Company Profile

The International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) is a public international organization (PIO) governed by an international board of directors with representation from developed and developing nations. The non-profit center focuses on increasing and sustaining food and agricultural productivity in developing countries through the development and transfer of effective and environmentally sound crop nutrient technology and agribusiness expertise.

Job Description

• Type of contract: Full time
• Indicative starting date:  December 1, 2016
• Location:  Accra, Ghana

Background
The program titled ‘GhanaVeg: Commercial Vegetable Sector Development in Ghana’ is a 4-year program (2014-2017) funded by the Netherlands Embassy in Ghana. GhanaVeg’s mission is to establish “a sustainable and internationally competitive vegetable sector that contributes to inclusive economic growth and has the capacity to continuously innovate in terms of products and services”. The project’s structure combines an overall private sector-led sector development approach, through the establishment of a Vegetable Business Platform, as well as strong business-led initiatives through Business Opportunity and R&D innovation funds. In addition, GhanaVeg organizes specialized agronomic Trainings of Trainers and coordinates independent variety trials.

GhanaVeg is being implemented by a consortium of Wageningen UR (CDI), IFDC and NABC. The programme team is hosted by IFDC (www.ifdc.org), which is a public international organization addressing critical issues such as international food security, the alleviation of global hunger and poverty, environmental protection and the promotion of economic development and self-sufficiency. IFDC focuses on increasing productivity across the agricultural value chain in developing countries.

Job purpose
The GhanaVeg Grants Officer, based at the IFDC Office in Accra, will be responsible for grant administration, monitoring of grantee projects and quality control of the projects’ narrative and financial reports.

Responsibilities
Under the supervision of the GhanaVeg Fund Manager and Monitoring Expert, the responsibilities of the Grants Officer include:

• Assist the Fund Manager in the administration of grants: project monitoring, invoice tracking and validation, quality of reporting, and handling fund requests and disbursements tracking
• Conduct field visits to monitor the implementation of projects, track deliverables and milestones, validate activity and cost compliance and ensure narrative and financial reports are on time and in accordance with the GhanaVeg procedures and requirements
• Produce and keep a database of grantees and their operations
• Assist in the organization of periodic grantee meetings, in collaboration with the Fund Manager, aimed at ensuring the diffusion of best practices among grantees and promote peer-learning
• Support Fund Manager in the periodic revision of the GhanaVeg Fund Manual
• Maintain and monitor all databases with respect to grant administration for document control purposes
• Assist the Fund Manager in the organization of incoming missions under the Consultancy Fund studies; arranging logistics, accommodation and appointments
• Support activities of the Ghana Green Label initiative: e.g. guiding and supporting new companies/farmers to access the certification services of the Ghana Green Label Secretariat
• Liaise with the IFDC financial department for payments of operational expenses, prepare the payment requests and follow-up on payments
• Support in the yearly reporting of M&E data as part of overall annual GhanaVeg reporting commitment
• Support in the development of specific case studies through impact / outcome monitoring at the farmer level
• Other tasks related to fund management and project monitoring

Required Skills or Experience

The GhanaVeg Grants Officer is a grade 7 IFDC position and has the following requisites:

• Two to five years of experience in grants administration and/or project management.
• BSc-degree from a recognized University with a focus on Finance, Accounting, Statistics, or Agribusiness. An MSc / MPhil degree is an advantage.
• Excellent skills in MS Office applications, with very good writing and numerical skills.
• Affinity with Ghana’s agriculture and horticulture sector.
• Is a team player with strong communication skills.
• Has a hands-on and flexible attitude and proactive approach.
• Can deliver under conditions of high work pressure and meet tight deadlines.