Senior Grants Officer, Bahari Yetu

Unit: ESARO Tanzania Programme

Organisation: International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

Location: Tanzania Project Office, Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania

Reporting to: Regional Programme Coordinator / Country Representative, IUCN Tanzania

Work percentage: 100%

Grade: P2

Expected start date: 01 January 2025

Type of contract: Fixed-term (36 months)

Closing date: 20 December 2024

Background

THIS IS A LOCAL POSITION TO BE BASED IN DAR ES SALAAM WITH FREQUENT TRAVEL TO THE PROJECT SITES. IUCN’s Tanzania Country Programme supports priorities defined under Tanzania's National Development Plan, National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, National Climate Change Strategy, Agriculture and Water Sector Development Strategies and Marine and Fisheries Action Plans, Blue Economy Policies and Strategies, IUCN Intersessional Plan 2021-2024 as well as relevant multi-lateral environmental agreements. Our 2030 strategic goals include sustainable land and landscapes management, conservation of critical natural habitats, Integrated water resources management, capacity building for climate change adaptation and mitigation, and Coastal and ocean resilience (COR) building.

IUCN’s Tanzania Country Programme is currently implementing a project called “PAMOJA TUHIFADHI BAHARI YETU – with a short form Bahari Yetu”. This is a 4-year project (2024 – 2028) with the overall goal of improving environmental protection and biodiversity conservation of the coastal and marine ecosystems in Tanzania. This project is funded by the European Union through the ‘Blue Economy for job creation and climate change adaptation programme’: a 110 M EUR programme that aims to contribute to a climate resilient Blue Economy on the Tanzanian coastal cities and ecosystems. The project is implemented in parts of the Mtwara, Coastal and Dar es Salaam regions and Unguja Island in Zanzibar. The project consists of four components:

Protection of Marine Resources Biodiversity
Strengthen Community-led Management of Coastal Forests
Combat plastic litter in marine and estuary water bodies
Improve institutional capacities for research, monitoring, surveillance and management of coastal and marine resources

In addition to this EUD funded project and COR programme, Tanzania’s portfolio of projects is expanding rapidly and is encompassing a diverse set of grant-making, re-granting and fund management needs across broad thematic areas of biodiversity conservation, sustainable landscape management, conservation agriculture and climate change. The multiplicity of development partners (bilateral, multi-lateral and foundations) and complexity of compliance requirements requires the office to build a robust grant management system and team that will effectively deliver on this new business approach.

The Senior Grants Officer will drive the entire grants issuing chain to partners and CBOs. This position reports directly to the Country Representative. S/he will serve as a member of the Country Corporate Services Team. The Senior Grants Officer will be based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania with frequent travel to the project sites.

Job Description

Specific Responsibilities:

Under the guidance of IUCN ESARO Grants and Contracts Manager, the Senior Grants Officer will be responsible for drafting, overseeing, and monitoring the entire grant management process and ensure proper implementation and compliance with donors' requirements of all grants. This will be done in compliance with IUCN and respective donor financial rules, particularly solicitations, due diligence, pre-award assessments, monitoring, disbursements, reporting, and risk compliance.

Major Responsibilities:

Grant Management Systems Development:

Develop and maintain an updated comprehensive grants management tracker for Tanzania country office
Ensure that IUCN grants management tools are used and adhered to, drafting updates to match country specific cases.
Lead in the due diligence process of subgrantee selection for all sections relating to technical, and financial management planning and reporting.
Ensure program and support teams are fully informed of relevant donor compliance regulations and IUCN procedures to support on-track, on time, and on-budget implementation.
Carry out grant management capacity building for sub-grantees and project staff.

Grants Compliance Management:

Review the approval of agreements, amendments, cost, and no-cost extensions for grants
Ensure compliance of all donor requirements, as per signed agreements, when reviewing expenses and preparing financial reports.
Prepare accurate quarterly budget variance reports for the IUCN Tanzania C portfolio, analyzing financial performance by comparing actual expenditures to budgets, highlighting variances, and identifying trends.
Collaborate with project managers to present findings, address discrepancies, and support informed decision-making while ensuring compliance with donor and IUCN requirements.
Ensure Tanzania country office compliance by continually staying up to date on changes in donor and IUCN regulations.
Review subgrantee reports to ensure spending is compliant with donor requirements.
Conducts a final compliance review to ensure all expenditure aligns with the donor-approved budget.
Be the custodian of all grant contracts and agreements for IUCN Tanzania country office.

