Grants And Procurement Manager

General Scope of Work   The Grants and Procurement Manager is responsible for the day-to-day management of grants, subcontracts, and procurement for the USAID-funded Lebanon PACE program managed by Management Systems International (MSI). The Grants and Procurement Manager bears primary responsibility for ensuring grant and procurement activities are in compliance with USAID and MSI rules, regulations, and policies, working in close coordination with the Grants Assistant, Finance and Administration Manager and program team, including the Chief of Party, Deputy Chief of Party, Media and Civil Society Program Specialists, and Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist. The Grants and Procurement Manager reports directly to the Chief of Party.   Specific Duties and Responsibilities   The principal responsibilities of this position include, but are not limited, to the following tasks:   Understand and adhere to all USAID, MSI and program rules and regulations concerning grants, procurement, and subcontracts, and keep abreast of all changes made to these policies Monitor and manage all administrative and financial details concerning issuance of grants. This includes, but is not limited to: Assisting technical staff in developing Statements of Work and other grant design elements Reviewing the initial RFA/APS for program grants, for approval by the home office Maintaining responsibility for the grant competition and ensuring that all grant competition requirements are met, if required. In the absence of competition, preparing appropriate justifications for exemption from competition. Documenting the decision of the grants committee and following up with applicants Drafting an initial grant agreement using provided templates and in partnership with the proposed grantee Ensuring efficient processing of all grants documents through the required approvals Coordination with grantees and civil society specialist during the execution of their grant when needed, including tracking milestones, payments, compliance, delivering training to improve grantee administration capacity, working with technical staff on timelines and deliverables, ensuring proper files are kept in Lebanon and with the grantees Work with grantees on grantee procurement procedures and documentation as needed Analyze the budget estimates and during execution to ensure feasibility, consistency, allocable costs, and compliance Update the grant tracking database Liaise closely with MSI’s home office and serve as primary focal point for field office and home office on all grant issues Make regular reports on grantee performance and signal any significant delays or other issues in implementation to the COP or grants committee. Make regular reports on funds obligated, disbursed, and set aside for specific programmatic objectives. Coordinate closely with the designated program specialist before any outstanding communications or field visits to the grantee Ensure timely communications with program and M&E units on any and all issues and items concerning grantee achievements, notable events, performance, completion of milestones, and any other issue of interest Keep complete files of all documentation generated with each grantee, including applications, contracts and deliverables, communications (posters, press releases, printed documents, media documents), documentation of emails and letters, brief records of all phone conversations. The Grants Manager must also ensure that program staff keep and archive these records in the grant files. Responsible for all documentation related to closeout of grants Conduct procurement in full compliance with USAID and MSI regulations: draft RFQs/RFPs for review by MSI’s home office when needed, advertise them or identify potential suppliers, verify their eligibility, supervise the bid analysis process, coordinate with the home-office Contracts Department for drafting of a purchase order or service contract, maintain adequate documentation at all stages Supervise and closely coordinate with the Grants Assistant Carry out other duties as assigned   Professional skills:   Experience with local and/or international NGOs/civil society organizations or donor organizations Demonstrated ability to conceptualize, develop, and manage grant activities in partnership with civil society organizations Experience assessing technical/organizational capacities and proposing capacity-building strategies for current or potential grantees Excellent organizational skills Experience in overseeing procurements and service contracts in compliance with donor regulations; knowledge of USAID regulations strongly desired Strong teamwork skills, creativity, and initiative Computer literacy with a variety of software programs (word processing, internet/email applications, etc) Fluency in Arabic and English (written and verbal) Ability and willingness to conduct site visits throughout the country on a regular basis