Senior Grants and Procurement Specialist

Arusha, Tanzania

Background: 

Land O’Lakes Venture37 is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit helping communities around the world build economies by strengthening agriculture from farm-to-fork, helping businesses grow, and linking farmers to markets. Since our start in 1981, we have been leveraging nearly 100 years of expertise in crop inputs, agricultural insights, dairy and animal nutrition from our close affiliate, Land O’Lakes, Inc., a farmer-owned agribusiness committed to fulfilling its purpose of feeding human progress.

Our team is made up of nearly 350 employees who are committed to market-led approaches, and passionate about collaborating locally to create lasting inclusive economic growth. By unlocking the potential of agriculture for the last 36 years, the lives of more than 3 million people have been transformed through nearly 300 programs in more than 80 countries.

Project Descriptions:

Tanzania Inclusive Processor-Producer Partnerships in Dairy Project(TI3P) is a three-year project lead by the Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank (TADB) and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). Land O’Lakes Venture37 is a subawardee of TADB, along with Bain & Company, Inc. (Bain) Heifer International, and Global Dairy Platform (GDP). Land O’Lakes Venture37 will contribute to inclusive agricultural transformation goals by enabling public-private partnerships to (a) increase the incomes of small-scale producers by enabling inclusive access to formal milk aggregation, processing, and marketing systems; (b) sustainably increase on-farm production, productivity and income of small-scale dairy producers by enabling them access to effective inputs and services (e.g. cattle vaccines, feed, forage and genetics); (c) increase women’s economic empowerment by developing and implementing gender-transformative approaches to enhance women’s participation in the dairy value chain and increase their access and control over productive assets; and (d) increase equitable access to improved quality dairy nutrition by improving the distribution and sales of safe and affordable milk and milk products in both rural and urban areas and both formal and informal channels.

Dairy Nourishes Africa – Building Inclusive Livelihoods through Dairy (DNA-BILD) is a two-year project funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) that aims to transform Tanzania’s dairy industry by creating vibrant ecosystems of farmer-allied and environmentally sustainable enterprises that improve nutrition, enhance livelihoods, and stimulate inclusive economic growth. DNA-BILD expands upon early successes of a pilot program and is intentionally designed to complement and leverage DNA’s participation in the newly launched Tanzania Inclusive Processor-Producer Partnerships in Dairy (TI3P) project, by extending DNA’s impact to reach resource-poor, opportunity-constrained stakeholders across the dairy value chain that would otherwise not be engaged by TI3P, particularly women and youth, to enable inclusive, climate-smart economic development in the dairy sector.

Position Summary:

The Senior Grants and Procurement Specialist is responsible for leading the Tanzania based grants and procurement team and managing innovative grant funds through solicitation, design, due diligence, negotiation, documentation, monitoring, reporting and closeout of in-kind grants and grant activities while ensuring compliance with Venture37 policies and processes and donor requirements under award rules and regulations.

The Senior Grants and Procurement Specialist collaborates closely with the technical teams during the conceptualization of individual innovative activities and grant solicitations and helps shape their ideas into a grant design which complies with donor regulations and delivers project results in the required timeframe.

The Senior Grants and Procurement Specialist is also responsible for all procurements under the two projects, ensuring that all policies and procedures for procurement of goods and services are followed according to donor and V37 standards. The Senior Grants and Procurement Specialist will lead procurements of all types and sizes from the initial solicitation stage through payment of invoices and reporting for TI3P and BILD grantees and will work with the Finance Manager and Grants and Procurement Specialist to ensure all steps are completed, and that any post-procurement monitoring and reporting is completed to Donor and V37 standards.

Reporting & Supervision:

The Senior Grants and Procurement Specialist will report to the Team Lead and will supervise the Grants and Procurement Specialist position.

Primary Responsibilities:

·       Maintain the grants tracker for both projects and work with the Finance Manager to maintain the grants pipeline for both projects.

·       Organize and lead bi-weekly grants meetings with V37 Arusha staff including members of the HQ teams.

·       Work in coordination with other team members to design, promote, and distribute solicitations for grant applications. Participate in the review and evaluation process, leading in the documentation of the scoring and selection. Assess grant submissions for technical and budget soundness and compliance with donor and V37 regulations, recommending award actions to the team.

·       Conduct the due diligence of grant applicants to determine their eligibility and complete all pre-award assessment paperwork required for grants.

·       Develop grant agreements and facilitate signature of awards. Maintain grant documentation, fully utilizing and managing information in the Cobblestone contract and grant management database and document management system.

·       Ensure all procurements of in-kind grant goods and services comply with all donor and V37 policies, and the donor-approved Grants Manual.

·       Lead grant kickoff meetings with new grantees to review key terms and conditions of their grant agreements.

·       Oversee and structure regular grantee reporting on an agreed timeline. Monitor and track leverage contributions, performance reports, and compliance with award conditions.  Communicate and collaborate with other team members to gather data and share information.

·       Train and provide guidance to team members to also monitor grant compliance when conducting site visits, grantee deliverables and milestones review, and training and capacity building activities.

·       Communicate as necessary with project grantees, assisting and training the grantees to complete reports requirements and maintain compliance with the terms of grant agreements.

·       Create grants closeout plan and lead the closeout process for all grants issued by the projects.

·       Ensure all required grant records and supporting documents are completed and stored online.

·       Ensure all project and office procurements adhere to all Donor and V37 policies and procedures.

·       Ensure all required procurement documentation is stored in the appropriate online storage locations.

·       Coordinate and communicate regularly with the V37 Contracts and Compliance team on procurement processes, and provide guidance to in-country team members on any policies relevant to their job responsibilities.

Senior Grants and Procurement Specialist Job Vacancy at Land O’Lakes Venture37

Required Skills and Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, business, management, procurement, or other related field.
• A minimum of four (4) years’ combined experience in procurement and in managing a grants portfolio.
• Experience with on-line grants management platforms for documentation management, compliance tracking and audit, and system for managing each stage in a grant cycle and utilizing template documents.
• Experience with writing and reviewing clear and deliverable-based program descriptions for subawards and grants.
• Strong understanding of procurement processes and best practices.
• Proven ability to write clear and concise documents for donor review.
• Fluency in oral and written English and Kiswahili.
• Must have right to work in Tanzania.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. No phone calls will be accepted.

Land O’Lakes Venture37 will never ask you for personable identifiable information, and we will never request money or payment during the recruitment or employment process. Please submit any questions or concerns to: Venture37generalinquiries@landolakesventure37.org.

Land O’Lakes Venture37 is an equal opportunity employer and an organization striving to help global communities thrive through agriculture.