Charlene Nel

Strategic Leadership & Governance

Self-motivated, with a strong sense of personal responsibility.

• Develop and implement the grants strategy in alignment with ACF’s overall vision.
• Represent the grants function at senior management team (SMT) meetings.
• Prepare and present board reports on grants performance and compliance.
• Ensure alignment between grant-making processes and programmatic objectives
• Proposed and currently chair the SMT in-depth bi-weekly meetings
• Actively driving strategic discussions and organisational alignment (Delegation of Authority (DOA), Grants Committees, Grants admin support in alignment with Programme needs/strategy.)
• Holding some fiscal hosted partnership relationships.

Grants Management System: Systems & Process Improvement:

• Led the organisation-wide implementation of the GivingData (GD) grants management system, overseeing its development since 2022 and coordinating across multiple departments (Finance, Programs, Grants, Fundraising, Communications, and MEL).
• Managed a complex system build to enhance grant operations, streamline workflows, and improve cross-departmental collaboration.
• Executed a successful soft launch (March 2025), gathering stakeholder feedback and refining processes in preparation for the full system launch in June 2025.
• Currently leading system adoption and change management efforts, including training, troubleshooting, and ongoing user support to ensure seamless integration.
• Developing governance frameworks to standardise grants management processes and enhance operational efficiency.

Grants Portfolio Oversight

• Provide final oversight on all grants, ensuring due diligence, risk management, and compliance.
• Oversee approval of complex grants, multi-year funding, and strategic partnerships.
• Maintain relationships with key stakeholders, and grantees at the leadership level.

Financial & Compliance Oversight

• Ensure all outgoing grants and consultancies comply with legal, financial, and programmatic requirements.
• Work closely with finance and legal council to mitigate risks and resolve compliance issues.
• Support funder compliance, overseeing outgoing grants are aligned with incoming grants and donor reporting.

• Team Leadership & Development
• Supervise and provide leadership to the Grants Manager, Grants Specialist and Grant Administrators.
• Drive capacity building within the grants team and the broader organisation.
• Lead policy development and improvement of grants processes.
• Responsible for training all new programme staff
• Provide high-level grants overview for all other new staff
• Ensuring comprehensive onboarding and knowledge transfer across the organisation

• Compliance & Risk Management
• Develop and oversee grant policies, ensuring adherence to donor and legal requirements.
• Conduct and review annual due diligence assessments of grantees.
• Manage risk escalation and provide solutions for complex grant issues.

Strategy:

• Implementation of the ACF Programme
• Oversight of grantees that deliver the ACF strategy

Grants Administration:

• Design and optimization of grants cycle and systems - workflow, design of application and reporting templates
• Develop, maintain, and ensure proper grants management procedures are in place and consistently followed, including but not limited to due diligence procedures, grant reporting, award letters, grant agreements, and procedures to ensure availability of funds
• Managing timelines and deliverables
• Streamlined application reviews for faster decision-making, leading to higher volume of processed grants.
• Research suitable grants management systems (e.g Fluxx, GivingData, etc.)
• Contribute towards funder and board reports
• Work closely with Finance with regards to release of payments, work within the annual budget
• Working closely with Finance and Programmes to prepare and monitor budgets for funders
• Knowledge of auditing policies

Funder Relations:

• Lead the team in providing superior customer service to donors
• Be the primary contact for donor and partner relations
• Responsible for final review and submission of funder reports
• Act as Project Manager for special projects/organisations where ACF is a fiscal host

• Develop a strategy for the Grant Support Unit (GSU), aligned to the overall OSF-SA strategy, to support the Programme and Research Unit achieve the overall OSF-SA goals in terms of grant making
• Contribute to the development of the broader OSF-SA strategy
• Prepare and present GSU Reports at the Board meetings
• Developing, creating, and seeking out new and better ways to meet and exceed high performance of the GSU
• Managing the workflow and effectiveness of the grant administration process and staff, including grant program launches, evaluation of grant applications, contracting and administration of projects once contracted
• Striving to make the grant administration processes as efficient and effective as possible
• Conduct pre-award due diligence to ensure that grants are consistent with statutory requirements and foundation policies
• Reporting statistics on the grant administration process to internal and external constituents
• Managing the web-based grant submission process (coordinating program launches, processing grant applications, ensuring applications meet application standards, ensuring all data has been appropriately inputted and linked in the database)
• Working with Associate Directors to obtain required contracting information and generating contracts
• Working with Accounting to manage the processing and tracking of Grants and Grant payments
• Communicate altered timeframes, milestones, and payment schedules to appropriate staff (eg
• Finance)
• Develop and oversee standard terms and conditions for grant agreements and formal correspondence, in conjunction with the ED and broader OSF organisation
• Assure integrity of data in the grant making system and provide reporting and analysis
• Ensure the preparation and issuing of grant agreements, payments and modifications is compliant
• Monitor grantee reporting requirements and evaluate grantee narrative and financial reports to ensure administrative and legal compliance
• Assist the auditors in accessing information regarding approved grants
• Ensure letters are sent to all grantees informing them when a transfer of funds has taken place and requesting proof of payment
• Monitor the receipt of audited statements from grantees
• Provide a monthly report to the Financial Manager on Grant payments expected, taking into account all factors which delay payments
• Set the tone for a professional, responsive and problem-solving oriented grant administration team
• Ensure the unit has the necessary human resources and they are structured correctly to achieve its objectives
• Ensure roles and responsibilities within the unit are clearly defined
• Ensure employees have the necessary information and resources to meet their work objectives
• Ensure performance is managed in line with policy
• Ensure the work climate in the unit facilitates a motivated team and high levels of performance
• Ensure the effective induction of new employees; ensure staff are trained in work procedures
• Train and orient staff on legal, business and system requirements for grant processing from receipt of an application through grant closeout
• Ensure appropriate development initiatives are planned for staff

