Director, Grants Management at The Skoll Foundation – Washington, District of Columbia

Skoll is a private grantmaking foundation that seeks to build a sustainable world of peace and prosperity for all by investing in, connecting, and championing social entrepreneurs and other social innovators.  Together, we advance bold and equitable solutions to the world’s most pressing problems. The Skoll Foundation fosters a mission and values-based approach to the work we do focused on the vision of doing good.

The Skoll Foundation is hiring a Director of Grants Management based in Washington, DC. The Director of Grants Management is eligible for a hybrid work schedule, including Tuesday through Thursday in the DC office.

Reporting directly to the General Counsel, the Director of Grants Management leads the Foundation’s grant management team in the execution of short and long-term strategy for grants management, including supporting the administration of approximately $90 million in grants each year. The Director will provide support and training to grants management staff and the Skoll Foundation program team and will build strong working relationships across programs to execute grantmaking strategies and advance the Foundation’s mission.

The Director serves as a trusted advisor and key partner to a wide range of internal and external stakeholders and directs a centralized approach to grantmaking systems, policies, and processes that are optimized for the Foundation’s innovative grantmaking environment. The Director will also oversee external grants management vendor relationships and partners in the execution of the Foundation’s grantmaking activities and will consider ways to continually advance the efficiency and effectiveness of the Foundation’s grantmaking operations.

Primary Duties

• Provide leadership on the design and day-to-day operations of grants management, with a keen eye for efficiency and service quality.
• Build and maintain feedback mechanisms to ensure early detection of end-user problems.
• Apply foresight and judgment in adjusting grants management service, training, and communications to support program goals.
• Design and manage overall grant workflow to support the full grant lifecycle, including pipeline management, grant recommendation, board approval, grant agreement execution, payments, amendments, and reporting.
• Evaluate opportunities to streamline and improve workflow, partner with external vendors, as well as enhance user training on systems and processes.
• Advise and guide program teams on legal compliance, complex grantmaking, and appropriate charitable giving mechanisms to achieve grant objectives and impact.
• Partner with Finance on short and long-term grants budget planning, including the development of the annual grant allocation and payout.
• Advise teams on grant payout throughout the year to ensure the target payout is met for the current fiscal year as well as flexibility in future years.
• In close partnership with the Finance Department, oversee development of the grants-related data for Skoll Foundation’s 990-PF and Skoll Fund’s 990 annually.
• Support Finance staff with the annual audit requirements.
• Develop institutional grant compliance policies and procedures.
• Provide guidance on legal due diligence and compliance review procedures to ensure grants and program related Investments adhere to IRS requirements.
• Determine optimal team structure for the grants management function and oversee hiring, training, and managing of staff performance and professional development.
• Continually stay abreast of new developments in Foundation grants management systems and technologies and their applicability to the evolving needs of the Foundation.
• Partner with the Technology Team to lead planning, evaluation, and implementation efforts for technology systems to support grant making operations and related functions.

Qualifications

• A passion for the Foundation’s mission.
• Minimum of 10+ years of experience in grants management, nonprofit, and/or an operations environment with grantmaking responsibilities.
• A deep understanding of grantmaking processes and approaches is essential.
• Bachelor’s degree.
• Ability to work on-site in DC Tuesday through Thursday within a reasonable commuting distance to the office. 
• Deep knowledge of legal requirements and complexities of private foundation grantmaking for domestic and international grantmaking is required.
• Prior experience in private foundations is strongly preferred.
• Strong systems orientation with a track record of implementing and enhancing tools and processes, developing new solutions, and staying well-informed of new and emerging options; experience with Salesforce and grants management systems a plus.
• Ability to translate strategic imperatives to logistical realities.
• Must be able to anticipate needs, challenges, and short and long-term implications; analyze issues and problems systematically; and effectively communicate and implement solutions.
• Strong interpersonal and diplomacy skills and the ability to interact effectively with individuals at all levels of the organization.
• Excellent organization, financial and data management, project management, problem-solving and workflow/process design skills.
• Demonstrated ability to take initiative, manage heavy workload, and juggle competing priorities to meet tight deadlines in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment.
• High attention to detail and the ability to proactively communicate challenges and proposed solutions to problems is a must.
• Demonstrated leadership and management skills, including organizational planning, goal setting, and people management and oversight.
• Certifications in grants and/or contract management a plus.
• Ability to travel up to 10% including domestic and international travel.
• Must be legally authorized to work in the United States.

Cultural Fit

• Enthusiastic and flexible team player with humility, a positive demeanor, and exceptional service orientation; ready to roll up sleeves and collaborate across the Foundation’s small team.
• A keen sense of integrity, professionalism, and commitment to creating a positive organizational culture.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment and adaptable to change.
• Interest in social innovation and alignment with the Skoll Foundation’s mission to catalyze transformational social change.

Benefits 

The Skoll Foundation offers a comprehensive benefits package including flexible time off, paid holidays, medical, dental, vision coverage, and generous retirement plan offerings.

Salary Range

$181,642 - $290,628

The Skoll Foundation is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds.