VisionFund Grants Acquisition & Compliance Manager

PURPOSE OF POSITION:

World Vision is a Christian relief, development, and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. One important component of World Vision’s work is microfinance, providing financial services such as credit, savings and insurance to the poor, enabling them to earn increased income, build assets and provide for their families. Numerous studies confirm the strong impact of microfinance on the well-being of children. Studies also show, however, that the integration of microfinance with other development activities can have an even greater impact when compared to either microfinance alone or development activities alone. WV’s microfinance operations are managed through VisionFund, a WV subsidiary. VisionFund manages a network of 43 microfinance operations globally and has outstanding loans of approximately $400 million to some 600,000 clients desirous of growing to $800 million by end 2012. The MFIs were created to provide financial services in the areas where WV works.

VisionFund is seeking a Grants Acquisition & Compliance Manager to develop and manage grant opportunities that provide funding to VFI’s network of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in keeping with VFI global strategy and funding priorities. This position will manage third party international grant acquisition and compliance. This includes contributing to and managing a grant opportunity pipeline, providing technical support, capacity building, project monitoring, and donor impact reporting. This role will ensure successful performance in identifying grant opportunities and building relationships with funders, writing grant proposals, acquiring funding, monitoring projects and maintaining close relationships with MFI project staff, and managing grants for VFI’s ministry.


KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Shared responsibility for Strategic Mandate: Develop, maintain, and diversify sustainable funding sources.
• The position will serve as a primary liaison between the Field, major third party Grantors, and Support Offices for VisionFund to ensure
  accountability and transparency on third party grant-funded projects.
• This role will facilitate rigor in proposal development, project design, monitoring, and evaluation (DM&E) working closely with the Field and World Vision donor engagement groups, international program groups, finance groups and third party major funders.
• This role will act as the authority on third party funded projects and be a key resource to both field and fundraisers – ensuring project quality, accountability and transparency on tracking funds, and results are reported on time to funders and successes are leveraged.
  
  Grant Acquisition, Monitoring, and Management
• Manage all components of RFP response process -- review RFPs, profile opportunities, and ensure alignment with MFI funding priorities; vet
  with senior leadership and obtain approval.
• Research and assess funding organizations
• Develop opportunity pipeline aligned with VFI strategic funding priorities.
• Set up and support proposal development teams; create project workplan and ensure proposals and supporting documents are prepared to
  technical specifications and submitted on time.
• Provide technical support and capacity building to field staff on proposal development, monitoring, reporting, and grants management.
• Support Director in achieving annual funding targets.
• Within strategy, develop and manage key global funder relationships with new and existing funders to achieve long-lasting global fundraising
  support.
• Contribute to streamlining grants process and documenting protocols and policies.
• Monitor grant compliance and project implementation to ensure projects are delivered to specifications.
• Ensure project impact reports are of high quality and submitted on time.
  
  Relationship Development and Networking
• Network with major third party grantors to establish collaborative relationships, learn of opportunities, and enhance VFI's ability to gain grant
  funding and enhance VFI's reputation in the marketplace.
• Develop and maintain relationships with support office grant staff:
• Attend grant seminars, training, communities of practice and forums where grants staff and/or funders gather.
• Maintain knowledge of microfinance industry and trends including focus of targeted grantors
  
  Systems, Processes, and Capacity Development
• Ensure outcomes of grant-funded programs are high-quality and high-impact through ongoing monitoring and the execution of mid-term and
  final evaluations, operations research, etc.
• Review field reports and findings/recommendations to determine and replicate best practices and apply lessons learned.
• Support grants director in developing fundraising portal with supporting processes, tools, and templates. Help maintain site and
  recommend/implement improvements.
• Develop and deliver staff training on use of portal.
• Contribute to proposal content libraries.
  
  Personal, Team and Staff Development
• As a manager, develop others encouraging excitement and growth both in their careers but also in spiritual growth.
• Participate in VFI team to cooperatively achieve the team goals,
• Ensure staff and self- training programs are in place and implemented.
• Attendance at weekly chapel and devotions.
• Will carry out additional responsibilities and projects as assigned.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES:

REQUIRED:
• The key ability VisionFund is seeking is leadership.
• This role requires 5-8 years in grant making field, fundraising, or corporate management setting dealing with senior management.
• Preferably experience in humanitarian, international development, or financial institutions.
• Able to work in complex corporate culture and financial systems and ensure procedures internally and with thrid parties are well documented, monitored and executed.
• Creative and helpful at problem solving for both VFI and MFI’s. Able to work well with granting agencies, Support Offices, MFI’s, and other VFI groups.
• Excellent research skills and experience in developing funding opportunities.
• Strong grant-writing skills, persuasive writing, and complex document creation.
• SharePoint experience or other web-based platforms desired; MS Office competency.
• Excellent management, communication, and relationship-building skills; must lead through influence and establish effective working
  relationships within the organization, with external partners, agencies and leaders in the microenterprise development field.
• International experience is an important asset, particularly in emerging/developing countries.
• Demonstrated good judgment and diplomacy, particularly in different cultures.
• Creates processes with greater efficiency in mind, eliminating bureaucracy wherever possible.
• Able to travel to remote areas where MFI’s work.
• Effective coach, able to train people in VisionFund policies and procedures formally and informally.
• Must be able to simultaneously manage multiple priorities and projects; ability to navigate complex stakeholder relationships effectively.
  
  PREFERRED:
• Must be cross-culturally sensitive as will work with associates from every area of the world.

VisionFund Grants Acquisition & Compliance Manager