European Partnership for Democracy is looking for a Grants Officer (French-speaking)

Background

We are looking for a Grants Officer to join our team in February 2025. The Grants Officer will join the implementation team of the AHEAD Africa project, which aims to empower civil society across Africa, including citizen observers, in strengthening electoral systems and processes.

Accountabilities and key relationships

The Grants Officer will be based in Brussels and will report to the Head of Programmes (based in Germany). The Grants Officer will work in close cooperation with the EPD Programmes Manager. The Grants Officer will also have regular working relationships with other EPD staff in Brussels.

Duties and responsibilities

Grantee and partner organisation management

• Being the first point of contact for grantees and partner organisations on procedural, administrative and financial matters, within relevant projects; resolving issues raised within the limits of authority of the role and referring as necessary to the EPD Head of Programmes and the EPD Programmes Manager;

• Elaborating sub-granting contracts and partnership agreements and assist grantees and partner organisations in setting up their budgets and other project documents;

• Ensuring that EPD’s grantees and partner organisations are provided with instructions to enable them to fulfil their operational and reporting responsibilities in accordance with contract procedures;

• Providing guidance and support to partner organisations on sub-granting procedures;

• Liaising with grantees and partner organisations to monitor their costs against their budgets;

• Reviewing grantees’ financial reports to assess accuracy of presentation and compliance with guidelines, verifying project expenditure and supporting documents and liaising with partners on clarifications of documentation – drawing to the attention of the EPD Finance and Administration Manager any issues arising from those reports;

• Contribute to the identification of project outcomes (behavioural changes of target groups) achieved by grantees and partner organisations, in cooperation with the EPD Programmes Manager, the EPD MEL Officer and the EPD Head of Programmes.

Project management

• Being responsible for the strategic planning, implementation and follow-up of EPD’s project activities – primarily related to grants and granting components – ensuring the delivery of outputs and contributing to the achievement of project outcomes;

• Contributing to the drafting of and/or reviewing of narrative reports in compliance with EPD’s and funders’ requirements, updating results chains such as logical frameworks, and drawing to the attention of the EPD Programmes Manager and the EPD Head of Programmes any issues arising from those reports;

• Providing input for EPD’s social media channels and website on various project activities, particularly related to grantees, at significant moments within the project cycle;

• Maintaining appropriate records on EPD’s activities and projects – related to grants and granting components – in electronic and paper format;

• In cooperation with the EPD Head of Programmes and the EPD Finance and Administration Manager, maintaining up-to-date operational guidelines, procedures and tools.

• Assume project management responsibilities on selected project tasks as a substitute, whenever required due to absences within the EPD programmes team.

Crosscutting

• Contributing to an environment of learning in EPD and the constant improvement of EPD’s project management procedures;

• Participating as a member of EPD’s core team in the wider development of the organisation, sharing common tasks as required from time to time.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree, preferably in political science, international development, social sciences, or a relevant field of study, is required;

• Minimum of 2 years of experience in project management is required (exceptional candidates with under 2 years of experience will also be considered);

• Experience in managing and/or assisting in projects financed by the European Union is considered a strong asset;

• Experience in grant and partnership management is considered a strong asset;

• Prior work experience and/or a solid understanding of socio-political contexts in Africa is considered a strong asset;

• A strong interest in and understanding of electoral processes is desirable;

• Proficiency in excellent written and spoken English and French is required;

• Proficiency in Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic or in (other) languages spoken in African countries, such as Swahili, is considered an asset;

• Candidates must be entitled to work in Belgium/EU. They should be based in Brussels or move to Brussels for the expected start date.

Conditions

• An initial two-year contract with a gross starting salary between EUR 2.000,00 and EUR 3.500,00 (Grade 2 at EPD) with the precise figure dependant on experience;

• Lunch vouchers of a unit value of EUR 8,00 (personal contribution by the employee of EUR 1,09) will be granted for each day actually worked;

• A monthly public transportation card in Brussels will be reimbursed (EUR 52,00);

• In compliance with EPD’s teleworking policy, staff will be granted a monthly teleworking allowance of EUR 154,74 and an additional monthly contribution of EUR 20,00 for the professional use of their private internet connection;

• A hospitalisation group insurance (DKV);

• A yearly training budget;

• The employee will be enrolled in the EPD group pension scheme; in which the employer and the employee contribute 2% each;

• 30 days of leave, plus 3 extra-legal days to take during the winter break.

You can download a pdf of the job description here.

Application procedure

Interested applicants should send a CV and the completed application form available below, together in one document to jobs3@epd.eu by Sunday, 5 January 2025 (23:59 CET).

Please submit your application with the following email title: “LAST NAME – FIRST NAME – Grants Officer Application”.

Interviews will take place in January 2025 (likely in the week of 20 January 2025). Candidates selected for an interview will be asked to complete an exercise of approximately 30 minutes (online or in presence). 

The expected start date is in February 2025.