Senior Grants and Procurement Officer (Level- P4)

POSITION TITLE: Senior Grants and Procurement Officer (Level- P4)

NUMBER OF POSITION: 1

LOCATION: Kathmandu, with regular travel to the KISAN project’s operational areas. 

GROUP/UNIT: Grants

REPORTS TO: Grants and Procurement Manager

BACKGROUND:

The USAID/Nepal funded KISAN project is improving food security in twenty Hill and Terai districts in the Western, Mid-Western and Far-Western regions of the country. The project is in its fourth of five years. The goal of the project is to sustainably reduce poverty and hunger in Nepal by achieving inclusive growth in the agriculture sector, increasing income of farm families, and improving the participation of the private sector in promoting agriculture growth. Many farmers in Nepal, particularly smallholder farmers in rural areas, lack access to quality inputs, technologies, information, and markets. KISAN is interested in improving the efficiency of key supply and value chains, and expanding their reach to rural farmers, to help increase smallholder farmers’ productivity and income.  To ensure sustainability, the KISAN project is working with the private sector to take on the role of engaging famers in commercial or semi-commercial agriculture.

KISAN is a project being implemented by Winrock International (WI) in collaboration with its sub-partners CEAPRED and DEPROSC.

POSITION DESCRIPTION 

Reporting to the Grants and Procurement Manager, Senior Grants and Procurement Officer is responsible to lead the team implementing the grant activities of KISAN. Focused on the KISAN target Districts, the Senior Grantsand Procurement Officer will conceptualize, plan, articulate and lead implementation of KISAN’s grants activities with on and off farm agribusiness enterprises participating in the target supply and value chains in the KISAN target districts and agriculture sub-sectors.  Activities will includeworking with the KISAN technical staff and applicant organizations and service providers to implement the grant activities.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Directly manage 40% of the grants.
• Refine Grants Manual.
• Refine Grant Templates.
• Link the grant database to MS Project for track grants in a Gantt chart.
• Work with M&E Unit to enhance grant tracking modules in Wikisan.
• Work with M&E Unit during survey of the grantee activities.
• Work with the M&E Unit and select grantees to design customer management system that includes Wikisan Private Sector Module.
• Work with GIS expert and M&E Unit to identify VDCs that where Grantees will able to service the existing KISAN groups.
• Assist in capacity building of grantees.
• Develop Scope of work for RFA and TOR for grantee personnel.
• Provide orientation to grantees the process of applying, developing and implementing grants.  
• Work with the Agriculture Team and Business Opportunities Team ensure the successful implementation of grants.  
• Provide strategic guidance to the BDU in terms of distribution of grants as per the location and company type.  
• Refine evaluation criteria and lead grants evaluation process to analyze and evaluate applications.
• Work with the Grantee to ensure that the procurement done by the grantee are reasonable and allowable.
• Work with technical team in the implementation of the grants by holding regular meetings to discuss the performance, progress and financial status of the grant, and working on issues if any.
• Ensure constant communication with the grantees and the field staffs to understand their issues and concerns related to grants implementation, and work with the technical team for further action.
• Liaise with the Winrock HQ to align the grant practices as per the institutional requirement, sharing and revising practices, and keeping them updated on KISAN grant progress.
• Contribute on knowledge management by developing grants write-up for reports and success stories.

CANDIDATE PROFILE, QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS:

Profile:  Candidates will possess experience in managing USAID funded grants as well as agriculture sector experience working with the public sector, private sector, non-government sector, informal sector and farmers or livestock raisers.  Candidates may have prior experience in bi- or multilateral donor funded developmentprograms at a senior level.  While this position is only open to Nepal Citizens, persons currently working outside Nepal or have recently completed their studies outside the country and wish to return to Nepal are encouraged to apply.  Winrock International is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from socially marginalized groups, including women candidates. 

Education: Candidates will possess at a minimum a Bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics, or agricultural science or agronomy, veterinary science, agricultural engineering, commerce or business administration or marketing; and a post graduate degree from a reputed university in agribusiness, agricultural economics or agricultural science or in business administration which related to the agribusiness sector including finance or marketing, or similar areas.

Experience: Candidates will have at aminimum 5 years ofexperience in managing USAID grants. Substantial experience inprivate or public sector and / or development experienceat a senior management level in agriculture, agribusiness or related areas and experience building sustainable on and off farm agribusiness enterprises that have involvedsupply and value chain approaches in or outside Nepal will be highly preferred.

Language: High proficiency in the Nepali language. Fluent in written and spoken English.Applicants will be proficiency tested. 

Computer skills: Fully computer literate in MS Office including Word, Excel and Power Point.Knowledge of accounting software preferred. Applicants will be proficiency tested. 

HOW TO APPLY

Interested candidates can post their CV to jobs.kisan@winrock.org within May 4, 2016. Mails received after the stipulated date will not be entertained.