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 effectiv