Fresher United States US Embassy Jobs – Political /Economic Small Grants Coordinator
Job Title: Political /Economic Small Grants Coordinator
Organisation: United States US Embassy, US Mission in Uganda
Duty Station: Kampala, Uganda
Announcement Number: Kampala-2022-010
About US:
The United States Embassy in Kampala, Uganda has enjoyed diplomatic relations with Uganda for over 30 years. Ambassador Natalie E. Brown currently heads the U.S Mission to Uganda. The Mission is composed of several offices and organizations all working under the auspices of the Embassy and at the direction of the Ambassador.
Among the offices operating under the U.S Mission to Uganda are:
- United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
- Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
- Peace Corps
Job Summary: The incumbent is responsible, under the direct supervision of the Political/Human Rights Officer and the overview of the Chief of Mission, for the conception, design, management and implementation of respective activities related to the Ambassador’s Special Self-Help Fund, the Democracy and Human Rights Fund, and various Washington-based grants.
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
Small Grants Coordination 65%
- The Coordinator is primarily responsible for supervising and administering the Political/Economic (P/E) section’s small grants portfolio, including the Ambassador’s Special Self-Help Fund, the Democracy and Human Rights Fund, and potentially other Washington-based grants. The Coordinator serves as the Grants Officer Representative (GOR) for all grants under the P/E section’s purview, and supports the P/E Grants Officer (GO) to design and manage the P/E section’s small grants programs.
- The Coordinator will oversee and administer the entire grant application process, including but not limited to: advertising the Notification of Funding Opportunity, tracking and documenting the receipt of all proposals, evaluating all applications submitted based on the established proposal evaluation criteria, organizing a Grants Evaluation Committee (Committee) meeting, presenting (in writing and verbally) a summary of all the proposals to the Committee members, properly documenting the Committee meeting, and working proactively with short-listed applicants to ensure proposals are complete and of high quality.
- In close collaboration with the GO, the Coordinator is responsible for overseeing and administrating the entire project life cycle: Pre-award, award, project implementation, and grant closeout. Through in-person and online trainings, the Coordinator is required to obtain a detailed understanding of the USG’s grants management requirements, and become proficient with the Ariba online grants management website.
- Visit applicants and grantees throughout Uganda to assess applicants’ organizational capacity, and the effectiveness of grantees’ project implementation, compared to the approved project proposal. This involves substantial travel by road, including overnight trips as necessary. Coordinator will also serve as point person for COM project visits as necessary, including advance coordination with key district officials and grantees, coordination with other Mission sections/agencies, as necessary, and organizing all required logistics.
- Maintain regular communication with grantees and review all grantees’ required reports to ensure project implementation is on track to meet proposed objectives within the project period. Build grantees’ capacity to implement the proposed monitoring and evaluation strategy as detailed in the project framework.
- Work with the Financial Management Section to ensure all required documentation for initiating financial disbursements is properly completed and submitted in a timely manner. Maintain clear financial controls over approved projects and programs to ensure that funds are used for the intended purposes.
- Draft reporting cables on P/E Section grants to highlight their impact on targeted communities, and in response to requests for information from Washington, with assistance from the GO.
POL/ECON Section Support 35%
- Trips: Support the Political Economic Officer with trip planning, logistics, including serving as a site officer.
- In collaboration with the Economic Officer and Economical/Commercial Assistant, the Coordinator will support commercial advocacy efforts, and other similar duties as assigned. Assist in maintaining current records on economic and commercial statistics such as: GDP, inflation, exchange rates, bilateral trade numbers, investment numbers, and AGOA statistics.
- Leahy Vetting: Assist Political Economic Officer by processing Leahy Vetting requests in the Department of State’s web portal.
Qualifications, Skills and Experience:
- Completion of two years college /university studies is required.
- At least two years’ work experience with a governmental or non-governmental organization in either program, administrative or grant management is required.
- Position requires professional and specialized knowledge of project management (including analysis, assessment, and advice to community organizations), contract drafting and interpretation, basic accounting and business skills, database and file system management and program coordination. Position requires detailed knowledge of U.S. policies and regulations governing grants.
- Level IV (Fluent) speaking/reading/writing of English is required.
- Must have excellent speaking and writing skills.
- Must be a self-starter with excellent organizational, time management, analytical skills and attentive to details.
- Good investigative instincts and research skills, as well as excellent interpersonal skills and cultural sensitivity is required.
- Proficient in Microsoft suites.
- Data entry skills are required and accuracy is essential. The Job holder will input each certified grant into the Grants Data Base Management System (GDMS).
- Numerical skills required. Ability to use productivity software and databases.
- Possession of Public Trust security clearance is required.
How to Apply:
All applicants who wish to join the United States Embassy in the aforementioned capacity should click on the link below.
Deadline: 8th April 2022
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