Hybrid- Director Grants, Contracts & Compliance- Award Management

Counterpart International is seeking a Director Grants, Contracts & Compliance to lead a dynamic team of Award Managers and serve as the in-house expert on cooperative agreements, grants under contract, and compliance with award provisions and audit requirements. The ideal candidate possesses expert knowledge in federal, multilateral, and private donor rules and regulations, with a strong emphasis on USAID and USDA. Extensive experience with cooperative agreements and procurement is required as is the ability to build strong working relationships with the GCC team, DC-office teams, Counterpart field staff, partners, sub-recipients, and auditors. This position will report to the Senior Director, GCC.

The Director’s primary role is to lead the current team of Award Managers for award administration from award to close-out, ensuring full compliance with local laws, Counterpart policies, and client rules and regulations. Similarly, the Director will oversee the implementation of methodologies for preventing unallowable costs; tailor and update templates for various types of sub-awards; and oversee/advise on field grants, project procurement and field operation manuals at the expert level.

Responsibilities

Award Management:

• Lead and mentor a team of Award Management staff to consistently deliver a proactive, solutions-oriented, strategic approach to award management from start-up to closeout, donor engagement, risk mitigation and standardized tools to meet project needs;
• Provide oversight of Counterpart’s assistance and acquisition awards portfolio to ensure allocation of GCC resources and consistency of support to projects
• Provide regulatory guidance on agreements and modifications thereto throughout the lifetime of the award;
• In collaboration with the Senior Director, GCC manage assigned implementation of streamlined processes, templates and tools;
• In collaboration with the Senior Director, GCC develop and improve grant making and administration processes, tools, and templates to support program compliance with funder rules and regulations;
• Develop proactive donor engagement strategies that complement and build upon institutional efforts in support of client engagement.
• Oversee the submission of any required regulatory reporting such as FFATA or Service Contract Reporting.

Strategic Program Support:

• Provide analytical problem-solving support and solution identification for Counterpart’s programs as issues arise or to identify and mitigate risks
• Provide leadership and guidance to enable program staff to be in compliance with donor rules and regulations;
• Collaborate cross-functionally with other teams (US-based and overseas) to improve operational efficiency and upgrade skills.

New Business Development:

• Lead and support award managers in analyzing and advising on established compliance requirements in the capture and proposal stage on their assigned proposals.
• Participate or advise in strategic or higher risk proposals as the GCC representative.
• Conduct training as identified in HR Training framework on GCC aspects of proposal development for GCC, new business, and programs teams to increase their knowledge and skills of this phase of program design.

Other Responsibilities:

• Stay apprised of relevant changes in rules and regulations and communicate updates to GCC team and Senior Director.
• Develop and understand the industry best practices for award administration and implement these best practices across all awards;
• Plan and manage staff support for internal and external audits as requested.
• Cultivate and collaborate with cross-functional teams;
• Participate in companywide strategic initiatives as assigned
• Assess and make recommendations for internal and external surge capacity in support of Counterpart programs;
• Supervise 1-4 staff
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree, plus a minimum of 12 years of related experience (or relevant equivalent), with at least 8 years of experience with the administration of USG and non-USG awards (both assistance and contract), with demonstrated knowledge and ability to interpret, apply and advise regarding USG regulations under FAR/AIDAR, CFRs, OMB Circulars and donor regulations, specifically with USAID and USDA.
• Project Management or program implementation experience preferred
• Supervisory experience, including mentoring and advocacy for junior or mid-level staff.
• Proven effective and efficient leadership and management skills in a diverse, multi-national and multilingual work environment.
• At least three years field experience in implementing international development projects, especially those funded by USAID or USDA
• Ability to multi-task and work under pressure and maintain attention to details.
• Must be able to work and communicate effectively cross-functionally and cross-culturally at all levels in the organization.
• Experience in content development, training delivery, and facilitation.
• Alignment with Counterpart’s core values.
• Execution-focused, with proven ability to drive processes to completion and produce results.
• Excellent communication skills both verbally and in writing, including ability to communicate effectively with executive leadership.
• Technologically savvy including experience with: Sharepoint, Microsoft Excel, Word and other MS Office applications.

Annual Salary Range: $116,497- $151,446