Support scientists and proposal teams in developing accurate, competitive and compliant project budgets, ensuring adherence to institutional policies, donor requirements and the administrative information specified in call guidelines.
Support the identification and assessment of funding opportunities that align with IITA's and CGIAR's strategic priorities.
Review donor call guidelines and provide technical guidance on proposal requirements, budget preparation and administrative compliance.
Conduct administrative and technical compliance reviews of proposals to ensure conformity with donor guidelines and institutional requirements prior to submission.
Develop, maintain, and regularly update institutional cost databases, including staff, administrative, operational and station costs, to support proposal budgeting
Maintain and update the institutional master cost document to facilitate efficient budget preparation and review.
Monitor and incorporate revised Resource Service Support (RSS) rates and other management approved cost directives into institutional budgeting tools.
Coordinate the Director-level approval of Project Summary Forms before initiating requests for project cost centres.
Monitor changes in donor proposal and budgeting policies, templates and compliance requirements, and update institutional guidance, templates and tools accordingly.
Compile, maintain, and regularly update repositories of donor budget templates, proposal templates, costing formats and donor budgetary requirements.
Review and update IITA budget templates in collaboration with People & Culture, Finance, Supply Chain and other relevant units to ensure the accuracy of staff and operational cost assumptions.
Provide budget development guidance, proposal development support and training to scientists and relevant staff across IITA.
Support scientists and proposal teams in initiating, registering and coordinating proposals through the Institute's internal proposal development and approval processes.
Support to follow-up with the Deputy Directors General (DDGs) and other stakeholders on pending proposal ideas and approvals within the PDAU Proposal Ideation Platform.
Support the compilation, processing and submission of proposal supporting documents, including letters of support, letters of intent, due diligence documents, questionnaires, policy documents, audited financial statements and other required annexes.
Support the Unit Head in preparing the unit's annual budget, monitor PDAU expenditures, prepare monthly expenditure reports and liaise with Finance to resolve budget-related queries.
Perform any other duties as may be appropriately assigned by the Head of Unit in response to service exigencies.
Requirements
MSc. or MBA in Finance, Business Administration, Project Management, Agricultural Economics, or a related field.
Minimum of five (5) years of relevant experience in project budgeting, grants management, financial planning, proposal development, preferably within an international research or development organization is required.
Knowledge of CGIAR financial and proposal development processes is an advantage.
Competencies:
The ideal candidate must have:
Demonstrated experience in developing and reviewing project budgets for major international donors (e.g., USAID, European Union, FCDO, Gates Foundation, GIZ, IFAD, AfDB, World Bank, CGIAR, UN agencies).
Good understanding of donor budgeting principles/requirements, cost eligibility rules, indirect cost recovery and institutional financial compliance requirements.
Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a multicultural and multidisciplinary proposal development teams and coordinating budget preparation across multiple institutional units.
Proven analytical, problem-solving and attention-to-detail skills.
Excellent written, verbal, presentation and interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to effectively communicate budget requirements to both technical and non-technical audiences.
Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Excel (including advanced functions, formulas, pivot tables and financial modelling), with proficiency in other Microsoft Office applications.
Familiarity with enterprise financial systems (e.g., Oracle or similar ERP systems) is an advantage.
Demonstrated ability to design and deliver training, facilitate capacity-building initiatives, and make presentations to internal and external stakeholders on proposal budgeting and donor compliance requirements.
Ability to interpret donor guidelines and translate them into compliant and competitive project budgets.
Proven organizational and project coordination skills, with the ability to manage multiple proposals and meet competing deadlines.
Ability to build and maintain collaborative working relationships with scientists, finance, People & Culture, legal, donors and other internal and external stakeholders.
High level of integrity, professionalism and commitment to confidentiality.
Benefits
We offer highly competitive salary with equally attractive benefits and excellent working conditions in a pleasant campus environment.