The Grants Manager is a creative and strategic leader who provides project management, coordination, and administration across our dynamic portfolio of nearly 120 current and previous grantees. They balance keen attention to administrative and operational detail while holding the larger picture of our grants strategy and values. They are responsible for implementing our grants strategy, ensuring that we are accountable to our partners’ strategy and vision while also identifying potential risks and capacity building opportunities. 

They handle grants management responsibilities from relationship establishment to disbursement to reporting and closure, and provide guidance and feedback. They are responsible for close adherence to processes that support both grantees and Panta Rhea, recognizing that some processes are still under development, and work closely with Panta Rhea’s leadership team to refine and institutionalize grants management practices and norms. As a member of Panta Rhea’s small team, they contribute to the development of the organization’s long-term strategy and help translate and execute that strategy through annual goals, workplans, and evaluation frameworks. The Grants Manager is both a strong communicator and team player who can also proactively and independently drive work forward.

Responsibilities

Grants Administration and Management (50%)

• Maintain functional grants management systems, including a database of current and past grantee partners, grants, grant requests, applications, and reports for grantee partners, Board, and staff efficiency.
• Support refinement and management of internal grants administration standard operating procedures and processes, collaborative workflows, document retention, and data management policies that integrate DAF providers’ systems and integrate consultants and staff roles as needed.
• Initiate and respond to communication with grantees regarding proposals, recommendations, grant agreements, payments, and reports.
• Recommend grants to the foundation’s DAF provider in alignment with Executive Director and trustee-approved grants, and ensure information is correct for processing. Follow up on grant recommendations and processing of grant installments to ensure release and receipt of funds according to partners’ need and contextual reality.
• Ensure due diligence and approval processes are followed and charitable purpose and compliance requirements are met in line with Panta Rhea’s values - supporting partners to meet requirements rather than using due diligence as a tool for narrowing grant fields.
• Maintain familiarity with US IRS rules and regulations, as they pertain to the grantmaking process, for private foundations and for grantees - and make suggestions to reflect changes to the compliance environment.
• Serve as an internal expert on grantmaking regulations and processes in Panta Rhea’s regions of interest, maintaining familiarity with the legal and fiscal philanthropic policies and practices in the countries where our partners function.

Grantee Partner and Strategic Support (35%)

• Provide guidance to grantees on the application and reporting process, supporting grantees to navigate Panta Rhea’s processes with culturally relevant, values-based support that balances compliance with relational support.
• Accompany grantee partners to remain up-to-date and connected to their work, maintain bilateral communication through the full grant cycle.
• Provide data, qualitative and quantitative information, as well as regular analysis, to support ongoing strategy, regional planning, and monitoring / evaluation processes. This includes drafting / consolidating data-based reports to inform our strategy, processes and grantee engagement.

Strategy and Planning Support (15%)

• Contribute to foundation-wide meetings and activities, including staff and board meetings, retreats, training, planning, and strategy sessions.
• Coordinate board docket preparation process, as needed with programmatic staff, leadership team, and the Board to ensure accurate grant information on dockets, write and review grant and partner summaries, and build clear presentations of both detailed and aggregate grants data to the Board.
• Draft written communications for internal/external use that includes grant data and analysis, research, and context on our work, and contribute to communicating PRF’s grantmaking approach in regional and funder spaces.
• Support with scheduling, agenda setting, taking notes, providing integral information, trouble shooting and additional partner engagement across meetings, site visits, and other virtual and in-person events.