Director, Grants Management

Position description

ELMA Philanthropies is seeking a Director, Grants Management to join its New York City team. Reporting to the President, they will oversee the grants management function of the organization, working collaboratively with ELMA team members in South Africa and Uganda to support efficient and effective grants management across the ELMA organization, and will lead ELMA’s grant development and management processes, practices, and system, and advise leadership and staff on all aspects of grants management. The Director, Grants Management will also oversee ELMA’s current transition to Salesforce, maintaining the integrity of the Salesforce instance including integrations with external applications. The Director, Grants Management will work closely with ELMA’s program, measurement and evaluation, finance, and legal departments, as well as senior management to ensure effective reporting, retention and sharing of grants information and other data and knowledge across the ELMA organization.

About ELMA Philanthropies:

With offices in New York City, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Kampala, ELMA Philanthropies develops program strategies, identifies grant and other investment opportunities, monitors and evaluates investment performance, and manages strategic partnerships for The ELMA Group of Foundations. This Group includes The ELMA Foundation, The ELMA Relief Foundation, The ELMA Vaccines and Immunization Foundation, The ELMA Music Foundation, The ELMA Growth Foundation, The ELMA Caribbean Foundation and The ELMA South Africa Foundation. ELMA Philanthropies is largely focused on providing these services to the largest foundation within the group, The ELMA Foundation. A full description of the investment frameworks and activities of each Foundation can be found on our website: www.elmaphilanthropies.org.

The ELMA Foundation’s mission is to improve the lives of African children and youth through support of sustainable efforts to relieve poverty, advance education, and promote health. It is primarily active in eastern and southern Africa.

The ELMA Relief Foundation invests in relief efforts throughout the globe with special attention to Africa and the needs of children, who often suffer disproportionately in the aftermath of such tragedies.

The ELMA South Africa Foundation funds organizations and programs that support development and progress in South Africa.

The ELMA Music Foundation invests in organizations in USA and South Africa that support youth development through music, or provide assistance to members of the music community undergoing personal and financial hardship.

The ELMA Vaccines and Immunization Foundation’s mission is to expand vaccine and immunization coverage for children globally, with a special emphasis on Africa.

The ELMA Growth Foundation invests in the growth or expansion of initiatives that improve the lives of low-income communities in Africa.

The ELMA Caribbean Foundation supports efforts to advance health or combat the environmental and economic threats posed by climate change in the Caribbean.

Job Responsibilities:

Reporting to the President, the Director, Grants Management will be expected to:

• Lead grants management efforts across ELMA’s four offices to ensure compliance with financial, legal, and other requirements
• Create and manage tools and processes to support program teams to efficiently develop, recommend, monitor, modify, and close grants
• Oversee ELMA’s Comprehensive Database Management System (Salesforce) ensuring optimal performance and user adoption
• Develop and manage grant reports for ELMA management and board of directors
• Manage ELMA’s grant database and ensure program team knows how to effectively update and utilize it
• Directly supervise a Grants Administrator and provide support to Director, Finance and Administration in ELMA’s South Africa office in their supervision of a Grants Management Associate  
• Lead the on-going assessment and implementation of our processes and systems needs, working closely with grants finance, legal, and measurement and evaluation teams to ensure grant processes and Salesforce platform are user-friendly and effective
• Collaborate with M&E team to ensure Salesforce system supports grant monitoring, measurement, evaluation, and learning
• Stay abreast of new developments in grant management best practices and technologies and assess their applicability to the needs ELMA
• Train new staff on grants management system usage and grants management processes and procedures and, provide ongoing support and guidance to all staff on system usage and workflow
• Contribute to cross-office learning and strategy development
• Drive workflow process improvements and efficiency gains while balancing existing responsibilities
• Other duties, as assigned

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by the incumbent(s) of this job. They are not intended to form an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and activities required for the position. Nothing in this job description restricts management’s right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.

Alignment to Values:

All ELMA employees are expected to demonstrate fit with ELMA’s organizational values and culture. Specifically, all employees are expected to demonstrate a commitment to:

• ELMA’s core values of: humility and integrity; respect for human dignity; pursuit of excellence; commitment to partnership; and a results-orientation informed by continuous learning; and
• Gender equity, social justice, and combatting white supremacy, patriarchy, homophobia, colonialism, and other intersecting systems of oppression.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree is preferred but not required
• Ten or more years of relevant work experience with three (3) or more years of progressive experience in a management/leadership role with direct supervision
• Demonstrated experience with leading grants management function, including grantmaking policies, compliance, data visualization, and knowledge management.
• Deep experience in and understanding of grants management, including an understanding of effective and equitable grant making policies and practices
• Experience with Salesforce in a nonprofit and/or philanthropic environment, with a strong understanding of the platform
• Salesforce Administrator certification is a plus but not required
• Proven ability to evaluate, improve, manage, and maintain systems and processes, including grants management software and processes
• Passionate about continuous improvement
• Ability to work non-traditional hours and travel locally and internationally as needed
• Strong computer and software proficiency, and interest and ability in learning new applications quickly
• Passion for and/or professional or lived experience in Africa a plus  
• Passion for social justice and improving the lives of children in Africa
• Ability to work in a dynamic organization; flexible and adaptable to rapid change; quick learner, comfortable with fast paced environment; a self-starter and team-player
• Strong work ethic and ability to prioritize and multi-task
• Excellent organizational and time management skills
• Fluency in English and excellent oral and written communication skills
• Must be able to legally work in the country where this position is located without visa sponsorship
• The ability to work in-person in New York City

Salary, Benefits & Other Details:

Salary will be commensurate with experience and qualifications with attractive benefits. The salary range for this position is USD170,000-190,000.

Application instructions

Please be sure to indicate you saw this position on tendersglobal.net