Grants Compliance and Program Management Expert

Grants Compliance CHARLES KWENING, MBA

+1-240-***-**** 10300 ***********@*****.*** New Hampshire Ave Silver Spring, MD 20903

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

Principal Consultant, Program Management, Grants\Contracts, Compliance, Operations, and Financial Management helping organizations translate their Business Goals to Reality. Initiative-taking, organized, creative analytical person and experienced for challenging and critical roles. A visionary and dedicated operations, grants/contracts practitioner and executive in business management and finance with over 10 years in program management and operations in international corporate, humanitarian and development for multinational and the US Government and global multi-million-dollar grants partnership organizations.

SKILL

Federal Regulations: OMB A110, A-122, A-133, FAR, 22 CFR 228, 2 CFR 200

Grants/Contracts Management: Award Negotiation, Sub-grants & Compliance administration.

Finance & Accounting: Financial Reporting, Internal Controls Systems, Budgeting, Review final financial statements for management and external reporting.

Leadership /Strategic Management: Administration, Excellent Teamwork, Strategic Planning.

Accounting software: ACCPAC, Quick Books

Computer skills: Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Internet

RELEVANT WORK EXPERIENCE

Freelance Consultant, Grant, and Financial Management (Silver Spring, MD) January 2024 – Present

Continued to engage in consulting services on grants and contracts management, program management, finance management, and compliance regulations, and various donors & government requirements to non-profit organizations. While seeking full-time opportunities.

Consultant, Grant, and Financial Management January 2019

Kwening & Associates, Accra, Ghana

Donor Compliance Grant Management Financial Management Program Management Procurement

Serving at various governing boarding

Engaged in consulting services to non-profit organizations, SMEs, and corporate sector.

Facilitated with clients to oversee issues and offer solutions for ongoing challenges.

Mentored organizations improve compliance to various donors & government requirements.

Training organizations on USAID compliance regulations (FAR, 22 CFR 228, 2 CFR 200).

Graduate Business Lecturer (P/T), UDS, School of Business, Wa, UWR, Ghana. 2018 – Current

Lectured and mentored final year Procurement & Supply Chain Management graduate students.

Lecture courses in Procurement Management, Project Administration and Contract Management.

Guided and reviewed students thesis/project work and advised on career advancement.

Country Director, Literacy Bridge Ghana (LBG), Seattle WA (UWR, Ghana). 2017

Premier Country Director in Ghana led successful restructuring as an autonomous organization.

Orchestrated the transition rollout of an In-country management from direct Home Office.

Championed business development and innovative fundraising campaigns.

Negotiated US$ 5,000,000 projects funded by UNICEF and MEDA for two years.

Streamlined operational processes resulted in an annual cost saving of $20,000.

Drove strategic initiatives that reduced operating costs by 15% without compromising service quality and employee satisfaction.

Business Lecturer, Regent University College of Science & Technology, Accra. 2014

Taught Corporate Finance, Investment, Risk Management, and Non-profit Accounting.

Supervised final year student’s thesis and project work.

Finance Adviser (Consultant), DACAAR, Kabul, Afghanistan. 2013

Worked with the Country management to enhance the organization’s efficiency to avoid cost overrun.

Technical advice offered in finance, grants, and operational management and championed improvement, resulted in 25% reduction in program operational cost.

Authored anti-corruption policy, expat staff tax policy and delivered training workshop.

Consultant, Kwening & Associates Consulting, Alexandria, USA. 2011

Services Provided:

Donor Compliance Grant Management Financial Management Procurement Advisory Negotiation

Engaged in consulting services to non-profit organizations, SMEs, and corporate sector.

Helping Organizations improve compliance to various donor & government requirements.

Training organizations on USAID compliance regulations (FAR, 22 CFR 228, 2 CFR 200)

Director of Finance, Chemonics Int., Kandahar City, Kandahar, Afghanistan. 2010

Having Power of Attorney approval limit of $100,000 per transaction.

Managed USAID funding budget more than $100 million.

Supervised a functional finance team of eight, optimizing workflows and performance.

Streamlined accounting and finance processes, reducing monthly closing cycles by 2 days.

Oversaw preparation of timely and accurate financial reports in compliance with donor regulatory requirements.

Collaborated with country management and Home Office to streamline program implementation, especially in finance, operations, budgets, and grants management.

Pioneered innovative budgets processes to align with the strategic objectives.

secured 100% compliance that enhanced management to make well-informed decisions.

Director of Finance & Administration, IRD, Lashkar gal, Helmand, Afghanistan. 2010

Managed and provided strategic direction for a $150 million USAID funding portfolio.

