Asia Senior Analyst (Grants Management Unit) (CIAT)

Job Description

Based in: Hanoi, Vietnam
Initial contract: 2 years
Salary: VND 29,629,345
Deadline: 18/02/2024

The Organization

The Alliance of Bioversity International delivers research-based solutions that harness agricultural biodiversity and sustainably transform food systems to improve people’s lives. Alliance solutions address the global crises of malnutrition, climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation.

The Alliance works with local, national, and multinational partners across Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and Africa, and with the public and private sectors. The Alliance is part of CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future, dedicated to reducing poverty, enhancing food and nutrition security, and improving natural resources and ecosystem services.

About the position

The Senior Analyst in Grants Management is a crucial Team member responsible for optimizing the administration of the designated grants portfolio. This role demands a candidate with a high level of independence and a sharp focus on process optimization. Serving as a senior team member, the incumbent provides strategic insights into grant management, sub-grants, and overall policy adherence, pushing beyond conventional responsibilities to ensure a holistic perspective.

In this capacity, the Senior Analyst develops deep into the intricacies of grants, sub-grants, and organizational policies. The role extends beyond mere execution to include assessing sub-grants, ensuring seamless partner capacity alignment with prime donor requirements. The position requires a unique blend of autonomy and expertise to navigate and resolve intricate challenges, conceptualize system improvements, and contribute to the continuous enhancement of the Alliance's grant management strategy.

The ideal candidate for this role not only possesses the requisite knowledge and experience to tackle complex issues independently but also exhibits a proactive spirit in initiating and leading new tasks. The Senior Analyst serves as a catalyst for positive change, bringing innovative solutions that significantly contribute to the Alliance's mission and the overall enhancement of grant management strategies.

Key duties & responsibilities

Advise and propose remedial solutions to sustain service and assesses service requirements of clients to effectively align deliverables to changing demands;
Support the Grants Management Unit (GMU) Asia Team Leader by sustaining continuous delivery of quality services, incorporate adjustments due to changing operational conditions and by providing specialist advice, and support;
Lead and participate in working groups with the Asia regional team.

Grants Administration

Provide support to the management and monitoring of the portfolio of projects assigned and ensure that the commitments of the Legal documents with the donors and partners are accomplished in the dates established;
Conduct review of donor contracts against the Alliance’s policies and procedures and facilitate the process of contract clearance and signature;
Facilitate the negotiation of contracts with donors for their subsequent execution taking into account the policies and procedures established by the organization;
Set up new grants in the systems and communicate grant opening to internal stakeholders so they are duly informed of compliance requirements and passport information of the grant;
Maintain an overview of reporting requirements (deadlines, templates, etc.) and communicate it regularly to relevant internal stakeholders;
Ensure comprehensive information management and filing system, ensuring donor contractual documents, reports, and key correspondences are consistently and frequently filed in the Alliance system and other data bases;
Work closely with the resource mobilization unit, finance, legal, researchers and other areas of the organization to ensure that contracts are executed on time;
Liaise with donors on all grant-related issues, including submission of donor reports and requests for project modifications;
Support scientists in the overall management and monitoring of grants, sharing information about compliance requirements and reviewing adherence to them.

Sub-grants administration

Coordinate capacity assessment and due diligence review of prospective partners;
Ensure Partners’ awareness of reporting requirements, research ethics and contractual compliance;
Support the review of Sub-grant agreements connected to the assigned project portfolio to ensure compliance with prime donor’s requirements;
Track and collect cleared reports to be filed in the appropriate digital repositories;
Provide ongoing support to internal stakeholders and partners throughout the Sub-grant lifecycle on administrative and compliance issues including contract modifications.

Others

Develop, maintain and update to the GMU manuals, tools, templates, policies, SOPs, and guidance documents; Sharing insight from Asia perspective and experiences;
Proactively propose strategies or procedural changes required for the Alliance to stay compliant with changing donor regulations or requirements;
Participate in project review meetings and provide input from GMU.

Required qualifications and experience

Bachelor’s degree orin International Development, International Relations, Economics, Business Administration or another relevant field;
Previous experience working for international development and/or research organizations, NGOs or UN agencies;
Minimum of 5 years progressively responsible experience in the administration and monitoring of grants (review and negotiation of grant contracts, donor reporting, monitoring of grant implementation, development or implementation of grant-related procedures, grants management training and facilitation);
Experience of project management, including understanding of project budgeting, budget management and financial issues;
Proficiency in relevant software programs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint);
Excellent organizational skills including the ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines while still maintaining attention to detail and accuracy, and problem solve effectively;
Proven track record of building collaborative relationships across and within internal teams, and with external stakeholders;
Demonstrated to ability to work effectively as part of a team with people in a multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary environment, including with external stakeholders; excellent interpersonal skills;
Excellent communication skills in English, both verbal and written including the ability to organize and write clear and concise reports;
Experience of implementing and/or using information management systems (grants databases, ERP systems, etc.).

Terms of employment

This position is a national recruited position based in Hanoi, Vietnam. The initial contract will be for 2 years, subject to a probation period of 2 months, and is renewable depending on performance and availability of resources.

This position is graded at BG7 level, with a minimum basic salary of VND 29,629,345 on a scale of BG01 to BG14 (BG14 being the highest level according to the Alliance job classification framework policy). We offer a competitive salary and excellent benefits including monthly allowances, insurance, retirement plan, staff training and development, paid time off and flexible working arrangements.

The Alliance Bioversity-CIAT is committed to fair, safe, and inclusive workplaces. We believe that diversity powers our innovation, contributes to our excellence, and is critical for our mission. Recruiting and mentoring staff to create an inclusive organization that reflects our global character is a priority. We encourage applicants from all cultures, races, colors, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability statuses, sexual orientations, marital status, and gender identities. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

How to apply

Applicants are invited to visit https://alliancebioversityciat.org/careers to get full details of the position and to submit their applications. Applications MUST include reference number 103507 – Asia Senior Analyst – GMU as the position applied for. Cover letter and CV should be saved as one document using the candidate’s last name, first name for ease of sorting (Cover letter should illustrate your motivation to apply and suitability for the above position against the listed qualifications and work responsibilities. Detailed curriculum vitae should include the names and email addresses of three professional referees who are knowledgeable about your skills and professional abilities). The Alliance collects and processes personal data in accordance with applicable data protection laws.