Contracts and Grants Officer

COMPANY DESCRIPTION: Established in 1951, Amideast is an American nonprofit organization dedicated to creating hope, opportunity, and mutual understanding among people in the Middle East, North Africa, and United States through life-changing opportunities for education and cultural exchanges. Working with local, regional, and international partners, we provide programs and services that improve educational opportunity and quality, expand access to U.S. study, empower youth and women, strengthen local institutions, and develop language and professional skills for success in the global economy. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., Amideast operates offices in 11 countries in the MENA region. For more information, visit us at www.amideast.org.

POSITION DESCRIPTION: The Contracts and Grants Officer:

• Leads award-related communications with stakeholders including donors (especially the US Department of State and USAID), partner NGOs/institutions, contractors, HQ, field staff, and auditors.
• Serves a vital role in the management of AMIDEAST’s grants, cooperative agreements and contracts, by reviewing, negotiating, organizing, monitoring, tracking, and filing agreements and supporting documentation.
• Offers critical assistance to program operations by setting up new projects, crafting and submitting reports, updating procedures, and providing C&G trainings or guidance to all levels of staff.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Support field offices and HQ (including country directors, finance, program, and leadership) in the area of contracts and grants
• Communicate with federal agencies, field offices, and partner institutions on award-related matters
• Attend non-profit industry events/trainings/webinars and keep abreast of new developments in international NGO sector
• Maintain and update AMIDEAST agreement tracker and other informational databases
• Set-up or clone new projects in coordination with program and finance teams
• Assist or lead new award kick-off meetings and closeout of old awards
• Report to, or assist in reporting to, USG through its designated online platforms including FFATA, SPOT, SAM.gov, SAMS Domestic, RAM, PVS, and DEC
• Vet partners, contractors, students, clients, key AMIDEAST staff, and vendors for compliance with sanctions
• Monitor and track cost share submissions from HQ and field offices
• Review and recommend changes or updates to policies, procedures, and templates as needed
• Lead C&G recordkeeping efforts and ensure C&G files are systematically organized according to protocol for the benefit of both efficient operations and audit
• Upload and maintain permanent files to internal shared drive including successful proposals, critical award documents, amendments, and key correspondence
• Assist management of subrecipients by monitoring deliverables, processing invoices, and assessing compliance with regulations/terms and conditions
• Review or assist in drafting memoranda of understandings, teaming agreements, contracts, sub agreements, and formal correspondence and assist in negotiating favorable terms for AMIDEAST in all agreements
• Assist in reviewing and revising project budgets
• Assist in training HQ and field staff both in-person and via Zoom online webinars as well as providing guidance on C&G matters
• Lead other special activities and projects as needed (such as data visualization, new policies, managing C&G’s vendors, etc.)

QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS: Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field with with 2-6 years’ experience
• Precise attention to detail, organizational skills, and ability to work under pressure/time constraints
• Familiarity with grant/contract administration and regulations
• Excellent writing and communications skills and ability to work in cross-functional teams
• Windows proficiency (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint)

Preferred:

• Familiarity with the Middle East/North Africa region and/or Arabic or French language skills
• Experience with USAID and/or State Department, especially their grant regulations
• Degree or certification in law, business, finance, or contract/grant management
• Open to possible work travel to MENA region (although travel not anticipated)

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

• The incumbent in this position will work in a professional office environment and will utilize the following equipment when working from the corporate office or remote home office (temporarily due to COVID-19).
• Computer (laptop or desktop)
• Printer/Photocopier/Scanner/Fax
• Telephone
• Other (Specify if any)

Up to 10% business travel may be needed to support Contracts and Grants as needed.

The physical demands and work environment that have been described is representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act .

This position description is an overview of the major functions and requirements of this position. This document is not intended to be an exhaustive list encompassing every duty and requirement of the position; the Employee’s Manager may assign other duties as related or as otherwise deemed appropriate and necessary within the general scope, without the need for additional compensation.

Amideast is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

Positions that involve interaction with children will be required to read, acknowledge, and comply with and attend special training in accordance with the Child Protection and Safeguarding policy. All Amideast representatives must comply with the Code of Conduct and all applicable organizational policies which include but are not limited to, Anti-Human Trafficking and Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.