Contracts and Grants Manager

Position description

In 1944, Heifer International’s founder, Dan West, began outlining a simple but groundbreaking plan to tackle hunger around the world. West, a farmer from the Midwest and Church of the Brethren member, had recently returned from feeding weary refugees during volunteer service in the Spanish Civil War.

He had seen firsthand that giving people food was a short-term solution, whereas providing them with animals offered a steady supply of nutritious food for an entire family. His philosophy still inspires Heifer’s work today. Partnering with farmers across a range of different livestock and crops, we create unique solutions to local challenges.

Today, Heifer International has operations in 19 countries around the world, working alongside local farmers, business owners and their communities, as they mobilize and envision their futures. Together, we build inclusive, resilient economies, so communities can develop effective ways to end global hunger and poverty in a sustainable way.

To date, we have supported more than 46 million farming families across Africa, Asia and the Americas and in the past five years alone, we have worked alongside 2.7 million families to close the living income gap or set them on a path to doing so. Between now and 2030, we will support an additional 10 million people to reach a living income by scaling up our signature programs. To achieve this, Heifer International relies on its passionate, committed and highly skilled staff.

Role Summary

The Contracts and Grants Manager manages contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements and guides HQ and field/country office project teams regarding various contractual questions and topics. This role will support Heifer Project International (HPI) in the management of HPI’s awards throughout the award lifecycle, thus providing cradle-to-grave contractual management of a variety of international (e.g., UN, IFAD, World Bank, EU), USG (e.g., USAID, USDA), and corporate (e.g., Walmart, Cargill) and foundation (e.g., Gates Foundation) funded contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements.

They will support proposal and sub-award review; review of award data in the HPI’s award management and financial management system; guidance on award terms and conditions to ensure compliance with HPI’s and donor rules and regulations; analysis/assessment of award information as needed to address issues; research compliance issues and developing guidance; and support proper award closeout.

They are also responsible for developing and supporting awards management, compliance training, and capacity strengthening on donor rules, regulations, and requirements to support HPI’s Program Managers (international and domestic programs staff), Country Offices as needed, and sub-recipients and other stakeholders.

The Contracts and Grants Manager identifies and raises contractual and compliance concerns and develops recommendations for improvements. They will also make recommendations for system and process improvements and assist in developing, maintaining, and updating awards management resources and tools for organizational use.

Responsible for providing scope-limited support for awards management and compliance aspects of donor and HPI-funded programs/projects. Accountable for the maintenance and adoption of methods and practices in awards management and compliance, as well as systems development and implementation of compliance standard operating procedures across the organization.
Accountable for promoting industry best practices in data quality control and compliance, strengthening stakeholder confidence in HPI’s oversight management functions. Will contribute to continuous improvement in all aspects of HPI’s awards management and compliance work.

The Successful Candidate

The successful candidate should demonstrate a strong commitment to personal and team excellence, excellent interpersonal skills, and a strong drive to work cooperatively and diplomatically with a culturally diverse group. Candidate must display improvisation and flexibility in a rapidly changing environment and the ability to work under pressure.

Responsibilities and Deliverables

Contracts and Grants Management (50%)

• Support HQ and field/country office project teams in the administration of a portfolio of international (e.g., UN, IFAD, World Bank, EU), USG (e.g., USAID, USDA), and corporate (e.g., Walmart, Cargill) and foundation (e.g., Gates Foundation) funded contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements. Specific tasks include:
• Serve as primary point of contact and official representative to institutional donors, including USG funding agency and other clients on contractual matters.
• Carry out a thorough review of the contract/grants/cooperative agreement, explain terms and conditions to HQ and field/country office technical teams, review and approve the contracts approvals matrix.
• Ensure compliance with legal requirements of agreements, which may involve staying updated with changes in laws and regulations that may impact on contractual agreements.
• Review and edit as required and approve draft documents and requests (Include a few examples) that are submitted to contract administrators, Contracting or Agreement Officer:
• International travel approvals
• Salary justifications
• Notification and approval of project local compensation plans
• TCN/CCN Waivers
• Source/national waivers for restricted commodities
• Notification/approval of key personnel changes
• Purchase of non-expendable items that require prior approval
• Non-expendable disposition requests
• Annual inventory reports
• Limitation of funds/cost notification submissions
• VAT report submissions
• Budgets/cost proposals for realignments/add-ons
• Assist in finalizing responses for Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS)
• Negotiate terms of contracts/subcontracts, grants, and cooperative agreements and subawards.
• Review and approve (if necessary, prepare templates) for Expatriate and TCN Consulting/Independent Contractor Agreements.
• Assist programs on budget realignments and modifications to ensure compliance with existing terms and conditions, HIP policies, client’s cost principles.
• Train and coach HQ and field/country office staff on HIP’s procurement and grant policies so that they can independently review and, if appropriate, approve procurement and grant transactions in a compliant manner.
• Draft contract close-out related documents such as requests for quick closeout, excess fund review forms, etc.
• Corporate level tasks may include:
• Actively participate in corporate and cross-departmental initiatives related to the core areas of knowledge and expertise;
• Work with senior representatives from other departments on company-wide initiatives.
• Assist Director of Contracts and Grants Management in providing overall leadership and high-level contractual expertise.
• Actively participate in developing contracts templates, resource materials for use by mid-level members of the Contracts and Grants Management team, HQ and field/country office teams.

