Officer, Grant Operations – GL C – Temporary until December 2025

To support the Global Fund’s mission of ending the epidemics and enable efficient portfolio management, Grant Management Division must operate with up-to-date and robust portfolio data, aligned business processes and integrated systems within a framework of continuous improvement.

The Grant Management Operational Efficiency (OE) Team is responsible for ensuring the continuous improvement of GMD-owned grant life cycle processes (Grant-making, Implementation Oversight, AFD and Disbursements, Revisions and Closures) through ongoing review, monitoring, optimization, integration and enhancement of operational policies/regulations, procedures, system guidance as well as associated data flows & quality and reporting. The team is also responsible for defining and prioritizing the Grant Management business needs for system solutions (as part of Continuous Improvement or dedicated Launches).

Within the OE team, the Grant Life Cycle (GLC) Operations team is accountable for the timely and quality process management, including planning, execution & case monitoring of the assigned grant lifecycle processes, including processing of system transactions, and coordination with Country Teams and (sub) process-owners across the Secretariat. The Officer, Grant Operations as part of the GLC Operations team contributes to the delivery of the primary business of the Global Fund.

The Officer, Grant Operations is responsible for:
• Overall business process management (planning, execution, assignment and case monitoring) of defined Grant Life Cycle processes, to ensure the timely and quality completion of the GLC deliverables, in line with the operational policies and procedures and per agreed service levels;
• Process, (data) quality & compliance case monitoring
• Investigating and resolving process-related issues which are varied and non-routine, using previous experience to identify the most appropriate solution and/or enhance existing process approaches.
• Identification of operational enhancements, including contributing to business requirements development and testing to ensure further improved processes, procedures, system solutions, data flows, data quality & reporting.
• Proactive identification of end-user gaps in key knowledge areas and skills and proposing targeted change management to address such gaps and reduce process bottlenecks and challenges to the Continuous Improvement team

They collaborate with a defined teams and (sub) process-owners within the Global Fund and uses strong interpersonal, communication and diplomacy skills to integrate the differing perspectives of such stakeholders, while ensuring that that the process management including planning, execution, assignment & case monitoring, analytics, enhancements and associated change management efforts are coherent, user-friendly and streamlined.

Key Responsibilities

The Officer, Grant Operations is responsible for:

Business Process Management:

• Ensure timely and quality process management for the assigned grant life cycle processes in line with the operational policies and procedures and per agreed service levels;
• Plan key process activities triggered by Country Team demand or defined business milestones so that the overall deadlines for timely grant life cycle execution are met.
• Execute of the assigned process steps, including defined system transactions, based on content inputs, templates, validations and approvals provided by Country Teams;
• Assign and monitor agreed tasks (e.g. validation and approval) to defined process actors so there are undertaken in a timely manner
• Investigating and resolving process-related issues which are varied and non-routine, using previous experience to identify the most appropriate solution and/or enhance existing process approaches.
• Contribute to the Support Team trend & root cause analysis for system-related issues by describing the problem and liaising for successful resolution.
• Ensure and enhance data quality, including through:
  • Quality assurance review of key grant life cycle deliverables submission;
  • Review of imported information to ensure consistency and quality
• Collaborate with business (sub) process owners (Finance, MECA, A2F, etc.) to ensure timely and quality GLC deliverable completion, including the generation, import and resolution of data quality issues for key grant life cycle templates (Performance Framework, Budget, etc.)
• Liaise with other departments to discuss and systematically resolve challenges / issues, ensuring a consistent operational approach across the grant lifecycle (Risk, A2F, etc.);
• Develop standard operating procedures for common challenges faced by key process actors, as needed.

Business Process Case Monitoring & Reporting:

• Monitor end-to-end business process performance and key process management metrics and document non-compliance for reporting to senior managers, provide feedback to business (sub) process owners and escalate delays, quality issues and non-compliance;
• Perform trend & root cause (fishbone) analysis of process performance, user compliance, data quality and other analysis as input into continuous improvement efforts, projects / activities;
• Draft FAQs for policy, process and systems related questions, based on support queries received.

