Grants Manager

Winrock International is a nonprofit organization that works with people in the United States and around the world to empower the disadvantaged, increase economic opportunity, and sustain natural resources. By linking local individuals and communities with new ideas and technology, Winrock is increasing long-term productivity, equity, and responsible resource management to benefit the poor and disadvantaged of the world.   

PROJECT SUMMARY: 

The Market Transitions to Enable New Growth Opportunities (MTENGO) project is a five year, USDA-funded project implemented by Winrock International in the Northern and Central regions of Malawi. MTENGO uses a farmer-first approach grounded in market incentives to increase resource-efficient, reliable production from Malawian agriculture in the face of climate unpredictability. MTENGO’s approach will enable farmers to:

1. Diversify and achieve stable returns from their farming portfolio through climate smart farming by responding to market demands with diversified production;  
2. Increase access to water for productive purposes through improved water management practices; 
3. Make ecosystem services work for farmers by improving farmer access to, and collective management of, water, soil, and forest products; and  
4. Increase access to markets and finance so farmers can make climate smart investments.  

The Grants Manager will provide grant management support through the total grant cycle (pre-award to post-award) and provide guidance to the technical team and grantees on a continuous basis to ensure compliance with USG grants requirements and local laws. 

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES: 

• Develop and implement a grants management system that ensures compliance with USDA and Winrock’s regulations and project requirements. 
• In close cooperation with the technical team, identify potential partnership and grants opportunities to support project’s activities and objectives. 
• Support the technical team to develop terms of references and/or technical specifications for potential grant opportunities, draft requests for applications or annual program statements and disseminate information about the grant opportunities and supervise the application review process.  
• Develop and maintain relationships with potential and current grantees and partners to ensure proposed grant activities match the grants strategy and the Project’s objectives.   
• Assist grant applicants to apply for a unique entity identifier (UEI) as needed  
• Conduct pre-award assessments of potential grantee organizations, in addition to compliance checks during implementation and at close-out, as needed and identified in the Grants Manual and in coordination with the Operations Director. 
• Ensure proper negotiation of the terms and conditions for grants.
• Prepare grant packages including the grant agreements and supporting documents and coordinate with home office project management and awards management staff in the review and approval of the grant package.
• Provide trainings to project partners to build their capacity in grants management and reporting requirements.   
• Manage grant pipeline through the use of a grant tracker before and after award.
• Collaborate with the technical and MEL teams to develop and implement monitoring plans to track the progress of grant-funded activities, ensure technical team review of programmatic reports and deliverables, and conduct regular field visits to verify the implementation of grant activities.
• Follow-up with grantees as needed to ensure compliant submissions of required programmatic reports, financial reports, and other deliverables included in the grant agreement. 
• Facilitate review of grantee financial reports/invoices and payment by finance staff
• Manage administrative close-out processes of grants.
• Maintain accurate documentation and filing of grant documents, ensuring adherence with donor and Winrock requirements.
• Identify and share best practices for the implementation and management of grants. 
• Coordinate with project technical team to develop other partnership documents including but not limited to MOUs. 

QUALIFICATIONS AND BACKGROUND: 

• Education:   
  • Bachelor’s degree in economics, finance, business administration or a related field.   
• Experience:  
  • Minimum 6 years of experience in soliciting for grantees, awarding grants and managing and mentoring grantees for results in donor funded development projects.  
  • Experience in USDA/USAID regulations and procedures, preferred 
• Knowledge, Skill & Ability Requirements:  
  • Strong writing and proofreading skills, with attention to detail. 
  • Sound knowledge of U.S. government rules and regulations (2 CFR 200), especially those pertaining to USDA.  
  • Ability to work as part of a team and have good interpersonal communication skills.  
  • Good Microsoft Office skills (PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams).  
  • Excellent written and spoken English skills.  
  • Strong workflow management skills and ability to handle multiple tasks at the same time and meet tight deadlines. 
  • Willing and able to travel throughout Malawi. 

Winrock is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all people and value diversity and inclusiveness. Winrock recruits, employs, trains, promotes and compensates regardless of race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, family care status, or any other basis protected by law.
At Winrock we have a clear mission: Empower the disadvantaged, increase economic opportunity and sustain natural resources through unwavering dedication to accountability, equity, innovation, integrity and transformation.
Winrock knows that its success comes from the hard work and steadfast dedication of its diverse workforce. Winrock remains committed to maintaining diversity, inclusion and equity across the entire organization.