Associate, Contracts and Administration

Position summary:The Rainforest Alliance is recruiting for an Associate, Contracts and Administration for the USAID Prosperous and Resilient Landscape Activity in Guatemala. Under the leadership of the Chief of Party, and in coordination with the Finance and Compliance Managers for Latin America, the Associate, Contracts and Administration will be responsible for providing administrative support with program planning, drafting administrative documents, coordinating and scheduling meetings, procurement, compliance and administrative assistance, supporting smooth implementation and management of planned landscape and community activities within the program. S/he will provide support on a range of tasks, including logistics and planning (events, meetings, field visits) finance and admin, and the management of agreements and subawards.  This position does not supervise staff members.

Responsibilities: 

• The Rainforest Alliance’s Core Values are Impact, Change, Collaboration, Openness and Trust and as such they form the basis of the behaviors we demonstrate;

Administrative

• Participate in technical meetings, write minutes of meetings, record action points and disseminate to and follow up with technical teams;

• Support the development and implementation of a documentation and archiving structure/system on SharePoint;

• Plan, prepare and follow up on procurement for RA and implementing partners including ex ante and ex post review of eligibility, allocability and allowability;

• Provide administrative support to the entire project team on the coordination of events, workshops and meetings with donors, partners, beneficiaries, and other RA teams;

• Coordinate logistics for meetings, booking of meeting rooms, coffee breaks, lunch, etc;

• Assist with local and international travel logistics which includes the purchase of airline tickets, hotel reservations and car reservations (this includes project vehicles and leased vehicles if necessary);

• Prepare official requests and communications to donor and other stakeholders considering specific rules and regulations;

• Ensure program compliance with RA and donor requirements;

• Create and maintain a database of qualified suppliers (hotels, restaurants, others) in all project implementation regions;

• Review the VAT exemption report to verify eligibility, allocability and allowability of expenses;

• Responsible for purchases of supplies, equipment, materials, among others, in coordination with the program team;

• Support translation of documents, as needed.

Contracts and Agreements

• Oversee subawards and contract administration, including gathering all the documentation and drafting agreements in compliance with internal policies and procedures, donor requirements and best management practices;

• Coordinate and provide technical assistance to RA staff on the agreement administration responsibilities, donor regulations, and donor award management;

• Ensure consultant invoices and subcontractors or recipients of subawards are reviewed for accuracy and proper documentation (local fiscal requirements);

• Maintain awards and supporting documentation in RA’s designated contract database. Periodically review information in this database to ensure files are complete and up to date;

• Maintain physical and electronic files;

• Other duties as assigned.

 
Qualifications: 

• BA or BS Degree in Business Administration or related field;

• Proven experience (3 years) in administrative tasks and managing / processing information related to projects in an NGO;

• Proven experience (3 years) working with USAID projects, understanding of USAID rules, regulations, and familiarity with Cooperative Agreements;

• Highly proficient in Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Power Bi;

• Good writing, editing and verbal communication skills;

• Written and verbal proficiency in English required;

• Initiative, self-motivated, resourceful, detail-oriented, dependability, strong attention to detail. Excellent interpersonal skills with ability to interact culturally and linguistically with diverse internal and external individuals;

• Ability to travel a minimum of 40% per year, nationally.

Job level: 5A

Deadline: This will be ongoing until the position is filled.

Notes: Only candidates authorized to work in Guatemala will be considered.

If you have any questions about the job vacancy, please contact the HR department: recruitment@ra.org


WHO WE ARE:The Rainforest Alliance is creating a more sustainable world by using social and market forces to protect nature and improve the lives of farmers and forest communities. To achieve our mission, we partner with diverse allies around the world to drive positive change across global supply chains and in many of our most critically important natural landscapes.

Our alliance spans 70 countries and includes farmers and forest communities, companies, governments, civil society, and millions of individuals. Together we work to protect forests and biodiversity, take action on climate, and promote the rights and improve the livelihoods of rural people.

As an international nonprofit organization with more than 30 years of experience in sustainability transformation, we understand that the social and economic well-being of rural communities is tightly connected to ecosystem health. This knowledge has shaped our rigorous programs to advance sustainable land-use and commodity production.

At the Rainforest Alliance we combat climate change, protect forests and biodiversity, promote human rights, and improve livelihoods. The enormity of the social and environmental challenges we are facing requires working together in a broad alliance. This is why we bring farmers, forest communities, companies, and consumers together to change the way the world produces, sources, and consumes.

WhyTo protect nature and improve lives it’s becoming increasingly urgent that we approach the way we use our land and produce food and other products in more sustainable ways. For this to succeed we need to fundamentally change the way that businesses operate and source, and the choices we all make as consumers.

HowOur growing global alliance aims to transform our relationship with our natural resources and each other, to create a better future for people and nature together.

The Rainforest Alliance encourages diversity and inclusion across the global organization. With this commitment to diversity, we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, ages, disability, and any other protected group.