jkoonyango@gmail.com

About me

Kennedy Onyango Odhiambo
P.O. Box 17308–00100, Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: +254 722 327403 / +254 722 129252
Email: jkoonyango@gmail.com

Date: October 4, 2025

Recruitment Manager
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) – Kenya
Nairobi, Kenya

Re: Application for Grants & Compliance Manager – Thabat Enhancing Community Resilience Project

Dear Hiring Manager,

I am excited to apply for the Grants & Compliance Manager position with CRS under the World Bank–funded Thabat Enhancing Community Resilience Project. With 18 years of progressive experience in grants management, compliance, and donor reporting across Africa, I bring a strong record of leading full-cycle award management, sub-granting, risk reviews, and compliance systems for projects funded by World Bank, FCDO, SIDA, USAID/DFID, DGIS, and private foundations.

In my most recent role as Funds Management Associate on the FCDO-funded RISA Programme (Chemonics International), I oversaw a $8.42M (£6.61M) milestone-based portfolio for 33 partners in six countries (Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa). I managed due diligence, sub-award drafting, amendments, disbursements, reconciliations, reporting, and closeout, while strengthening compliance systems and ensuring audit readiness. My tools and templates improved reporting timeliness and accuracy by 30%+, and I supported three external audits with no major findings.

At ForumCiv (SIDA/Swedish MFA), I managed SEK 23.66M (~$2.8M) to 35 CSOs across Eastern and Southern Africa, ensuring strict compliance, timely submissions, and capacity support. Previously at International Fertilizer Development Centre (IFDC–2SCALE, DGIS), I managed agribusiness grants in six countries, including due diligence, MoUs, financial reviews, monitoring, and audit coordination. I began at AMREF (Maanisha – SIDA/DFID), supporting 125 grassroots grants on HIV/AIDS and child protection.

Aligned with the CRS Grants & Compliance Manager profile, I bring:

• Grants Management & Compliance: End-to-end award cycle expertise (pre-award assessments, sub-granting, compliance reviews, amendments, closeout) with deep familiarity with World Bank, FCDO, SIDA, USAID, and DGIS frameworks.

• Reporting & Tracking: Established central reporting systems that ensured timely, accurate financial and programmatic reporting; strengthened partner documentation for audit readiness.

• Sub-Granting & Partner Oversight: Designed and managed RFAs, led due diligence, and conducted compliance monitoring visits; delivered training on reporting, safeguarding, and financial accountability.

• Capacity Building: Strong experience training partners, CSOs, and project teams on compliance, risk management, safeguarding, and donor regulations.

• Risk & Audit Management: Successfully coordinated donor audits and implemented risk mitigation systems that strengthened transparency and accountability.

• System Proficiency: Skilled in MS Office Suite, SharePoint, Google Workspace, and grants/finance management systems; adaptable to World Bank reporting platforms (STEP, Client Connection).

I am inspired by CRS’s mission and its commitment to resilience and accountability in fragile contexts. My combination of compliance oversight, sub-granting expertise, and a proven track record of strengthening systems across multi-country programs makes me well-suited to support CRS’s Thabat project in Kenya and Sudan.

I am available immediately and would be honored to contribute my expertise to advancing CRS’s work.

Thank you for considering my application. I look forward to the opportunity to discuss how I can support CRS in ensuring compliant, transparent, and impactful grant delivery.

Sincerely,
Kennedy Onyango Odhiambo