Grants Associate

Open Society Foundations

Open Society Foundations aim to establish vibrant and inclusive democracies where governments are accountable to their citizens. Our operating model organizes grantmaking around specific, time-limited projects, developed alongside support for established partners. We are committed to promoting human dignity, equality, and rights; reimagining democratic ideals and practice; and advancing equity in governance systems. This is work worth doing.

Grants Associate

• Job Type Contract , Full Time
• Qualification BA/BSc/HND
• Experience
• Location Nairobi
• Job Field Administration / Facilities

Role Purpose

• The Grants Associate, aligned to program portfolios, will be tasked with providing administrative support to programs teams on grant management activity.
• The Grants Associate is expected to be an expert user of the grant management system and will be responsible for system updates, reviewing reports and data, supporting delivery of training and upskilling, obtaining Equivalency Determinations, working with internal staff to operationalize grants, and ensuring compliance with global policies and procedures. The incumbent will be supporting program teams, grantees, and Office of General Counsel (OGC) to help accelerate grants from ‘idea to out the door’ to maximise the impact for Grants Management and the program teams.

Key responsibilities

• Providing advanced and complex administrative support for the complete grant lifecycle from application and approval through active monitoring to final closeout and/or other activities by performing operational work that helps achieve the program’s goals and plans.

• Updating the system with relevant grants/grantee information.

• Supporting portfolio monitoring and analytics by utilizing tools such as Power BI to track performance metrics and provide data-driven insights.

• Applying complex grant management policies, specifically pre – approval, and enforcing global Grants Management policies, procedures, and compliance.

• Reviewing data to assure that it is accurate and complete in accordance with appropriate protocols.

• Managing complex relationships with grantees, program teams, OGC, and Finance to ensure operational alignment.

• Building and maintaining training material for the grants management system based on updates and changes that get implemented.

• Managing relationship with grantees and others in the field.

• Collaborating in the construction, maintenance, assessment of grant making portfolio(s), and for portfolio strategy design.

• Providing support in obtaining and recording Equivalency Determinations.

• Partnering with Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) for tracking actual spending against targets and support budget monitoring, ensuring payment schedules align with budget vs actual grant spend-out and indicative sourcing caps.

• Acting as a global system expert, building and maintaining training materials and facilitating knowledge-building sessions for multi-country stakeholders.

• Maintaining a clean documentation trail and high data integrity for all grant-making activities in accordance with global protocols.

• The ideal candidate (essential criteria)

• Essential Education

• Educated to a degree level or equivalent.

• Essential Experience

• Relevant professional experience within a large and complex nonprofit, foundation or international grant-making organisation.

• Prior work experience working in Grants Management administration, processes, and systems.

• Proven experience collaborating with multi-country stakeholders with strong cross-functional collaboration skills and ability to navigate complex organisational structures.

• Advanced skills in Grant Management systems (GrantSmith) and proficient in data tools like Power BI or similar.

• Knowledge of FP&A processes, specifically tracking actual spending on cash-basis based on grant payment schedules.

• Extensive knowledge and experience of working with the complete grant lifecycle and ensure active monitoring on systems.

• Ability to facilitate and provide training to others on systems

• Experience with “guiding grantees in submitting applications and advising on compliance issues”.

• Knowledgeable of the field and partnerships, and in providing considerations that help inform grant selection processes.

• Ability to generate, capture and organize information and knowledge to deliver prescribed outcomes for area of responsibility.

• Desirable Experience

• Demonstrates commitment to Open Society’s core values of humility, commitment, collaboration, respect, inclusivity and integrity.

• Willingness to adjust working hours to include calls and discussions with colleagues and vendors located in various geographic regions.

• Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion by recognizing and responding positively to individual and group differences in the workplace and beyond. Building an inclusive workplace by respecting and seeking out diverse viewpoints and perspectives.

• Language

• Fluency in English and knowledge of other languages is desirable.

• Travel

• Travel is required. Travel frequency depends on the role requirements.

• Functional Competencies

• Grant lifecycle administration: Ability to coordinate administrative and operational activities across the full grant lifecycle, from application and approval to monitoring and closeout.

• Systems and data management: Strong proficiency in grants management systems, with the ability to maintain accurate records, review data quality, resolve discrepancies, and support effective system use.

• Compliance and due diligence: Ability to apply grants management policies and procedures, support Equivalency Determinations, and maintain complete documentation, escalating compl