Senior Grants Manager

Position Summary

Innovations for Poverty Action, an international non-profit, seeks a qualified applicant for the position of Senior Grants Manager to serve as a focal point of contact for information and guidance on grants and contracts, maintain quality oversight of a portfolio of awards within Innovations for Poverty Action’s programs, and act as a direct supervisor to one or more Grants Officers. 

This position will work closely with in-country and Project Teams and members of Grants, Global Finance, Grants Financial Management, IT, and Legal Teams to review, negotiate, and accept incoming awards, ensure compliance with award terms and conditions, and IPA policies and procedures, act as a subject matter expert in award administration operations that emphasize assessment and mitigation of risk, compliance with USG regulations (FAR, 2CFR200, 2CFR700, ADS) and institutional grant-related policies and procedures. Exercise sound judgement in independently interpreting and adapting policies and regulations for application to specific grant awards as well as develop solutions to substantive challenges affecting the effectiveness and efficiency of the grant agreement process. The Senior Grants Manager enables IPA to discover and promote effective solutions to global poverty by managing a portfolio of private and public grants and contracts within an assigned geographic region (East Africa, West Africa, Asia and/or Latin America) and/or thematic sector.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide cradle to grave administration of prime and sub-awards, as assigned
• Responsible for the negotiation and administration of prime and sub-award instruments (including cooperative agreements, grants, contracts, etc.)
• Ensure donor compliance and successful implementation for an assigned portfolio of awards from opportunity to closeout and will be accountable for meeting award management targets and metrics for the assigned portfolio, ensuring timely administration and effective flow of information and resources to IPA via our award management and financial systems (Salesforce)
• Coordinate with relevant stakeholders, particularly technical, financial, procurement and fundraising staff, as well as country office and thematic sector colleagues, and will actively support new business development efforts for the department inclusive of cost proposals for high-risk donors. 
• Serve as primary point of contact on assigned portfolio with donors, Country Offices and stakeholders.
• Manage any escalated issues from relevant stakeholders. Exercise independent judgement; when necessary, escalate further to senior management. 
• Review draft agreement documents and negotiate donor terms and conditions in coordination with program team, Country Office, and Grants and Contracts staff.
• Supervise the successful award/project start-up of the assigned portfolio of awards in collaboration with Country Office and Program staff
• Oversee the development and management of sub-award/sub-contract agreements in collaboration with country offices, sector programs, and Legal teams.
• Serve as the primary liaison with donors for awards within assigned portfolio
• Conduct, participate, and/or design training on grants-related topics for IPA staff as requested
• Oversee the cradle to grave management of sub-awards and sub-contracts including the review and advertisement of the solicitation document, coordinate the evaluation of proposals/applications, prepare evaluation reports, lead the negotiations, conduct due diligence of applicants, draft the sub-award/contract agreement, modifications, record keeping, and close-out.
• Support the business development team and country offices on proposal and budget preparation as requested, particularly for those involving USG Federal funds
• Judiciously escalate to their manager any projected inabilities to meet contractual obligations and proactively mitigate risks through regular review of grant portfolios and readiness to propose remedial solutions
• Provide technical quality control of assigned staff work
• Coordinate preparation and submission of award agreement deliverables per donor requirements

Education and Work Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in relevant field, particularly Business Administration, Finance, Accounting.
• 10 years of professional work experience including prior Grants Management, and/or Contract Administration experience
• Demonstrated success working across the full cycle of award management and implementation (cradle to grave)
• Proven ability to communicate effectively and work with non-grants professionals, to help them understand award management processes and procedures
• Proven track record administering awards from USG Federal agencies (e.g. USAID, USDOS, NIH), International institutions (e.g. FCDO, European Union, Agence Française de Developpement), and other private donors (e.g. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Jacob Foundation, LEGGO Foundation, MIT, Yale), and higher education institutions
• Demonstrated capacity to handle a portfolio of awards ranging in size and volume 
• Prior experience managing, training and mentoring staff, including direct reports
• Ability to build and foster strong relationships with internal/external clients at all levels of the hierarchy within the organization
• Experience in the support of international development programs in Africa, Asia or Latin America preferred
• Advanced computer proficiency, particularly in MS WORD, Excel, PowerPoint. Familiarity with Salesforce, Box and Google or similar applications and software, are an added advantage
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced and changing environment and to handle multiple tasks and demands, and establish priorities, while providing exemplary customer service
• Attention to details, analytical skills with an ability to effectively liaise across multiple departments, countries, and time zones.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment and make decisions independently
• Excellent oral and verbal communications skills in English; Fluency in French or Spanish would be an added advantage

Application Instructions:
Interested candidates are invited to submit their resume along with their application. The selection process includes three rounds of interviews and a written/case exercise.

Reports To:
Senior Director, Grants and Contracts

Desired Start Date:
As soon as possible

Compensation:
IPA's compensation structure is designed based on the labor market for the specific geographic location where the employee is located. As an example, here's what the compensation would look like in the US:
Senior Manager is classified as C-3 on IPA's global job structure. For US-based employees, the starting annual gross salary for a Senior Manager is USD $80,000 with a maximum of USD $120,000. 
The salary for locations outside of the US will vary depending on IPA's salary scale ranges for that specific location. The aforementioned salary range is only for employees located within the US and is not equal to the conversion of local currency. Actual base salary may vary based upon, but not limited to, relevant experience, base salary of internal peers, business sector, and geographic location.

Location: 
This position is open to remote candidates anywhere within the U.S. where our IPA offices are located or registered (AZ, CT, FL, GA, MA, MD, MN, NC, NJ, PA, TX, VA, WA, WV)

Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) is a research and policy nonprofit that discovers and promotes effective solutions to global poverty problems. IPA brings together researchers and decision-makers to design, rigorously evaluate, and refine these solutions and their applications, ensuring that the evidence created is used to improve the lives of the world’s poor. In recent decades, trillions of dollars have been spent on programs designed to reduce global poverty, but clear evidence of which programs succeed is rare, and when evidence does exist, decision-makers often do not know about it. IPA exists to bring together leading researchers and these decision-makers to ensure that the evidence we create leads to a tangible impact on the world. Since its founding in 2002, IPA has worked with over 600 leading academics to conduct over 900 evaluations in 52 countries. This research has informed hundreds of successful programs that now impact millions of individuals worldwide. 

IPA's Commitment to Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) 

As an organization, IPA is dedicated to improving the lives of the world's most vulnerable populations through evidence and policy. We also recognize how important it is for our staff to reflect the diversity of the places where we work and the communities we work with. As such, IPA is committed to hiring from a diverse pool of candidates, from a range of backgrounds, beliefs, experiences, and perspectives. We know that this makes our work stronger and more responsive to the challenges faced by those we work with and for and we encourage people from historically underrepresented groups to apply. Click here to learn more about IPA’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Innovations for Poverty Action is an affirmative action-equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other protected class. IPA will endeavor to make a reasonable accommodation to a qualified applicant with a disability unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of our business. If you believe you require such assistance to complete this form or to participate in an interview, please contact us at jobs@poverty-action.org or via phone at 1-202-386-6200. The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of the work to be performed by the specified position. The statements are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all possible duties, tasks, and responsibilities. Management reserves the right to amend and change responsibilities to meet organizational needs as necessary. Please note that IPA will never request any form of payment from an applicant. Applicants are encouraged to confirm the information listed above with IPA prior to releasing any extensive personal information to the organization. Please direct questions to jobs@poverty-action.org. Please note that only qualified applicants will be contacted by the hiring manager.