Grants Officer (M/W)

Mission description

The Grants officer will first be managed by the Team Leader in the inception phase of the project, and then by the Finance & Admin Manager in Fort-de France. He/she will be under the functional management of the Sargassum value chain manager.

Based in Fort-de-France in Martinique, the Grants officer will be responsible for the administrative and financial management of the various grants awarded as part of the project (calls for projects and direct grants), from the appraisal and award to the closure phase. The main tasks of to the Grants Officer are as follows:

Support for the appraisal and award of grants:

– Support the preparation of two calls for projects (CFP) and ensure that they are communicated to the targeted organisations;
– Plan and organise the various stages of the calls for projects (publication, evaluation, etc.), ensuring compliance with the timetable and coordination with the various resource people involved (project team, appraisors, legal advisers, etc.): organise and archive documentation and applications, prepare and organise evaluation committees, etc.
– Check compliance with current procedures;
– Organise information and training sessions for pre-selected project holders to ensure that they take ownership of management procedures;
– Prepare grant contracts and coordinate the signature process in accordance with internal procedures.

Monitoring the administrative and financial implementation of supported projects:

– Work with the admin/finance team, develop and set up the financial tools for monitoring grants (financial reporting file, expenditure and pre-financing monitoring, etc.);
– Assist project holders with the specific administrative and financial aspects of grants (conducting training, answering questions, etc.);
– Assist the value chain manager in monitoring grants for certain specific tasks (monitoring of various reporting tables, submission and consolidation of supporting documents, compliance with financial reporting templates, etc.);
– Ensure that project holders comply with the timetable for submitting technical, narrative and financial reports;
– Check and verify the financial reports (compliance with the format, supporting documents, consistency with the narrative report, instalment request);
– Check compliance with EF administrative procedures by the partner(s) (regarding purchasing and contracting, supporting documents, etc.);

Reporting, auditing and closure of grants:

– Support the value chain manager in consolidating monthly budget monitoring for component 2 of the project (budget allocations, consistency of commitment monitoring, forecasts) in collaboration with the admin/finance team.
– Coordinate the preparation of grant audits with the support of the admin/finance team, in close coordination with the project holders;
– Ensure the archiving of all contractual, accounting and financial documentation relating to grants, maintain the file of partners and third-party contacts, etc.

Project or context description

CONTEXT

Expertise France is the public agency for the design and implementation of international technical cooperation projects. The agency operates around four priority areas:
• democratic, economic and financial governance;
• peace, stability and security;
• climate, biodiversity and sustainable development;
• health and human development.

In these areas, Expertise France engineers and implements capacity-building projects, mobilizes technical expertise and coordinates projects involving public expertise and private know-how.

With a volume of activity of 324 million euros and over 500 projects in its portfolio in around 100 countries, Expertise France’s action is part of France’s policy of solidarity, influence and economic diplomacy.
In the Caribbean, Expertise France is mainly involved in regional projects to support governments in fighting climate change and protecting biodiversity.
Launched in 2023 following the success of “Euroclima” in Latin America, the “Euroclima Caribbean” program contributes to the region’s green transition through climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts as well as the protection and conservation of biological diversity in the Caribbean.
Expertise France also implements the “RESEMBID” program in the region, which promotes resilience, sustainable energy and marine biodiversity, as well as the “Green Overseas” program aiming to accelerate the energy transition and increase the climate resilience of overseas countries and territories.
Funded by the French Development Agency (AFD), the Sargassum regional management and coordination project aims to foster regional cooperation dynamics in the Caribbean and support small island developing states in structuring a framework for the management and valorisation of sargassum.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The aim of the project is to minimize and limit the negative impacts of stranded sargassum on local economies, communities and coastal ecosystems. To achieve this, the project consists of three main components and a cross-cutting component:

1. Strengthen regional cooperation in the Caribbean on sargassum planning and management approaches, contributing to the development of joint advocacy. This component aims to engage communities of practice and capitalize on the experiences and knowledge developed at all levels of the sargassum management chain: prediction and monitoring of sargassum drifts, collection methods, pretreatment and characterization of sargassum components, transport, storage, and their valorization into marketable products.

2. Assist small island states of the Caribbean (Saint Lucia, Grenada, Dominica and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) to implement integrated sargassum management and valorisation operations. In partnership with the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), this component aims to strengthen the capacities of public and private actors in sargassum management operations. This component will enable the definition and deployment of a roadmap for the management of collection operations, through training and equipment of the personnel involved. It will also allow the development of early warning mechanisms for coastal communities and coordination with transporters, as well as the development of suitable pretreatment systems, and biomass storage at secure sites. To support private actors in the structuring of sargassum value chains, the project will launch a call for projects in the 4 targeted islands.

3. Support regional scientific cooperation to maximise global understanding of the sargassum phenomenon and feed into the framing of research-based public policies. The project will deploy a collective expertise network to bring together a group of scientists and experts from different Caribbean research centres to mobilize all knowledge and build scientific consensus on the complex issues around sargassum. In addition, the project will launch a call for research projects to strengthen regional dynamics around scientific cooperation and the implementation of concrete solutions adapted to the Caribbean context.

The project also includes a cross-cutting gender outcome, aiming to integrate gender into the integrative management operations of sargassum.

The main implementing partners for the project will be:
• The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States: a direct grant will be awarded to the OECS for the implementation of certain activities under Component 2 and Component 1, focusing on strengthening public policy on sargassum, governance and the technical and equipment capacities of public actors working on sargassum.
• Private or public-private actors involved in the sargassum management/valorisation sector on the 4 islands supported under Component 2 of the project. They will receive grants via a Call for Projects for the development of sustainable economic models for the management and valorisation of sargassum.
• The Research and Development Institute (IRD), which will provide a summary of scientific knowledge to date on sargassum (Collective Scientific Expertise mechanism) and producing science-based recommendations for political decision-makers.
• The laboratories and research centres of the various research hubs in the Caribbean and Central America, which will receive grants following a Call for research projects under the Component 3.

THE PROJECT TEAM

Situation/position: Operations Department – Sustainable Development Department – Biodiversity Division

A specific team will be deployed in Fort-de-France and Saint Lucia. It will consist of:

• In Fort-de-France, Martinique:
o Team Leader in charge of the project technical and operational management
o Sargassum value chain manager (Component 2)
o Grants Officer
o Scientific knowledge building and learning officer
o Administrative and Financial officer or manager

• In Saint Lucia:
o Technical Assistance Officer to the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)

• Short term expertise based in the Caribbean:
o An expert in Environmental and Social Risk Management
o A MEAL expert
o A Gender expert

Required profile

Training
University degree in accounting, administration, project management or equivalent. A Master’s degree would be an advantage.

Experiences
– Experience in managing funding and awarding grants for international cooperation projects;
– Knowledge of AFD management procedures and the management of donor-funded projects is an advantage;
– Proven experience in multi-country and multi-stakeholder projects or programmes;
– Experience in cooperation projects / programmes in the Caribbean is an advantage.

Skills
– Excellent interpersonal skills, diplomacy;
– Excellent organizational skills and ability to meet deadlines;
– Strong autonomy, adaptability; responsiveness and flexibility;
– Ability to work fluently in English and French (written and oral), proficiency in Spanish is an asset.
– Perfect mastery of office software, advanced Excel level