Oversaw the preparation of timely and accurate financial reports.

Led the HR team in recruitment, training, performance evaluation, and staff development.

Implemented robust financial controls and cash management strategies, leading to an average positive cash flow and reduction in operational risks.

Developed and monitored program and pipeline budgets, expenditures, leading to efficient resources utilization to maximize program results.

Supervised finance, operations, human resource, and grants/contracts teams, optimizing workflows and performance leading to increase in team collaboration.

Built robust grant tracking database for an accurate and speedily monthly reconciliation.

Spearheaded grants management negotiations and communication with donors on budgets amendment, grant modifications, project extensions, and close-outs.

Principal Management Consultant, McDonnell-USA (GH) Ltd, Accra, Ghana. 2007

Steered the negotiation with the Balkan Energy team and government officials, resulted in a $40 million Power Purchasing Agreement.

Strategically steered the mobilization phase of the project; reduced operation cost by 25%.

Spearheaded weekly SMT status meetings to communicate project implementation updates.

Championed user feedback in engineering improvement, resulting in 25% cost reduction.

Grant Compliance Manager, UMCOR (Katrina Aid Today), Washington, DC. 2006

Managed $28 million of the total grant budget of $66 million from USG-FEMA.

Developed a system that monitored sub-recipient and affiliates performance and burn rate.

Developed robust grant tracking database led to accurate and speedy reconciliation.

Drove donors' communications on grants modifications, extensions, and close-outs.

Steered the negotiation of sub-award terms and conditions with potential sub-recipients.

Conducted OMB Circulars (A-110, A-122, & A-133) compliance workshops for sub-grantees and affiliates staff capacity, resulting in 100% compliance with regulatory requirements.

Roving Finance Controller, International Rescue Committee, New York, USA. 2005

Streamlined operational processes to enhance country projects and regulatory compliance.

Empowered country executives developed strategic planning and budgeting to align with goals and objectives.

Directed the Country Senior Management to boost regulatory compliance.

Designed grants and contracts tracking database, resulted in 100% monthly reconciliation.

Grants Finance Manager, UMCOR-HQ, New York, USA. 2003

Oversaw the Finance Directors across four countries, managing their workflows and monitoring performance.

Pioneered and coordinated the formulation of medium and long-term budgets’ strategies and financial forecasts with each country financial team.

Drove communication with donors on pipeline analysis, budgets amendment, grant modifications, project extensions, and close-outs.

Trained finance and program staff on regulatory requirements, which secured 100% compliance.

Spearheaded preparation of donor reports accurately and timely submission without delay.

Successfully organized monthly financial team meetings across three time zones.

Director of Finance & Operations, UMCOR, Baku, Azerbaijan. 1998

Doubles as Country Director (2000-2001).

Plan, manage, and monitor the budget to efficiently align resources with strategic goals.

Strategic managed $15 million multi-donor funding portfolio.

Coordinated with HR to ensure compliance with local labor laws and donor guidelines and foster a positive and inclusive workplace culture.

Redesigned robust internal control systems resulted in 100% regulatory compliance.

Oversaw the preparation of accurate financial reports in compliance with regulatory requirements.

Reviewed final financial statements for HQ management and external reporting.

Managed the audit process, with zero compliance issues identified for three consecutive years.

EDUCATIONAL

University of West London, UK. MBA in Finance & Strategic Management

Andrews University, USA. BBA in Accounting

CERTIFICATION

Certificate in Negotiation, Harvard Law School, Program of Negotiation, USA.

Certificate in USAID Rules & Regulations, APVOFM, USA.

DONOR EXPERIENCE

BPRM, DOS, FEMA, USAID, USDA, CIDA, DFID, EU/ECHO, UNCEF, UNHCR, World Bank

BOARD EXPERIENCE

Management Committee Member, University of Ghana, Legon, School of Continuing and Distance Education, Accra, Ghana, 2022-Current.

Board Member & Chair, Business Strategy & Marketing Sub-Committee; Administration & Finance Sub-Committee; Audit Sub-Committee, Ghana News Agency, Ghana, 2022-2024.

Board Member & Chair, Finance & Marketing Sub-Committee, Member of Project Sub-Committee, Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, Accra, Ghana, 2020-2022.

OTHER RELEVANT TRAINING

USAID & EU/ECHO Rules & Regulations IRC Finance Management Seminar, 2006

Financial Management for NGOs Grants & Finance Training Consultant, 2004

Financial Management for NGOs UMCOR Finance Directors' Workshop, 2002

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