Senior Grants Manager, Food Policy Program

Are you seeking an opportunity to bring your professional expertise to a global organization focused on re-imagining public health?

Vital Strategies, headquartered in New York City, is an international public health organization. Our programs strengthen public health systems and address the world’s leading causes of illness, injury, and death. We currently work in 73 countries, supporting data-driven decision-making in government, advancing evidence-based public health policies, and mounting strategic communication campaigns. Vital Strategies’ priorities are driven by the greatest potential to improve and save lives. They include non-communicable disease prevention, tobacco control, road safety, overdose prevention, obesity prevention, , environmental health, vital statistics systems building, and multi-drug resistant tuberculosis treatment research. Our programs are concentrated in low- and middle-income countries and cities in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Pacific. Please visit our website at www.vitalstrategies.org to find out more about our work.

We believe our programs are strengthened when they are developed and supported by individuals with diverse life experiences, whose understanding of social and cultural issues can help make our work and workforce more inclusive. We encourage people of all racial, economic, social, cultural, sexual orientation, and gender expressions to apply. As such, our commitment is to promote equal employment opportunities (EEO) for all applicants seeking employment. People of color, women, LGBTQI+ people, people with disabilities, people who use drugs or are in recovery, and formerly incarcerated people are encouraged to apply.

Read about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Vital Strategies: https://www.vitalstrategies.org/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-at-vital-strategies.

Vital Strategies is committed to helping prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to protecting the safety of our employees. All U.S. employees will be required to be fully vaccinated unless the employee is approved for a reasonable accommodation due to a disability or a religious reason.

About the Position:

The Senior Grants Manager, Food Policy Program is responsible for all financial and compliance aspects—including new, renewal and extension grants, for the organization’s global Food Policy Program. Grants are issued to non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society groups, universities, and agencies and include technical and programmatic support and assistance from Vital Strategies. Food Policy Program Grantees are currently based in Barbados, Brazil, Colombia, Jamaica and South Africa.

Working closely with programs, legal, finance, HR and other key partners, the Senior Grants Manager will provide effective and efficient grants management throughout the grant lifecycle by maintaining compliance with organizational regulations and requirements; ensuring grant timelines are met; monitoring grantee financial compliance; and providing budgetary feedback to grantees. The position requires regular communication with Vitals’ program and operations staff and grantees, and close coordination of grantee activities with the overall strategic plan and the Program objectives.

This is a full-time position based out of our New York City office location, where a hybrid office schedule is in place (at least two days per week in the office). We offer highly competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits. The salary range for this position is $100,000-$115,000USD. The candidate must have eligibility to work in the U.S. at time of hire

Duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Grants Management - 

• Manage financial aspects of grant negotiations and submission processes and serve as the point person for new and renewal grants, in addition to grant extensions.
• Lead in drafting sub-grant agreements and modifications, memos, and guidance documents, acting as a finance and compliance resource to staff, vendors, and consultants on issues pertaining to sub-grants. 
• Provide ongoing grant monitoring and financial support to program team and grantees to ensure consistent progress, grant processing, and reporting.
• Provide accurate, timely grants summary and analysis reports, responses to inquiries, and grant histories according to reporting schedules and upon request.
• Maintenance of master data as it relates to sub-grants and regular maintenance of electronic sub-grant files Grant Management
• Identify and organize appropriate financial grant management technical assistance and budget training for grantees.
• Conduct grantee site visits to provide grant management and reporting guidance, in addition to monitoring for financial compliance.

Compliance and Financial Management - 

• Maintain internal controls to ensure compliance with all 501(c)(4) requirements are being adhered to.
• Prepare program financial reports and analysis.
• Partner with in-house counsel to ensure all sub-grant agreement templates and letters of commitment are current with respect to 501(c)(4) and donor compliance requirements.
• Manage day-to-day processing of payments for the Program, ensuring 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) expenses are being correctly recorded and reported.
• Ensure purchase orders are created in NetSuite and all invoices are paid against supporting documents and purchase orders, including price quotes, and other requirements.
• Work closely with Finance for all federal reporting requirements related to 501 (C)(4) spending.
• Perform other duties as requested.

Qualifications:

Education and Degree - 

• At least eight (8) years of related experience working in an international grant-making organization or working on public interest or health advocacy campaigns
• Bachelor’s degree in finance or accounting with an international focus is preferred; or equivalent work-related experience.

Skills and Abilities - 

• Experience working with international grant programs and financial management, especially in public health programs.
• Proven knowledge of international accounting and financial reviewing/auditing standards.
• Demonstrated experience with budgeting and finance.
• Demonstrated experience with drafting contracts, memos and
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment while juggling and coordinating multiple projects and deadlines.
• Demonstrated attention to detail.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Experience working with 501(c)(4) organization is preferred.
• Knowledge of languages other than English, Spanish preferred.
• Excellent computer literacy, particularly in Microsoft Excel and accounting systems, is required.
• Appreciation of and sensitivity to diverse populations and cultures.
• Self-starter with the ability to work independently and in cross-functional teams.

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements:

• Ability to travel internationally 20% of time.