Grants Manager

Mercy Corps is a global humanitarian aid agency engaged in transitional environments that have experienced some sort of shock: natural disaster, economic collapse, or conflict.

Mercy Corps is seeking a Grants Manager for its FCDO-funded Border Security Programme (BSP), which addresses irregular migration and associated criminal activity in East Africa. The program aims to strengthen border security, disrupt organized immigration crime, improve protection for vulnerable people, and enhance community resilience in border areas through an integrated regional approach with a consortium of partners. The Grants Manager will work under the guidance of the BSP Finance and Compliance Director, collaborating closely with the BSP Programme lead, managers, consortium members, and the Mercy Corps Finance Team across Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia. This role is critical for ensuring efficient grants management, financial oversight, and strict compliance with FCDO regulations and program budgets.

1. Establish and maintain an efficient grants management system and matrix for all BSP grants
2. Oversee and coordinate the management of sub-grant agreements and their financial aspects
3. Lead the review and assessment of partner financial reports, ensuring compliance with FCDO regulations, program budgets, cost eligibility, and consortium agreements
4. Process sub-grants and manage payments, transfers, and transactions between consortium members and local partners
5. Oversee pre-award and post-award activities, including asset control, timely reporting, and contract fulfillment
6. Coordinate partner due diligence assessments, monitor capacity improvement plans, and provide ongoing capacity strengthening
7. Work with the BSP program team to verify and track budgets and expenditures against sub-grant awards, ensuring proper reporting and documentation
8. Ensure consistency in basic provisions across sub-grantees and highlight potential biases or discrepancies
9. Provide regular reports on BSP issues and recommendations for operational adjustments
10. Identify, monitor, and escalate financial, compliance, and operational risks, recommending mitigation measures
11. Monitor the effectiveness of financial controls across consortium partners and support corrective actions
12. Conduct ad-hoc audit reviews of BSP field operations with Mercy Corps and sub-grantee teams
13. Coordinate BSP expenditure verification and project audits
14. Undertake additional grants, compliance, and financial management responsibilities as assigned
15. Ensure BSP grants management systems are efficient and facilitate timely program implementation
16. Regularly review partner operations for cost-effectiveness and guide improved operational practices
17. Travel between field locations
18. Provide direct supervision to the Sub Grants team and oversight of consortium partner staff involved in Grant management, financial compliance, and program reporting
19. Create a conducive work atmosphere for professional growth, utilizing performance planning and management systems
20. Promote accountability through annual performance reviews for direct supervisees
21. Contribute to country team-building efforts and integrate all team members into decision-making
22. Work with BSP Senior Management, M&E, and finance teams to align deliverables with value-for-money objectives and financial milestones
23. Provide financial perspective in management and decision-making for adaptive management
24. Collaborate with partners to establish financial reporting and management systems ensuring the safety and security of BSP financial resources
25. Maintain professional conduct that upholds Mercy Corps' mission
26. Commit 5% of time to organizational learning activities
27. Support accountability efforts to beneficiaries and international standards, actively engaging communities
28. Actively learn and integrate safeguarding into work, including risk identification and mitigation
29. Practice Mercy Corps values, respecting dignity and well-being of participants and team members
30. Encourage openness and communication, and reporting concerns through established mechanisms

1. Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, Economics, or a relevant field; advanced degree preferred
2. Professional accounting certification (CPA(K))
3. At least ten (10) years of demonstrated professional experience managing grants, subcontracts, procurement, and compliance with donor regulations, preferably for donor-funded projects
4. Strong accounting skills and experience in managing the general ledger, journal entries, payables, and balance sheet
5. Demonstrated experience in applying clauses and negotiating without heavy management oversight, including developing amendments and modifications
6. Experience providing capacity-building training to staff and local organizations
7. Proven abilities in analytical skills, Excel, accounting systems, and reporting