Papua New Guinea (PNG) Morobe Grant Manager M/W

MISSION

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international medical humanitarian organization, founded in 1971, that provides assistance to populations whose lives or health are at risk. MSF has worked in Papua New Guinea since 1993 and, since 2024, has run two projects in the country, including one in Morobe Province dedicated to strengthening the cancer care continuum. That project operates through the Morobe Cancer Initiative (MCI), a long-term health system strengthening partnership between the Morobe Provincial Health Authority (MoPHA), the National Department of Health (NDoH), and MSF, established under a Memorandum of Understanding. Governed by a Papua New Guinea-led Technical Working Group and owned by MoPHA as the lead institution, the initiative works across the continuum of care for cervical, breast, and oral cancers, with MSF providing technical coordination and partner engagement over a defined period. All interventions are designed to be sustainable within the provincial health system, with the objective of full national ownership beyond the duration of MSF's involvement.

As the initiative moves from design into implementation, securing external financing has become central to its strategy. Consistent with its commitment to local ownership and sustainability, the initiative does not mobilize funds for MSF-implemented activities. Instead, it supports Papua New Guinean institutions to access, administer, and account for grants directed to projects they lead and will continue to deliver. In this model MSF is not the recipient of funds; grants are held by national institutions, and the Grants Officer supports them to do so. The role is central to operationalizing this approach.

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.