Subaward Management (30%)

• Issue subcontracts and task orders, grants, and amendments, and address other subcontract- and grant-related issues.
• Provide post award administration (e.g., modifications, budget realignments, interpretation of award terms and conditions)
• Develop, maintain, and update the HPI’s contracts and grants manual, tools, templates, policies, SOPs, and guidance documents for sub-award management and administration.
• Oversee sub-award due diligence (i.e., pre-award assessments) and monitor procedures to ensure donor compliance in line with internal policies and donor regulations.
• Develop and/or tailor, review, and approve sub-award templates and tools, pre-award assessments, monitoring plans and take corrective actions.
• Review sub-award modifications and provide expert advice to HQ and country/field staff on sub-award related matters.
• Collaborate with HQ and country/field staff on subrecipients/subcontractors monitoring of deliverables, invoices, compliance with regulations, and terms and conditions.
• Advise program staff on matters related to preparation, administration and closeout of contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, and subawards.
• Lead maintenance and timely updates to sub-award tracker and regulatory reporting requirements including Federal Fund Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA), and Trafficking in Persons (TIP).

Business Development (20%)

• Provide overall guidance to HPI’s Business Development and Partnership (BD&P) Team on complex contractual issues, including:
• Participate in new business strategies, including discussions on identifying risks and analyzing these risks for a bid decision.
• Review and analyze USG solicitations to understand the terms and conditions and develop a compliance matrix to inform the BD&P Team of any special or uniquely risky contract terms or conditions.
• Provide guidance on allowances and salary offers.
• Prepare contractual clarification questions in response to requests for proposals.
• Provide guidance and support in the selection of subcontract types, effective negotiations with subcontractors, analyzing budgets, effective negotiation of subcontract terms and conditions, and responding to best and final offers (BAFOs).
• Provide input to and advice on cost proposals for submission.
• Interface and negotiate with government clients to help resolve contractual issues

Education and Experience:

• Minimum of 8 years of professional work experience in international development/NGO, at least 6 years supporting USG contracts and/or grants
• Bachelor’s Degree Required, Master’s Degree strongly preferred
• CFCM Certification strongly preferred
• Administration/management, negotiation, pricing, subcontracts and procurement. Project management or operations experience with an emphasis on contractual compliance is preferred.
• Knowledge of FAR and AIDAR.
• Demonstrated experience negotiating with subcontractor representatives.
• Demonstrated ability to prepare budgets of medium to high complexity.
• Demonstrated experience using a computerized system to manage contract information.
• Experience working with USAID/OTI contracts, cooperative agreements, and grants.
• Working knowledge of CPFF, T&M, FP, and IDIQ contracts.
• Demonstrated experience with USG (specifically USAID) projects.
• Demonstrated experience participating in contract creation and/or administration, preferably in an international environment.
• Strong organizational and work prioritization skills.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English with the ability to communicate policies and interpret regulations to provide clear guidance and tailor communication style to effectively communicate with diverse audiences.
• Working proficiency in oral and written Spanish is preferred
• Able to build and maintain strong working relationships with staff at all levels of the organization and external clients from diverse backgrounds.
• Demonstrated proficiency in MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) and Adobe Acrobat.

Salary Information:
The expected base salary range for this position is 83,000 to 95,000 USD annually. Placement within the range will be based on the experience and competency level of the candidate.

What We Offer:

Heifer International offers a variety of benefits for U.S. based employees working 30 or more hours per week.

• Health-related benefits including Flexible Spending Account and/or Health Saving Account
• Well-being Program, including Employee Assistance Services and 1:1 Coaching
• Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave after six months of employment to bond with newborn, adopted and foster children
• 403(b) retirement plan with Heifer’s contribution
• 22 paid vacation days in addition to 12 statutory and discretionary holidays, and 10 paid sick days per year
• Employer-paid life insurance, severe injury insurance, and business travel insurance
• Professional development opportunities
• Home office technology equipment (computers, monitors, headset, etc) provided
• Optional critical illness, accident injury insurance, hospital care benefits, legal assistance plan and pet insurance
• Flexible work arrangement upon agreement with the supervisor
• And many more!

Heifer International is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, status as a protected veteran, among other things, or status as a qualified individual with some form of disability.

Application instructions

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