Business Process Enhancement:

• Systematically review the log of issues to identify commonalities, including for non-routine cases and possible solutions (enhancements and/or targeted change management) to structurally reduce operational process management challenges;
• Propose enhancements & provide inputs into consequent business requirements for the grant life cycle processes, procedures, system solutions, data flows & quality, case monitoring & reporting;
• Participate in User Acceptance Testing for system enhancements
• Identify areas for improvement in the core grant life cycle templates (Performance Framework, Budget etc.) including data validation controls, conditional formatting, warnings etc.;
• Provide inputs to the OE Continuous Improvement staff, for change management activities and communication for policy, process and systems changes

Change Management:

• Identify common challenges, knowledge and/or skills gaps resulting in process timeliness, quality and non-compliance issues;
• Provide inputs to ensure targeted change management efforts are undertaken to increase user understanding & adoption and structurally reduce volume of business process management challenges faced;
• Use change management and communication techniques and tools as part of operations activities to drive the right behaviours from users, including proactively managing anticipated business milestones and peaks in business activity.

At the request of the Head, Grant Portfolio Solutions and Support, OE Manager and / or Senior Specialist Operational Efficiency & Projects, undertake additional tasks to allow GPS to flexibly respond to evolving priorities or urgent needs of the Global Fund.

Subject to change by the Executive Director at any time at their sole discretion.

Qualifications

Essential:

• University degree in Finance, Statistics, IT, Economics, Business Administration, Engineering or any equivalent with a strong quantitative component or equivalent professional training.

Desirable:

• Qualification in project management or equivalent, or work experience in a project management / change management / business improvement capacity

Experience

Essential:

• At least five years of professional experience, including in business process execution, optimization and/or support, analytics, project and / or change management
• Experience with project management methodology
• Experience coordinating between cross-divisional teams
• Knowledge of the Global Fund and its policies, processes, procedures and system solutions

Desirable:

• Knowledge of Salesforce Platform
• Experience in data quality checks or data cleansing
• Hands-on experience with Global Fund grants, within the Secretariat, as a Recipient, a Local Fund Agent or a partner organization
• International development experience, including in an international organization, non-profit or private sector, an advantage.

Competencies

Languages:

An excellent knowledge of English and preferably a good working knowledge of French or Spanish. Knowledge of other languages would be an asset.

Organisational Competencies:

• Global Fund awareness and mind-set
• Service orientation
• Drive for results
• Collaboration
• Interaction
• Adaptability

Functional Competencies:

• Analytical – Mastery Level
• Business – Mastery Level
• Country Context – Foundation Level
• Multicultural Understanding – Foundation Level
• Operational Policy – Expert Level
• Project Management – Mastery Level

Technical Competencies:

• End-to-end process thinking, including business process improvement
• Change management
• Excellent computer skills including Excel, PowerPoint, Word in a Microsoft Windows environment
• High quality written and verbal communication skills
• Strong presentation and facilitation skills
• Solution-oriented root cause analysis, including the ability to create business relevant appropriate and creative solutions

Personal Competencies:

• Interpersonal diplomacy and interpersonal skills
• Responsiveness and proactivity
• Customer orientation
• Ability to manage conflict and provide appropriate solutions
• Agility
• Dealing with Ambiguity
• Ability to multi-task and manage competing priorities under tight deadlines
• Strong attention to detail
• Sound judgment and decision making
• Critical thinking and problem-solving skills

The Global Fund recruits top-tier talent for our open positions, in support of our mission to end AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as epidemics.

Explore our vacancies and apply on the Global Fund Careers recruitment system.

More information on working at the Global Fund is available on the Careers section of our main website.

Job Posting End Date

24 September 2024