Project Administration and Grants Specialist

<p>The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture seeks suitable Nigerian nationals for the positions below at the Institute’s Headquarters in Ibadan.</p><p></p><p><strong>Position:&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Project Administration and Grants Specialist</strong></p><p><strong>Contract:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2-years renewable contract&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p><p><strong>Location: Ibadan</strong></p><p><strong>Closing Date: 9 September 2026</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>DUTIES&nbsp; </strong></p><p><strong>A.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Project Planning and Budget Management</strong></p><p>·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Coordinate preparation of project budgets for new proposals, extensions, and annual work plans.</p><p>·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Work with scientists and Finance to develop realistic activity-based budgets and expenditure forecasts.</p><p>·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Monitor expenditures against approved budgets, work plans, and identify significant variances, underspending, overspending, and emerging financial risks.</p><p>·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Support budget revisions, reforecasting, reallocations, and project financial planning.</p><p>·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Maintain consolidated financial and implementation dashboards for the program’s project portfolio.</p><p>·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Support project leaders in ensuring appropriate allocation of staff time and shared operational costs across projects.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>B.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sub-Grant and Partner Management</strong></p><p>·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Coordinate development and processing of sub-grants, subcontracts, and other partner agreements.</p><p>·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Support development and review of partner budgets, work plans, milestones, deliverables, and payment schedules.</p><p>·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Maintain a database of partner agreements, reporting requirements, deliverables, disbursements, and agreement expiry dates.</p><p>·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Track implementation and expenditure by partners and proactively follow up on overdue technical and financial reports.</p><p>·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Coordinate internal review and processing of partner reports and requests for subsequent disbursements.</p><p>·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Flag implementation, financial, compliance, or contractual issues requiring management attention.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>C.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Technical and Financial Reporting</strong></p><p>·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Coordinate preparation and timely submission of donor technical and financial reports.</p><p>·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Maintain a consolidated calendar of project reporting obligations, milestones, deliverables, and donor deadlines.</p><p>·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Collate inputs from scientists, partners, Finance, and other contributors and ensure consistency between technical achievements, expenditure, and reported deliverables.</p><p>·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Support preparation of annual reports, donor reviews, project steering meetings, and other project performance documentation.</p><p>·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Maintain organized records of submitted reports, approvals, donor correspondence, and supporting documentation.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>D.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Project Implementation and Operational Coordination</strong></p><p>·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Support project start-up, including establishment of work plans, budgets, reporting schedules, procurement plans, partner agreements, and implementation trackers.</p><p>·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Monitor implementation against agreed project milestones and identify potential delays requiring corrective action.</p><p>·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Coordinate with Finance, Procurement, PDAU, P&amp;C, Legal, and other institutional units on operational requirements.</p><p>·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Follow up on procurement, travel, service agreements, partner payments, and other administrative actions necessary for timely project implementation.</p><p>·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Support project closeout, including completion of deliverables, financial reconciliation, partner closeout, asset-related documentation where relevant, and archival of project records.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>E.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Proposal development</strong></p><p>·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Support development of budgets and budget narratives for new funding opportunities.</p><p>·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Coordinate collection of partner budgets, institutional documentation, letters of commitment, and other administrative components of proposals.</p><p>·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Review proposal budgets for consistency with proposed activities, donor requirements, institutional policies, and allowable cost categories.</p><p>·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Support costing of personnel, field operations, partner activities, travel, and other project requirements.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>F.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Portfolio Management and Management Information</strong></p><p>·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Maintain an overview of the program’s active grants, budgets, partners, reporting requirements, and implementation status.</p><p>·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Produce periodic management summaries highlighting expenditure, upcoming deadlines, partner performance, and major implementation risks.</p><p>·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Support program-level annual planning and resource allocation.</p><p>·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Contribute to continuous improvement of project-management tools, templates, procedures, and administrative systems.</p>