Cash Assistance And Grants Officer

The Near East Foundation (NEF) is seeking candidates for Cash Assistance and Grants Officer to be based in its Lebanon Office in Beirut. For 100 years, NEF has worked to build more sustainable, prosperous, and inclusive communities in the Middle East and Africa through education, governance, and economic development initiatives. Working through a network of country offices and local partners, NEF currently operates in eight countries: Armenia, Jordan, Lebanon, Mali, Morocco, Palestine, Senegal and Sudan. Its programs are organized around three themes: Peacebuilding, Sustainable Agriculture, and Microenterprise Development. Position Description The Cash Assistance and Grants Officer is a member of Near East Foundation team in Lebanon, reporting to the Project Manager. The purpose of the Cash Assistance and Grants Officer position is to manage all grants and cash assistance for beneficiaries in a BPRM-supported project. This 1-year project will reduce household economic vulnerability and reliance on harmful coping strategies by increasing access to livelihoods and protection information and skills; home-based income-generating activities; and training and career guidance linked to savings and protection for adolescents. The Cash Assistance and Grants Officer will: (a) be responsible for all grants and cash assistance distributed during the project (b) provide support and oversight of saving associations (c) review business plans and verify the eligibility of beneficiaries to receive grants and cash support. The Cash Assistance and Grants Officer will perform his/her duties and responsibilities in accordance to the project proposal and budget in addition to the programmatic, administrative and financial policies/ regulations of the Near East Foundation. Responsibilities The Cash Assistance and Grants Officer will: Maintain all relevant cash and grants documents in electronic and paper files (reports, contracts, agreements, correspondence, participant identification, refugee status, etc.) Ensure compliance with applicable NEF and donor rules & regulations; Develop and distribute formal financial contracts for all beneficiaries receiving cash or grant assistance. These contracts should detail the amount and type of assistance and be shared with relevant NEF staff; Prepare accurate business documents to ensure all checks are prepared and disbursed on a schedule and according to established guidelines; Compile receipts and cost share from all beneficiaries; Settle advances and receipts with Finance Officer and produce timely reports detailing on-going disbursement and compliance with donor requirements; Maintain individual files on each beneficiary that is shared with all project staff and meticulously updated and confirmed; Support the review of beneficiary business plans and the eligibility of all participants (by compiling support documents - family book, IDs, UNHCR letter, etc.) to receive cash support in a timely manner; Provide support to the adolescent savings groups, ensuring the creating of the savings accounts and disbursement of matching funds to eligible beneficiaries; Maintain records and up to date data about the adolescent savings groups and share the findings with the CBOs, volunteers, and NEF team; also coordinate with the CBOs on the safe management of the adolescent’s savings; Create purchasing orders when needed; Enter all participant data into the NEF Lebanon participant database in order to generate statistics throughout the project; Ensure security and appropriate use of project and NEF assets; Implement programmatic and financial directives as provided by the Finance Officer; Program Manager and Country Director; Perform other duties as assigned. Qualifications and Requirements: The successful Cash Assistance and Grants Officer must be a self-directed individual with the following qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in management/administration studies, finances, accounting or related field; or equivalent combination of education and work experience; Minimum 3-years related experience preferably working in disbursing cash assistance/grants, financial management, for the UN/INGOs sector; Effective team player, able to develop and maintain effective working relationships within a distributed and dynamic team; Fluency in English and Arabic and ability to effectively write reports; Competence with MS Office applications, including Word, Excel and Outlook; Able to read and interpret documents, and communicate with others as necessary to perform job duties effectively; Requires extensive written and verbal communication skills needed to motivate, convince, and/or change behavior or attitude of contacts; Experience with data input and statistics, and financial filings and documentation; Sensitivity to cultural differences and the ability to work effectively across a wide variety of cultural contexts; Good interpersonal skills; Good numerical skills to maintain accurate records; Flexibility in accepting work assignments.