Grants Associate

Position description

Open Society Foundations aim to establish vibrant and inclusive democracies where governments are accountable to their citizens. The Grants Associate, aligned to program portfolios, provides full-cycle grants management administrative and operational support to ensure every stage of the grants management process meets rigorous global compliance standards and maximizes programmatic impact. The role is a Fixed Term Contract through the end of May 2027, hybrid, within the Grants Management department, reporting to the Associate Director. Location options: Nairobi, Amman or Johannesburg.

Role purpose: The Grants Associate is expected to be an expert user of the grant management system and will be responsible for system updates, reviewing reports and data, supporting delivery of training and upskilling, obtaining Equivalency Determinations, working with internal staff to operationalize grants, and ensuring compliance with global policies and procedures. The incumbent supports program teams, grantees and the Office of General Counsel (OGC) to help accelerate grants from 'idea to out the door'.

Key responsibilities:
- Provide advanced and complex administrative support for the complete grant lifecycle, from application and approval through active monitoring to final closeout.
- Update the system with relevant grants/grantee information and ensure data is accurate and complete.
- Support portfolio monitoring and analytics using tools such as Power BI to track performance metrics and provide data-driven insights.
- Apply and enforce global grants management policies, procedures and compliance, including pre-approval.
- Manage relationships with grantees, program teams, OGC and Finance to ensure operational alignment.
- Build and maintain training material for the grants management system and facilitate knowledge-building sessions for multi-country stakeholders.
- Support obtaining and recording Equivalency Determinations.
- Partner with Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) to track actual spending against targets and support budget monitoring.
- Maintain a clean documentation trail and high data integrity for all grant-making activities.

Qualifications

Degree level education or equivalent.
- Relevant professional experience within a large and complex nonprofit, foundation or international grant-making organisation.
- Prior experience in grants management administration, processes and systems.
- Proven experience collaborating with multi-country stakeholders.
- Advanced skills in grant management systems (GrantSmith) and proficiency in data tools such as Power BI or similar.
- Knowledge of FP&A processes, including tracking actual spending on cash basis against grant payment schedules.
- Ability to facilitate training on systems.
- Fluency in English; knowledge of other languages desirable.
- Travel is required depending on role requirements.

Benefits include a professional development allowance, employer-paid health insurance, retirement savings plan, life insurance, generous time off, flexible work arrangements and progressive paid parental leave. Staff are required to work in an Open Society office 50% of working days per month.

Application instructions

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