INTERNAL/EXTERNAL VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
Advisor – Innovation Fund
CARE Ethiopia’s mission is to work with poor women and men, boys and girls, communities and institutions, to have a significant impact on the underlying causes of poverty in Ethiopia.
Date: November 9, 2017
Vacancy No: 135/17
Place of Work: Addis Ababa with up to 30% travel to the project operational areas
Closing Date: 10 days from the announcement
Number of vacant posts: 1 (One)
Term of employment: Regular
Duty starting date: Immediately
OBJECTIVE: The Advisor – Innovation Fund is responsible for overseeing a small grants mechanism under the Livelihoods for Resilience Activity. S/he oversees a process to solicit and review proposals and provide grants to a range of potential partners, primarily from the private sector or research institutions. S/he leads small grant monitoring and work with partners to ensure compliance and appropriate use of grant funds, largely intended to support project value chains. S/he leads periodic review meetings and reports on the status and progress to supervisors and partners. S/he also participates in regular Livelihoods for Resilience technical and management meetings, including those related to M&E. S/he ensures that the project interventions are performed as planned and that lessons are documented.
RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS:
Developing and managing an efficient Innovation Fund grant making process
· Work with the project’s technical team and Procurement and Finance Department staff and others to create a guideline and protocol for management of the project’s Innovation Fund.
· Develop evaluation criteria and a screening procedure for Innovation Fund proposals.
· Ensure that the range of activities funded contribute directly to project objectives and are reasonably well distributed among project clusters.
· Create templates for proposal development and review and performance monitoring of grantee activities.
· Devise creative and effective methods for publicizing the grants available through Livelihoods for Resilience and help roll out such methods in the various localities.
· Interface as needed with CARE Country Office Finance and Procurement team to assure efficiency of system procedures
Team building and partnership
· Orient all team members, including from implementation and technical partners, as to the content of the Innovation Fund Guidelines, and the procedures that must be followed.
· Provide on-site support in all regions, to assist in identifying appropriate recipients that produce proposals and budgets that follow templates and meet standards.
· Represent Livelihoods for Resilience at forums and meetings with governmental, non-governmental, research and other institutions.
Leading a review and award of grant proposals and management of grants
· Form and manage review committees created to evaluate technical proposals. Ensure that review committees include both relevant technical expertise and budgeting/finance expertise.
· Facilitate feedback through project Implementing Partners to prospective recipients on proposal gaps and errors.
· Work with partners and CARE Finance team to release funds to grant recipients as required.
Monitoring, Reporting, and Learning
· Conduct or direct quality control assessments for selected recipients to ensure appropriate use of funds received.
· Contribute content for all donor reports and other reporting summarizing the progress and outcomes for Innovation Fund investments.
· Contribute to learning briefs and other documentation on the innovations funded and the learning that those activities generate, including an analysis of return on investment.
QUALIFICATIONS (KNOW HOW)
A) EDUCATION/TRAINING
Required:
· B.A. Degree in Business Management, Marketing Management, Economics, or related field
Desired
· MBA (Business Management, Economics) or related field
B) EXPERIENCE:
· Five years of management or advisory experience in capacity building, marketing, micro-enterprise, financial services, IGAs, value chains, and/or related areas.