• Manages Talent performance (Managed 7 people)
• Conducts interviews for team vacancies
• Talent Management - the training and development of direct reports
• Selects assigns and leads/manages Talent
• Plan and allocate Programme team resources against planned events and activities for programme delivery, selection and content development
• Develops and defines programme objectives
• Sets performance standard criteria for each project
• Provides overall guidance and direction to each project
• Oversees logistics and prioritises Candidate Fellow availability against academic engagement
• Develops and manages an annual programme calendar
• Ensures that a platform is created whereby Candidate Fellows (CF) extract the highest level of personal benefit from the programme
• Monitors CFs' academic results as flagged by Personal Leadership Programme Officers
• Recommends proactive and remedial action on gaps in academic results
• Evaluates quarterly entrepreneurial, personal leadership and academic reports
• Monitors the level of engagement of Candidate Fellows
• Monitors and controls the project at a tactical level
• Arranges and leads team progress meetings
• Monitors progress of projects against overall programme plan and emerging current trends
• Ensures that project status reports, meeting minutes and issues log are distributed to key stakeholders
• Ensures that financial forecasts for the programme are developed and maintained
• Manages costs against approved budget (Approximately R5million)
• Forecasts annual capital & operational expenses in line with programme objectives
• Investigates methods to reduce/contain costs
• Do and update budgets on IDU Financial systems
• Collates and analyses relevant information and compiles quarterly and annual reports
• Compiles and submits reports for the Function Forum and other stakeholders
• Makes contribution to Board Reports
• Formalises recommendations for Fellowship renewal each year
• Compiles report for each Candidate Fellow on a bi-annual basis

• Assume primary responsibility for the effective functioning and integrity of the database
• Manage the Bursary and Loan Administration: Ensure the effective administration of the National Skills Fund and NSFAS partnerships
• Co-ordinate donor reporting
• Oversee the effective and efficient set up of new REAP regional offices
• Supervise and train Cape Town based administrative staff
• Assist the Director as required with logistics and event planning
• Develop manuals, training, and induction programmes for Student Development Advisors
• Office management & general administration (2 staff members reporting to me)
• Coordination of all project-related operations and logistics

• Assume primary responsibility for the effective delivery of the REAP programme in the Western & Eastern Capes and KZN
• Development and monitoring of quarterly plans for programme implementation
• Management agenda and implementation of regular forum meetings
• Oversight of Eastern Cape field trips
• Overseeing establishment of face-to-face support model for Western Cape
• Co-ordination of mentorship programme
• Co-ordination of community service programme, reports, and analysis
• Co-ordination of donor feedback & production of summary report
• Coordination of SDA reports and production of summary report
• Manage the regional budget including the authorisation of unusual access expenditure (in liaison with director/finance manager)
• Oversee administrations of National Skills Fund and NSFAS loan applications
• Recommend SDA programme improvements to MANCOMM
• Supervise Student Development Advisors (SDAs)
• Line management of all SDA's in the regions, including granting of leave requests, performance reviews and recommendations to Director regarding salary adjustments
• Developing and monitoring work plans for each SDA
• Report to Director on performance of SDA's
• Provide any necessary additional programme training for SDA's
• Induct and train all new SDA's
• Make recommendations to MANCOMM for the professional development of SDA's

• Programme management, Programme design, development and implementation
• Strategic Planning of the REAP Programme
• Monitoring & Reporting
• Database Management
• Donor Reporting and Relations
• Networking and Stakeholder liaison in the Higher Education sector
• Financial Management

• Channeling student enquiries
• Academic advising - Counselling students on their subject choices
• Co-ordinating postgraduate applications
• Administration of all postgraduate admissions and registration
• Registration of undergraduate students
• Maintaining postgraduate database
• Liaising with academic as well as non-academic staff

• General administration
• Diary Management for 2 grants coordinators and grants manager
• Co-ordinate and responsible for travel and accommodation arrangements
• Screening of proposals and channeling it to the various grant coordinators
• Processing of applications for funding on database
• Maintaining and updating database of beneficiaries / organisations
• Generating reports
• Compiling grant agreements
• Liaising with Trustees, CEO's, Directors, Fundraisers of various institutions
• Compilation of meeting books / documentation for Board meetings
• Occasional site visits to beneficiaries
• Write reports on site visits done
• Screening of funding proposals
• Compiling summaries of all funding proposals so that it can be presented at a review meeting
• Assessing completed application forms, ensuring all required documentation and information is provided
• Do the necessary follow-up work
• Follow-up on reports from beneficiaries, requesting additional information if necessary

• Responsible for school liaison, homework supervision, supervision of meals and administration of medication to residents
• Resolutions of conflict between residents and disciplinary matters relating to young people in the Home's care
• Co-ordinating daily routines, planning and monitoring leisure activities
• Maintaining cordial and ongoing contact with families and friends of young people in order to promote reintegration
• I worked with 15 teenage girls who have been placed with us through the courts
• They were removed from home due to abuse, abandonment or neglect
• Skills needed: Working with these young people requires you to be compassionate, understanding, patient, sensitive, assertive, be a good listener, be loving and affectionate as needed