This will be a remote position based in Kigali, Rwanda. Existing work authorization is required at the time of application submission. WRI is unable to sponsor any visa work sponsorship for this position in Rwanda.
About the Program:
In Africa, WRIโs Cities Program covers several initiatives in various African cities. Mobility, Urban Water Resilience, Cities4Forests and Air Quality are among these initiatives. The Urban Mobility Program works in key solution areas including sustainable integrated public transport, road safety, walking and bicycling, new mobility, transport demand management, mobility planning and accessibility. The Urban Water Resilience Initiative works with city stakeholders to help address their water risks and vulnerabilities through research, spatial analysis, technical assistance, capacity building to undertake strategic planning and identify place-based interventions and securing funding and financing resources to implement solutions. The Cities4Forests Initiative is a global alliance of more than 90 cities acting to conserve, restore, and sustainably manage nature, especially the worldโs forests, for human well-being. Our member cities catalyze major nature-friendly policy changes, facilitate the flow of finance for nature-based projects, and advocate for gender and social equity, tropical forest conservation, and restoration on the global stage.
Together these initiatives partner with cities and experts to enhance capacity and demonstrate solutions (policy, program and infrastructure solutions), and support collective action to improve enabling environments. As a key component of this work the initiative aims to help cities better utilize and coordinate public sector funds and climate development aid to leverage private finance to increase access to safe water services and reduce exposure to water and climate hazards. The African Cities Water Adaptation Fund (ACWA Fund) and the NBS Accelerator are two sub-programs jointly initiated by the Urban Water Resilience program and the Cities4Forest program dedicated to help cities improve and scale financing for building climate resilience. The Air Quality initiative of WRI focuses on the identification of the sources of pollution as well as suggesting solutions. Clean Air Catalyst is one of the initiatives of the WRIโs Air Quality work. Clean Air Catalyst is a global consortium of organizations that complements traditional efforts to strengthen air quality management capacity. The project achieves this by tackling two critical bottlenecks that hinder clean air action: the gap between recognizing a problem and awareness of the solution; and the often-high cost of reducing emissions, with is unevenly distributed alongside the benefits of action.
Job Highlight:
As Grants and Finance Associate, you will provide administrative, finance and operational support for the Cities team, coordinating with program and support staff in WRIโs Africa & Global offices. In this role, you will be responsible for executing financial and administrative tasks with a major focus (60% of your time) on the implementation of two projects: i) Scaling Urban NBS for Climate Adaptation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SUNCASA) and ii) Accelerating Just, Inclusive, Resilient and Nature-Positive Cities Transition (funded by DANIDA). You will handle the financial activities of Cities program in WRI Africa, focusing on Rwanda and Ethiopia. You will be responsible for supporting the Cities Program team with capacity in all necessary aspects of financial administration, procurement, accounting, event coordination and logistics, grants and contracts execution to ensure strict adherence to internal controls, donor guidelines, mandated laws, proper record keeping, and efficient administration. You will work closely with the Cities Program team, the WRI Africa Finance Manager and the Global Operations and Finance teams, including the Cost and Pricing team, Grants and Contracts team, and Accounting team.
What will you do:
Financial Management (50%):
- Develop annual program budgets with the Project leads, Program Coordinator, Cities Program Director and the WRI Africa Finance and Operations Manager
- Develop project budgets, notes and narratives for funding proposals on a need-by-need basis following different donor requirements while following WRI cost and pricing rules and regulations
- Regularly review, update, and monitor all transactions, commitments, and revenue flows for the Cities Program and projects to support healthy financial management
- Prepare quarterly projections and reviews to be discussed with the respective project managers while advising on any risks and providing risk mitigation strategies or course correction
- Update and maintain project budgets utilizing WRIโs budgeting and forecasting software (TM1)
- Lead grant finance aspects of the projects for grant close-outs
- Lead on financial reporting to donors
- Create and implement financial best practices for the projects, in line with WRI and donor policies for effective operational efficiency
- Lead audit processes for the project providing detailed feedback to audit queries on financial matters of the grants
- Monitor sub-grants including budgets and financial reports and provide relevant advice for effective operational and financial efficiency
- Perform periodic financial analysis on projects to detect and resolve problems
- Process documentation for project commitments (i.e., agreements, contracts, payment requests and invoices)
- Processes invoices and pay applications for projects in compliance with established governance
- Liaise with the Program Coordinator to advise the team on budget management and grants and contract related deadlines. Raise and address any financial issues in coordination Project Managers
- Responsible for managing credit cards issued to staff. Ensure expenses are reported on time and reconciliations prepared
- Ensure that invoices are properly supported before any payment consideration
- Support the submission of expense reports, timesheets, cash advances, and other transactions
Grants and Contracts Management (30%):
- Review draft contracts and provide advice on financial compliance
- Monitor program/project performance against grant and contract requirements and deliverables and ensure compliance with the terms and conditions of grants and contracts
- Ensure financial contract requirements are fully understood and met by all partners/sub grantees
- Provide training and support as needed to project partners on grant compliance and financial reporting
- Support in conducting due diligence exercises for potential sub grantees/project partners
Administration and Event Logistics (20%):
- Support the team on program administrative tasks and events coordination
- Support the coordination of conference and event logistics for domestic and international meetings and workshops, including venue and catering, equipment or translators, travel and visa support for team
- Support coordination of event participant travel, accommodation, and any per diem support, including the proper documentation and compliance with any grant terms
- Carry out procurement processes in line with the WRI laid down policies as well as donor regulations and the local laws
- Routinely sensitize the projects staff on procurement processes
- Responsible for developing, facilitating, implementing, monitoring, and reviewing the assigned projectโs procurement plans.
What will you need:
- Education: You have completed a Bachelorโs degree in business administration, finance, accounting, management or a related field
- Experience: You have 3+ years of relevant, full-time work experience in accounting or finance
- You have experience in budgeting
- You have experience in administrative management, project coordination support, conference and event management or other nonprofit operations
- You have experience in grant compliance and managing contract relationships
- Experience working with CRM d