Grants Manager

Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is an international, independent medical humanitarian organisation that delivers emergency aid to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters or exclusion from healthcare. MSF’s actions are guided by medical ethics and the principles of impartiality, independence, and neutrality.

Duty station: Lae, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea

Duration: 12 months, Tentative Starting Date: September 2026

Line manager: Cancer Initiative Coordinator

Functional manager: Project Finance Coordinator at HQ

Job purpose

Under the supervision of the Cancer Initiative Coordinator, and in collaboration with MoPHA, the Technical Working Group, MSF technical and finance teams, and external partners, the Grants Officer leads the resource mobilization function of the Morobe Cancer Initiative. The incumbent is responsible for the full grant cycle, from the identification and analysis of funding opportunities, through proposal development, to grant management and donor reporting, and establishes the systems and tools that enable national institutions to engage with institutional donors to international standards. The assignment is structured in two phases: an initial development phase focused on donor analysis, systems, and a pipeline of fundable projects, followed by an engagement phase focused on converting that pipeline into secured grants and sustained relationships.

Reporting and working relationships

The Grants Officer reports to and works under the direction of the Cancer Initiative Coordinator, who provides line management and sets the technical and strategic priorities against which funding is mobilized. Functional management on grants and finance matters is provided by the OCP Project Finance Manager of Morobe project.

As the initiative is developed live and continues to evolve, the position is strategic rather than a discrete support function and depends on a close, cooperative partnership with the Cancer Initiative Coordinator, with whom the incumbent works in continuous co-development of the funding strategy. The Coordinator leads engagement with senior political and institutional counterparts, while the Grants Officer owns the initiative's operational and working-level donor relationships. Both tiers serve a single, shared strategy.

Duties and responsibilities

1. Funding environment and donor intelligence

• Conduct and continuously update donor mapping and analysis across the initiative's priority areas, maintaining a living picture that evolves with its changing technical priorities, from screening and diagnosis to treatment, supplies, and infrastructure.

• Identify and analyze calls for proposals and funding opportunities from bilateral, multilateral, foundation, and private donors, and maintain a centralized database aligned with the initiative's priorities.

• Maintain funder intelligence, drawing on MSF regional and APAC networks and established relationships to understand donor priorities, decision-making, and engagement pathways.

2. Proposal and grant development

• Translate the initiative's technical priorities into well-structured, competitive proposals and concept notes, in coordination with MoPHA, the Technical Working Group, and MSF technical and finance teams, so that partner institutions own and can implement them.

• Lead the preparation of proposals, concept notes, logical frameworks, budgets, and annexes, ensuring alignment with donor requirements and managing submission timelines.

• Develop cost and cost-effectiveness evidence that strengthens applications and informs MoPHA's budget planning, and ensure proposals align with the initiative's monitoring and evaluation (MEAL) framework.

3. Grant management and reporting

• Develop and standardize narrative and financial reporting tools and templates that meet donor requirements and can be adopted by national institutions.

• Manage donor reporting obligations, preparing progress and final reports to the required standard and deadlines, and maintain complete, transferable grant documentation.

4. Donor engagement

• Own and manage the initiative's operational and working-level donor relationships through timely, professional communication and follow-up.

• Prepare the Cancer Initiative Coordinator for high-level donor engagement, including briefing notes, talking points, and supporting documentation, and follow up to convert engagements into funding.

• Coordinate donor visits and meetings, including field visits by donors to observe the initiative, and develop donor-facing communication materials to support resource mobilization.

5. Local capacity and sustainability

• Support the institutions that hold grants on behalf of the initiative, including MoPHA and the Cancer Relief Society, to receive, administer, and account for funds, strengthening their compliance and administrative capacity.

• Build the grant development, management, and reporting capacity of national counterparts, working toward the transfer of the function to local staff over time.

Key deliverables

• A maintained donor mapping and funder intelligence database, and a prioritized funding pipeline aligned with the initiative's priorities.

• Standardized proposal, budget, and reporting templates for use by the initiative and its partner institutions.

• High-quality proposals and concept notes submitted, and timely, compliant donor reports.

• Cost and cost-effectiveness evidence supporting priority applications and MoPHA budget planning.

• Strengthened grant-holding and reporting capacity within national institutions, including a local counterpart engaged in the function.

Qualifications and experience

Education

• University degree in international development, public health, public administration, business administration, communications, or a related field. An equivalent combination of qualifications and professional experience may also be considered.

Experience

• A minimum of three years of relevant professional experience in grant development or resource mobilization.

• Demonstrated experience developing and submitting proposals to institutional or government donors, including logical frameworks, budgets, and reports.

• Experience engaging institutional donors relevant to the region (e.g. KOICA, JICA, EU, DFAT, foundations, privates or UN agencies) is highly desirable.

• Experience in the health sector is highly desirable, and experience in health system strengthening is a distinct advantage.

Skills and competencies

• Excellent research, analytical, and persuasive writing skills, with the ability to synthesize technical information into compelling proposals.

• Strong command of logical frameworks, indicators, and results-based reporting, with attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple deadlines independently.

• Sound interpersonal and relationship-management skills, with cultural sensitivity and the ability to work within a Papua New Guinea-led partnership.

• Ability to work in a complex, evolving, resource-constrained environment, and willingness to travel within Papua New Guinea and regionally as required.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).

Languages

• Fluency in English, written and spoken, is required.