Grants Officer

Reports to: Associate Director of Grantmaking & Grants Operations 

Location: US-Based Remote 

Union/Non-Union: Union-Represented 

Compensation: The full-time salary is $88,000. Please note that compensation is not flexible. 

Must Haves: A proven track record in grants administration, fluency in English and Arabic/Spanish/French, and a passion for human rights and social justice are non-negotiable for success in this pivotal role. Must be US-based.

About MADRE

MADRE is an international human rights organization that strengthens communities locally by centering the expertise of women and girls within them.  MADRE builds sustainable, networked partnerships, and champions equity through systemic policy solutions and funding. MADRE integrates grantmaking, capacity bridging, and legal advocacy to achieve its goals.  Since its founding in 1983, MADRE has provided more than $65 million in grants to support women and girls in more than 40 countries.  Learn more about MADRE’s work at: https://www.madre.org/. 

Position Summary 

MADRE is seeking a Grants Officer to play a pivotal role in their Grantmaking & Partnerships (G&P) team, including without limitation managing MADRE's grantmaking processes, overseeing the development and implementation of grant strategies, ensuring compliance, and facilitating knowledge dissemination on grants management best practices. 

Position Description

MADRE seeks a highly motivated, dynamic, and organized Grants Officer to support MADRE’s G&P team, including assisting with the development and implementation of MADRE’s grantmaking strategy, the development and maintenance of systems to streamline MADRE’s grantmaking portfolios, and the organization of the flow of information with grantees and partners. Additionally, as part of their work with the G&P team, the Grants Officer will monitor and ensure compliance, and will support the identification and facilitation of MADRE and our partners’ grantmaking and grants management needs.  The Grants Officer is also expected to generate and diffuse knowledge both internally and externally regarding protocols on grantmaking and grants management best practices.  The Grants Officer may be responsible for the supervision interns and liaising with consultants.

Core Responsibilities

Grantmaking Strategy and Management:

• Review grantee proposals for work, additional funding requests, including emergency support, or budget/grant reallocation, and make recommendations to the G&P team and leadership.
• Continuously monitor and analyze regional and thematic developments and trends related to MADRE’s priority communities, while maintaining an expert understanding of their strengths, needs, opportunities, and challenges.
• Collaborate with the G&P team to create and assess a comprehensive grantmaking strategy, including equitable grantmaking, multi-year grants, and exit strategies. 
• Plan grantmaking portfolios and integrate findings into MADRE’s systems based on partners’ needs assessments, as assigned and in collaboration with the G&P team.
• Manage grant cycles and approval processes for MADRE grants to ensure compliance across MADRE’s grantmaking tracking, systems, and streamlining.
• Coordinate communication with grantees to obtain necessary grant documents and financial information while also providing technical assistance and troubleshooting grantmaking challenges referred by Grants Associates.
• Contribute to the collaborative work of MADRE and peer organizations, funding networks, and grantmaking communities.

Grantmaking Systems Development and Refinement: 

• Oversee the development and refinement of annual and quarterly processes and checklists for MADRE’s grantmaking, including docket management, budget reconciliation, partner reporting and ensuring integration of updates to the grants manual through quarterly and annual processes.
• Develop and implement grant and narrative tracking systems for large-scale emergency grantmaking.
• Lead the automation of annual grantmaking data collection processes, document procedures, and provide training to the grantmaking team.
• Research and integrate progressive and accessible practices into grantmaking systems, while engaging with peers to exchange strategies on best practices related to priority populations.

Database and Financial Management: 

• Collaborate with Salesforce Administrator to  enhance MADRE’s Salesforce grants database, ensuring accuracy, consistency, and usability; and provide technical training and support to program staff for effective grant and program tracking.
• Develop and enhance systems to track the grantmaking budget and disbursements, ensuring smooth payments and that all transactions are coded correctly and can be properly reconciled.
• Collaborate with the Financial Department to conduct quarterly budget reconciliations and support the grantmaking team in budget creation and portfolio monitoring.

Learning and Evaluation:

• Work closely with the G&P team and with colleagues to develop evaluation and assessment tools.
• As assigned, summarize grantee reports from the grantmaking perspective and maintain detailed records of their information, including context risks, stories, testimonies, and case studies, within internal databases to facilitate comprehensive understanding and analysis of their work.
• As assigned, analyze data from the grantmaking perspective to effectively showcase the outcomes and impact of MADRE’s grantmaking strategy, and collaborate with the G&P team to review and enhance narrative reporting templates for partners and grantees as necessary.
• Cross-collaborate and communicate with all MADRE teams to support learning and information sharing. 
• Represent MADRE at speaking engagements and meetings.

Other: 

• Supervise interns and liaise with consultants, as required.
• Communicate in both English and Arabic/Spanish/French to perform the above-listed responsibilities. 
•  Write and translate documents, communications, and presentation in both English and Arabic/Spanish/French with respect to the above-listed responsibilities. 

Required Qualifications

• Commitment to MADRE’s mission, vision, and values. 
• Passionate about human rights, social justice issues, and the role of philanthropy in supporting local groups for social change.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience.
• Minimum of 3-5 years of experience in grants administration and compliance and working with grantmaking databases.
• Fluency in English and either Arabic, Spanish, or French.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to manage communications professionally and with a high level of attention to detail and accuracy and the ability to draft clear, structured, grammatically correct, and persuasive writings.
• Ability to work independently and take proactive action. 
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic work environment, including managing competing priorities, reprioritizing tasks as needed, and balancing multiple assignments, grants, partners, and deadlines with professionalism and flexibility. 
• Knowledge of current developments/trends in area of expertise.
• Ability to determine informational needs, collect and analyze information, devise and develop statistical analyses and reports and develop clear and strategic ways to present the same
• Database management skills.
• Experience providing support to grantee partners in difficult circumstances or environments. 
• Experience completing compliance checks.
• Detailed knowledge of and demonstrated proficiency in using computers and databases, including software programs such as Microsoft Office (including Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) and Google Drive (including Google Sheets, Docs, and Slides).
• Strong proficiency with data collection, review, analysis, and reporting.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including the desire and ability to engage and collaborate with peers and diverse populations and the ability to build relationships and trust with individuals with different personalities and at different levels of seniority and/or from different backgrounds.