based on a culture of inclusivity and we strive to create a workplace environment that ensures every team, in every office, in every country, is rich in diverse people, thoughts, and ideas.

We will provide equality of opportunity and will not tolerate discrimination on any grounds. We foster an organizational culture that embraces and exemplifies our commitment to gender equality, girls’ rights and inclusion while supporting staff to adopt good practice, positive attitudes and principles of gender equality and inclusion.