Eko Innovation is currently seeking applications from suitably qualified candidates to fill the position below:

Job Title: Grant, Investment and Partnership Manager

Location: Lagos

Duties and Responsibilities

Partnerships:

• Manage the identification, research, cultivation, solicitation, recognition, and stewardship of likeminded grant funders and private sector donors for donor collaborative and joint funding.
• Develop and execute strategies to expand the pool of prospective donors/funders and create connections that lead to sustained philanthropic partnerships for EIC grantees with a special focus on building corporate partnerships.
• Stay abreast of philanthropic trends and identify and qualify corporate, foundation, and local, state, and federal government grant opportunities for EIC priorities through research and direct contact with funders.
• The GIP Manager will take a lead role and oversee the implementation of all activities relevant to the PPP process cycle, including building partnerships with financial institutions, both with banks and non-traditional institutions, such as private equity, venture capital, and impact investors, completing preliminary analysis of potential projects, conducting and supporting due diligence efforts (technical, financial, and legal), negotiation, financial closings, and to monitoring & evaluation, after start of development
• As lead of the investment partnership activity in Nigeria, the manager will coordinate and stimulate interaction, and provide leadership in close collaboration with the Board Advisory, the Grants team, and the financial management team.

Grants Administration:

• Assure the smooth flow of proposal processing throughout the grant cycle, from application to closeout.
• Lead the Grant Management Team (including Technical Specialists) in the planning, design and selection of well-functioning and organisationally sound grantees and consortia partners; completion of grant designs that meet policy requirements and standards; the preparation and management of grant agreements; the ongoing relationship with grant recipients; reporting and due diligence.
• Manage correspondence including award letters, decline letters, renewal awards, and annual and pledged gift agreements.
• Manage the maintenance of clean and accurate information in the grants database, including scanning and uploading documents to the database.
• Manage the logical evolutions in grant coding structure, field definitions, and authorizations.
• Recommend policies and procedures for ensuring the integrity of the grants database, including data validation checks, maintenance of coding consistency, periodic analyses to verify the completeness of data, and the establishment of protocols for identifying and editing missing or inaccurate data.
• Identify and develop strategies to optimize the grants administration process according to the operational and financial needs of the organization.

Compliance:

• Communicate with relevant staff when there are questions regarding grant materials, including missing application items, budget issues, etc.
• Coordinate award letters processing, grant report reviews, and grant modifications with relevant staff.
• Manage and update workflows, compliance checklists, and the grants management manual.
• Stay abreast of funding trends and compliance issues, attend relevant professional meetings and activities, and incorporate as appropriate into the EIC grants management process.
• Systems and Training:
• Manage appropriate staff to build and maintain a grants management database that follows the Institutes work processes, while balancing the needs of program and finance staff and regulatory compliance; assure integrity of data.
• Work directly with program teams to design and create applications and reporting templates that support a values-aligned grant making process.
• Lead the development, implementation, and staff training of policies and procedures related to philanthropic grants document management, due diligence requirements, risk management, philanthropic grants management best practices, and database coding. Set in place systems to assure these policies and procedures are documented and followed.

Investment:

• Develop and maintain strong partnerships with financial institutions
• Develop vetting form to assess credit worthiness of potential Fund applicants;
• Facilitate relationships between financial institutions and investors with value chain actors, such as agro-businesses, Fintech, Renewable Energy to enhance the Trade & Investment Hub’s partners capabilities in meeting the 1:1 matching requirement
• Engage with financial institutions (banks, private equity, or other external financial actors/vehicle) to facilitate greater access to financing to Trade Hub’s potential grantees in meeting the matching grant requirement.
• Develops comprehensive mappings of key actors in the financial sectors already operating or in the process of developing financial products for EIC Initiatives.
• Complete preliminary analysis, investment memos for projects and partners, and provide recommendations for shortlisting.
• Conduct a training needs assessment for financial partners at project outset
• Manage and participate in internal risk reviews and presentations. Conducts proposal meetings, assigns tasks and sets deadlines, tracks progress, communicates and compiles information from partners and internal project departments and ensure that project’s technical and contractual requirements and deadlines are met.
• Liaise with both public and private partners that have committed support to the project and innovative win-win partnerships.

Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in Business, Finance, Economics, or related field, plus 4-5 year relevant experience, preferably in a financial institution.
• Experience in programs related to Acceleration, Research and Sustainability.
• Prior experience in senior management positions, preferably for a program of comparable complexity.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with institutional and private sector partners and stakeholders, including the national government.
• Excellent written and spoken communication skills, including ability to produce high-quality project reports and deliver high level presentations to clients and partners.
• Fluency in English required and other local languages desired.
• Self-starter with ability to multi-task and efficiently manage time and workload.
• Ability to work well in a team environment and in a matrix project organization.
• Strong coordination skills, business development skills and excellent written and verbal communications skills.
• Proven commercial skills with a high level of energy and a commitment to professional excellence.

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.