About

The Open Society Foundations work to build vibrant and inclusive democracies whose governments are accountable to their people. To achieve this mission, we provide thousands of grants every year to groups and individuals across the globe that work on the issues we focus on—promoting tolerance, transparency, and open debate. We also engage in strategic human rights litigation and impact investing, while incubating new ideas and engaging directly with governments and policymakers through advocacy to advance positive change.

The Role

To help us fulfill our mission, we seek Grants Officers, who will oversee complex strategic grantmaking activity, triage, monitoring and compliance, and clearance of conflicts of interest, sanctions, and data privacy. They will also support with managing urgent leadership directed grants where necessary.

Key Responsibilities

As Grants Officer, you will report to the Associate Director, Grants Management and be responsible for:

• Contributing to annual planning for US-based entities, forecasting resource allocation needs throughout the year.
• Leading grant closeout procedures, overseeing the collection of overdue reports for all grants funded by US-based entities, conducting FPR, OSI, OSPC processes. Manage the completion of the Grant Closure Project, identifying obstacles to report collection and establishing standard procedures for closing grants, including those for US-based funded programmatic units.
• Coordinating with Finance, Accounting & Compliance teams for audits of Open Society’s US-based entities, as well as the preparation of annual tax filings and financial statements.
• Managing departmental budget, retreat/meeting schedules, and professional development opportunities.
• Conducting pre-award/post-award due diligence to ensure grants align with US-based entities’ funding requirements and foundation policies.
• Facilitating internal audits for the Grants Management department.
• Collaborating with opportunities/programs colleagues to ensure timely and efficient proposal compliance review, grant award structuring, issuance of grant letters, payments and amendments, and grant closeout reviews.
• Providing comprehensive education and training on grant award compliance, grantmaking processes, Foundation Connect, GrantSmith, and Analytics Studio within the department and to colleagues across Open Society.
• Serving as a resource for Grants Assistants and other Grants Management colleagues, fostering collaboration and knowledge-sharing.
• Assisting in Grants Management processes related to equivalency determination, expenditure responsibility, OFAC compliance, COI compliance, and data privacy.
• Ensuring data integrity in the grantmaking system and provide reporting and analysis.
• Monitoring grant payment schedules and program budgets, ensuring financial efficiency.
• Liaising with Communications, Finance, GARA, Information Technology, the Office of General Council, outside organizations, and/or affinity groups on matters of mutual interest.
• Developing, documenting, revising, and implementing Grants Management policies, procedures, documents, templates, and multimedia materials.
• Representing Grants Management in cross-departmental staff meetings, workshops, retreats, and working groups.
• Supporting internal Grants Management operations and contribute to special projects as needed.

Key Metrics

Processing grants in accordance with the requirements specified by funding entities.

Key internal relationships

• Director, Opportunity Grants Management
• Associate, Policy, Knowledge & Training
• Associate Director, Grants Management, US Accounting

Experience

The ideal candidate must have a University Degree (BA or Bsc) and have the following experience and competencies:

• Extensive career experience within a large and complex non-profit organization.
• Previous working experience in individual grantmaking.
• Deep understanding and vision of how grantmaking aligns with programmatic strategy complemented by effective grantmaking practices.

Functional Competencies:

• Be diligently compliance-driven to ensure organizational adherence to laws and regulations, particularly within grant-making processes.
• Possess strong analytical skills for using data and information to conduct assessments and make well-informed decisions.
• Demonstrate proven project management and organizational capabilities.

Personal Competencies:

• Exhibit excellent communication and interpersonal abilities.
• Display a high level of emotional intelligence, with the ability to build and maintain strong, trusting relationships internally and externally,
• across cultures and geographies, to advance unit objectives.
• Be committed to Open Society’s core values of humility, commitment, collaboration, respect, inclusivity, and integrity.
• Be dedicated to continuous learning and development in areas such as diversity, equity, inclusion, anti-racism, and social justice.
• Listen and collaborate with humility, fostering respectful interactions with all individuals and supporting an inclusive environment that values diverse perspectives.

Languages:

• Possess an excellent command of English.
• Being proficient in additional languages would be an asset.

What we offer:

• Exceptional opportunities to learn and grow, from annual professional development allowances to onsite training and learning conversations with visiting experts.
• Top-notch benefits and perks to promote well-being and a healthy work-life balance. Including generous time off, flexible work arrangements, employer-paid health insurance, retirement savings plan, progressive paid parental leave, reproductive and family planning support, and much more. (Benefits vary by location.)
• A commitment to nurturing a diverse and inclusive workplace so you can bring your whole self to work and make a positive impact.

We aim to build an inclusive workforce that is reflective of the communities we serve, and actively seek applications from those who are marginalized and underrepresented. We provide reasonable accommodations to applicants and colleagues with disabilities.