Grants & Finance Specialist, FOLU

This position will be based in Addis Ababa at the WRI Africa Regional Office.

About the Program:

The Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU) is a self-governed coalition of organizations and individuals working collaboratively to achieve a shared objective: the urgent transformation of food and land use systems to deliver a better future for people, nature and climate. FOLU supports science-based solutions and helps to build a shared understanding of the challenges and opportunities to unlock collective action. FOLU’s Growing Better report recommends an integrated reform agenda along ten important transitions to deliver positive outcomes for the environment, health, inclusive development and food security, ensuring food and land use systems support delivery of globally agreed sustainable development, climate and biodiversity goals. The FOLU Ethiopia platform, formally launched in May 2018, is supporting the country to achieve agricultural productivity gains, sustainable resource use, restoration, and forest protection in rural landscapes, while at the same time increasing food and nutrition security. The platform is also supporting Ethiopia to bring the necessary innovative financing mechanisms required to catalyze public and private investment in the agriculture and forest sector at scale.

Job Highlight:

The Grants & Finance Specialist will manage grants, contracts, and budgets working closely with Food and Land Use Coalition Ethiopia and WRI’s Food, Land and Water Program. In this role, you will provide operational, financial and grant management support to FOLU Ethiopia country operations. Specific duties will include managing budgets and grants, preparing financial reports, processing sub awards, invoices, and engaging with vendors and partners around the world. A growing team of operational professionals within the Food, Land and Water Program will support you.

You will report to Country Director, FOLU Ethiopia.

This will be a 1 year contract with the possibility of extension subject to funding and performance.

What will you do:

Grants and Sub Award Management (40%):

• Assist team members in understanding rules of all assigned awards to ensure compliance with donor requirements and WRI’s policies
• Help track grant reporting deadlines for both incoming grant agreements and for outgoing sub agreements to partners
• Assemble sub agreement packages, procurement documentation and due diligence forms as directed, following standard WRI procedures
• Monitor expenditures under the assigned sub awards and review financial reports from partners
• Manage clear document filing for all assigned activities

Financial Management (40%):

• Develop and monitor fiscal year and grant budgets with the project managers
• Review and monitor all transactions, commitments, and revenue prospects to support healthy financial management and to help prepare for quarterly financial reviews and annual planning
• Maintain project budgets using WRI’s budgeting and forecasting software (TM1, Salesforce)
• Prepare financial reports and invoices for donors
• Develop budgets for new projects and grants
• Submit payment requests and invoices from vendors for projects in compliance with WRI’s policies

Administrative Coordination (20%):

• Organize local and international events for FOLU Ethiopia
• Organize and administer local and international travel for the team and external partners
• Organize meetings, produce meeting notes, collect inputs from required organizations and individuals
• Manage filing systems for FOLU Ethiopia operations.

What will you need:

• Education: You have completed a Bachelor’s degree in business administration, finance, management or a similar discipline
• Experience: You have 3+ years of full-time work experience in a non-profit setting
• You have experience managing project and grant budgets, preparing financial reports and supporting project operations
• You have experience delivering both competitive and non-competitive procurement, including sub-grants or similar awards
• You have experience working with international teams or projects
• Languages: Verbal and written English proficiency. Other language skills are desirable
• Requirements: Existing work authorization is required where this position. WRI is unable to authorize visa work authorization.

Potential Salary:

Salary is commensurate with experience and other compensable factors.

How to Apply: Please submit a resume with cover letter by November 7, 2023.  You must apply through the WRI Careers portal to be considered.

What we offer:

• A competitive salary
• Access to the WRI global network with the opportunity to exchange with and learn from passionate colleagues working at the cutting edge of their fields across Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and the US.
• The chance to have an impact and to develop your career within a mission driven organization with access to varied learning and training opportunities.
• A workplace that strives to put diversity and inclusion at the heart of our work.
• The opportunity to join and get involved in different working groups and affinity groups to shape the future of WRI.
• Commitment to hybrid working model with flexible working hours.
• Generous leave days that increase with tenure.

About Us:

Founded in 1982, World Resources Institute (WRI) is an independent, nonprofit global research organization that turns big ideas into action at the nexus of environment, economic opportunity, and human well-being. We are working to address seven critical challenges that the world must overcome this decade to secure a sustainable future for people and the planet: climate change, energy, food, forests, water, sustainable cities, and the ocean. WRI has a global staff of over 1,800 people with work spanning 60 countries. We have offices in Africa, Brazil, China, Europe, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Colombia and the United States, as well as a growing presence in other countries and regions.

The foundation of our work is delivering high-quality research, data, maps, and analysis to solve the world’s greatest environment and international development challenges and improve people’s lives. We work with leaders in government, business, and civil society to drive ambitious action and create change on the ground. Equally important, we bring together partners to develop breakthrough ideas and scale-up solutions for far-reaching, enduring impact.

Our mission and values:

WRI’s mission is to move human society to live in ways that protect Earth’s environment and its capacity to provide for the needs and aspirations of current and future generations.

Our values are shared ideals that bind us together: Integrity, Innovation, Urgency, Independence and Respect.

Our culture:

WRI is committed to advancing gender and social equity for human well-being in our mission and applies this principle to our organizational and programmatic practices. We are committed to providing equal opportunities in employment; we embrace all diversity and encourage women, the LGBTQ+ community, persons with disabilities, Afro-descendants, and Indigenous people to apply. Recognizing our strong commitment to gender equality, WRI has also been awarded EDGE certification.

Our team in Human Resources carefully reviews all applications.

Keywords

FOLUmanage grantscontractsbudgetsfinancial reportssub awardsinvoicesvendorspartnersoperational professionalsfiscal yearproject budgetsTM1Salesforcenew projectsnon-profit settinginternational teamsbusiness administrationfinancemanagementnon-competitive procurementinternational travelmeeting notesfiling systems