Country: United States of America
Closing date: 24 Nov 2017
The Senior Contracts & Grants Manager will lead/manage a Regional Support Team (RST) and manage all phases of work involved in the selection of acquisition and assistance awards (both contracts and grants) with the US government, other bilateral and multilateral donors such as DFID and CIDA, the UN, European Union, multilateral development banks, as well as foundations and private sector donors. The Senior Contracts & Grants Manager will build and manage a strong team of professionals to support one or more of IFES’ regional programmatic areas and its regional field offices and sites.Job Responsibilities:
- Manage the daily operations of the RST including direct supervision and development of staff assigned to the RST.
- Serve as the RST’s main point of contact for information/guidance on contracts and grants.
- In consultation with the Chief Financial Officer, provide guidance in the interpretation of award terms and conditions, and USG and non-USG regulations.
- Ensure compliance with Region award terms and conditions.
- Coordinate with the Business Development team as well as the Regional program and finance staffs in formulating and negotiating strong, competitive and compliant proposals and final awards/grants.
- Coordinate with the Finance division on a variety of common issues.
- Track changes to, and provide interpretations of, USG and relevant non-USG regulations as they pertain to IFES’ programs.
- Establish and maintain positive working relationships with donors and IFES staff.
- Ensure compliance with C&G and IFES operational procedures and policies for contracts/grants management.
- Establish and maintain communications with prime and subcontractors to ensure the smooth working of the contract awarding process.
- Liaise with donors, NGOs/PVOs and advocacy groups.
- Advise Regional IFES staff on matters related to preparation and administration of subawards of all types.
- Support activities of Finance staff in the areas of fiscal management, audit, and financial reporting for IFES’ awards.
- Ensure the timely processing of all closeouts.
- Participate in development/proposal meetings.
- Other duties as assigned.
POSITION SCOPE: Lead/manage a Regional Support Team (RST) and manage all phases of work involved in the selection of acquisition and assistance awards. Manages and/or performs highly technical or complex work, requiring ingenuity and capacity to evaluate and respond to new and changing issues. Demonstrate insight, judgment and initiative to resolve unusual challenges. Performance and outcomes are subject to senior management oversight.
DECISION MAKING/PROBLEM SOLVING:** Identify risk factors with potential to disrupt achievement of operational goals. Consult with internal and external stakeholders to identify, propose and build consensus around best solutions. Leads implementation after approval. Complex decision-making subject to management review.
FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY:** Lead in formulating and negotiating strong, competitive and compliant proposals and final awards/grants. Manage processes that ensure compliance with budgeted expenses. Conduct detailed review and evaluation of budget and pricing submissions with Program teams. Authority to approve expenses, subject to established controls and procedures.
RELATIONSHIPS:** Collaborate with internal and external partners in planning, implementing and evaluating results. Manages activities with internal and/or external partners to integrate efforts toward departmental objectives. Partnerships require a high degree of diplomacy and judgment. Manage and provide guidance to a team of C&G employees. Maintains effective working relationship with members of other departments, vendors, partners, subcontractors and donors.
SUPERVISION EXERCISED:** Supervise a team of entry level and professional level staff. Manage, coordinate and monitor activities of others to assure goals are met. Qualifications:
Education: Bachelor’s degree in Business, International Relations, Finance or related discipline; Master’s degree preferred.
Experience: Minimum of 10 years of experience in international development with an NGO and/or for-profit in the development sector. Minimum of 10 years of experience with the administration of USG and non-USG contracting and grant making, procedures, regulations and policies required. Experience with USAID, Department of State, and other international development donors highly desirable. Experience with both headquarters and field offices.
Related Skills or Knowledge: Proficiency with Microsoft Office and Excel required. Deltek Costpoint experience preferred. Proven organizational skills and capacity to handle multiple tasks under tight deadlines. Excellent analytical, written and verbal communication skills. Team player with excellent interpersonal skills. Experience supervising a team. Excellent negotiating skills.
LANGUAGE SKILLS: English required. Proficiency in other language(s) preferred.
TRAVEL: Travel may be required.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS/WORK ENVIRONMENT:**
Standard office work environment. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.
How to apply:
To Apply:
You must go to www.ifes.org to the Careers section and apply online. Applications are only accepted in this way. Make sure you upload all papers together (ie. cover letter and application, etc.). Resumes are only reviewed and accepted if submitted through our careers page.