Financial Monitoring and Reporting:

Designs, generates, and analyses financial reports for the donor and internal management.
Provides programme financial analysis and recommendations on spending rates, over and under-spending and pattern of expenditure.
Reviews and approves final financial reports submitted to donors, ensuring they reflect accurate fund balances.
Coordinates, reviews, and consolidates subgrantees’ financial reports making sure that donor reports tally with NAV transaction lists.
Prepares projects financial reports for donors for the assigned grants with narratives explaining any variances to project budgets.
Coordinates closely with the Program team and the Finance team to contribute to the annual revenue recognition and audit process.
Supports and facilitate donor audits.
Ensures that all projects adhere to the financial closure protocols.
Ensure all project expenses are posted, categorized correctly, and supported by documentation.
In light of the networked nature of IUCN, specific accounting responsibilities in other countries in the ESARO network may be assigned.

Country Portfolio Development Support:

Participate in strategic planning with senior staff and program team.
Supporting proposals development process.
Support reviews that ensure proposal budgets/budget amendments are in line with donor regulations.
Build staff and partner capacity in grants management.
Support in annual work plan development
Ensure operations, IUCN grantmaking policies and procedures and workflow are integrated across all Country office programmes.
Analyze applicant/grantees and IUCN grantmaking histories and prepare reports for senior management, program staff as needed.

Other responsibilities: Perform other duties as they may be assigned from time to time.

Requirements

Position Requirements:

Education:

A university degree preferably in accounting, finance, business administration, international development, project management, or any other business-related field. Computer literacy in relation to office applications (word processing, spreadsheets, PowerPoint) use of internet and online communication tools. Master’s degree will be an added advantage. Proficiency in ERP systems, with a strong preference for experience using Microsoft Dynamics NAV (Navision), is highly desirable.

Work Experience:

Minimum seven years of proven experience in Grants management. Hands-on experience in project proposal budget development and implementation of projects funded by bilateral, multi-lateral and philanthropic donors (GEF, GCF, EU, USAID, BMU IKI, KFW among others). Highly motivated, autonomous, innovative, solution-oriented, results-driven and resourceful individual. Sound expertise in the development, implementation, monitoring and reporting of grant-funded projects. Experienced in supporting community-led livelihood/incubation programmes. Experienced in network development and alliance building for synergistic action. Must be a proactive individual committed to continuous learning and attitude towards self-development.

Language requirement:

Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English and Swahili.

Core Competencies:

Transparency
Inclusiveness
Professionalism
Accountability

Functional competencies:

Adheres to IUCN core values of Transparency, Inclusiveness, Professionalism and Accountability.
Demonstrated computer skills in Microsoft Office Suite applications.
Excellent oral and written communication skills.
Good organizational, administrative, reporting and communication skills.
A motivated self-starter with ability to work independently and meet tight deadlines without compromising the quality of outputs.
A team player with a strong interest in working in an international environment.
Be willing to undertake frequent travel and interact with different stakeholders at national/sub-national levels.

Applications

Applicants are requested to apply online through the HR Management System, by opening the vacancy announcement and pressing the "Apply" button. Applicants will be asked to create an account and submit their profile information. Applications will not be accepted after the closing date. The vacancy closes at midnight, Swiss time (GMT+1 / GMT+2 during Daylight Saving Time, DST). Please note that only selected applicants will be personally contacted for interviews.

Other job opportunities are published in the IUCN website: https://www.iucn.org/involved/jobs/

About IUCN

IUCN is a membership Union uniquely composed of both government and civil society organisations. It provides public, private and non-governmental organisations with the knowledge and tools that enable human progress, economic development and nature conservation to take place together. Created in 1948, IUCN is now the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network, harnessing the knowledge, resources and reach of more than 1,400 Member organisations and around 16,000 experts. It is a leading provider of conservation data, assessments and analysis. Its broad membership enables IUCN to fill the role of incubator and trusted repository of best practices, tools and international standards. IUCN provides a neutral space in which diverse stakeholders including governments, NGOs, scientists, businesses, local communities, indigenous peoples organisations and others can work together to forge and implement solutions to environmental challenges and achieve sustainable development.

Working with many partners and supporters, IUCN implements a large and diverse portfolio of conservation projects worldwide. Combining the latest science with the traditional knowledge of local communities, these projects work to reverse habitat loss, restore ecosystems and improve people’s well-being.