Award Manager - Grants, Contracts, and Compliance
Overview
Counterpart International is currently seeking an Award Manager for its Grants, Contracts and Compliance (GCC) team. The GCC team provides cradle-to-grave award management and oversight of Counterpart’s portfolio of grants, cooperative Awards, contracts and subawards in order to mitigate risk and to ensure compliance with donors’ regulations and the organization’s policies. GCC plays a lead and/or support role throughout the award cycle, inclusive of opportunity analysis, proposal development, award negotiation, award administration, close out and the audit process.
The Award Manager will analyze, interpret and apply donor regulations, award terms and conditions, and Counterpart’s policies in the day-to-day management of programs, serving as the lead advisor on compliance to DC-Office and field-based staff. He/she will: manage his/her portfolio of awards, primarily from U.S. Government agencies (USDA, USAID and DOL); review proposal and budget packages prior to submission; negotiate terms and conditions of awards and modifications; review and provide guidance on subawards and grant manuals; clear procurements for assigned portfolio; provide ongoing guidance to DC-Office and field staff on donor regulations, internal procedures and overall daily troubleshooting; conduct training as needed; and work collaboratively within and across teams.
Responsibilities
Award Management
– Serve as GCC liaison with assigned program teams to provide guidance to DC-Office and field staff on award management and compliance with donor regulations (primarily USDA, USAID and DOL).
– Ensure compliance with and provide guidance on procurement and grants policies and procedures.
– Review new business proposal and cost applications for compliance with donor requirements and Counterpart policies.
– Review, compile institutional comments and serve as lead negotiator with donors on awards and modifications for assigned portfolio.
– Review/prepare correspondence to donors on Award-related issues.
– Review subawards and manuals prior to issuance for compliance with donor regulations and Counterpart policies, and provide subaward management guidance as needed throughout life of program.
– Conduct compliance review of procurements for assigned portfolio.
– Review consultant Awards and contribute to the development and institutionalization of tracking tool/system for consultants.
– Participate in award start-up and close-out planning, and audit processes, providing guidance on and interpretation of applicable contractual and regulatory requirements.
– Coordinate and interact regularly with teams (program, program support, finance, new business development, HR, IT and security).
– Develop and maintain good working relationships with Award staff of donor agencies.
– Maintain Award-related files and database records for awards in assigned portfolio.
General Responsibilities
– Review documents on behalf of executive leadership from a compliance and risk management perspective as well as brief leadership on compliance issues in a timely manner.
– Minimize risk to organization by proactively identifying potential problems and possible solutions.
– Contribute to the development and/or revision of policies and resource materials/tools, including manuals, guides and templates, to assist program staff with award management and compliance with donor regulations and Counterpart policies.
– Participate in weekly GCC team meetings and in meetings for assigned portfolio.
– Coordinate with GCC team members to ensure consistent organizational interpretation and guidance on donor regulations.
– Develop and/or conduct training on donor regulations, best practices in grants, procurement and compliance, and Counterpart policies.
– Assist and/or backstop other GCC team members, as needed.
– Represent Counterpart in meetings with donors, subrecipients, INGO industry partners, and other stakeholders, as needed.
– Share donor, regional or subject matter expertise and contribute to broader knowledge base of GCC team.
– Perform other duties as assigned by the Senior Director of GCC.
Annual Salary Range: $73,000-$100,000
Qualifications
Education and Experience
– Bachelor’s degree required; PMP or master’s degree in relevant field a plus.
– Minimum of 8-10 years of relevant and progressive experience, preferably managing awards or grants for programs at an international development organization or working for a donor agency in an award management capacity.
– Experience managing USAID required and/or USDA awards preferred; experience with other USG agencies (e.g., DOL) as well as bilateral or multilateral donors, such as DFID, SIDA, UN Agencies, preferred.
– Experience developing and delivering participatory training on regulations and policies preferred.
– Working knowledge at intermediate or advanced of U.S. Government regulations (such as 2 CFR 200/600/700, 7 CFR 1499, 7 CFR 1599, 29 CFR 95) and the respective agency’s processes and procedures (USDA and USAID, in particular); knowledge of FAR/AIDAR regulations a plus.
Skills and Abilities
– Fluency in English required, excellent verbal and written communications skills.
– Meticulous attention to detail, as well as outstanding critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
– Demonstrated ability to work both independently and as a member of a team.
– Demonstrated ability to generate risk-based solutions, handle multiple tasks simultaneously and remain calm under pressure.
– Knowledge of and ability to adopt industry best practices to enhance organizational checks and balances in order to mitigate risk.
– Demonstrated ability to negotiate and communicate with colleagues and external parties in a professional and succinct manner.
– Advanced competency in other languages, particularly French, Spanish or Portuguese preferred.
– Familiarity with civil society strengthening, governance and/or food security programs preferred.
– Working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) preferred.
– Demonstrated ability to work in multi-cultural and multi-lingual settings; overseas experience preferred.
– Ability to travel overseas (up to 5%) to provide short-term technical assistance or training, as needed.