Sr. Lead, Grants Compliance & Portfolio Operations

Who We Are

International Justice Mission (IJM) is the global leader in protecting vulnerable people from violence around the world. Our team of over 1,200 professionals are at work worldwide in over 30 offices. Together we are on a mission to rescue millions, protect half a billion, and make justice unstoppable.

We are a global community that cares for one another. We believe that the way we work is as important as the results we achieve. We provide professional excellence with joy and celebration to all those we serve.

The Need

For 25 years, IJM has pioneered the work to protect vulnerable people from violence. As we grow to expand our impact to protect 500 million people from violence by 2030, we are seeking a Sr. Lead, Grants Compliance & Portfolio Operations. The Sr. Lead is a pivotal position for strengthening IJM’s capacity to manage partnership risk and grow institutional revenue. This role works with regionally based portfolio managers in the administration of IJM’s grant awards and subawards, serving as an authoritative compliance resource and helping ensure adherence to donor regulations and internal policies.

In addition to providing training and technical assistance to grants management staff, the Sr. Lead will oversee global initiatives to institutionalize compliance requirements and best practices, including internal audits, policy development, portfolio KPI reporting, and business process design. This role works closely with legal and enterprise-wide compliance directors, regional portfolio managers, and global finance and capacity building managers, to carry out their work.

This position is based in the Washington, DC area and reports to the Global Director, Grant Partnerships.

Responsibilities:

• Global Grants Standards – Own the development, maintenance, rollout, and enforcement of IJM’s Global Grants Standards, which provide minimum common requirements for each phase of the grant lifecycle; create systematic solutions and approaches that help IJM staff adhere to the global standards.
• Grant administration and compliance – Provide solutions-oriented and human-centered guidance to grant acquisition and implementation teams; interpret and guide application of relevant regulations, terms, and conditions; review award/subaward agreements and modifications; support portfolio managers with grant startup and closeout; analyze and escalate key risks to leadership, including implementation delays, providing recommendations and responsive tools and resources that help mitigate risk.
• Global Grants Community of Practice – Co-chair the Grants & Partnerships Leadership Council with regionally based portfolio leads. The Global Grants co-chair is responsible for facilitating monthly meetings, collaboratively developing strategic priorities, setting communications rhythms, and cultivating a matrixed learning community.
• Organizational policy, compliance, and assurance – Engage and/or convene cross-functional working groups to advocate for, embed, and communicate institutional funding requirements among global support function teams. This includes support for internal and external audits and is a shared responsibility with the Legal Compliance Officer and Grants Finance Lead on the Global team.
• Grants capacity development – Collaborate with the Grants Capacity Building Lead to create and deliver training, job aids, and knowledge resources that promote institutional learning and individual professional development for IJM staff and implementing partners. Innovate communications materials that encourage adoption of best practices.
• Global portfolio operations – Assist the Global Director with key aspects of strategic planning, financial forecasting, KPI reporting, and team work planning, as it relates to managing the global institutional funding portfolio and ensuring IJM meets the requirements and expectations of our donors; partner with the Senior Lead, Grants Finance to analyze portfolio underspends and problem solve for risks in the financial forecast.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree required or equivalent combination of experience and/or education. Master’s preferred;
• Minimum 7 years of experience leading institutional grant compliance, legal and/or capacity building at the portfolio level;
• Expertise in U.S. government grant regulations required; knowledge of foreign government regulations preferred;
• Experience designing training programs and conducting training sessions in person and remotely;
• Understands and applies human-centered design techniques for problem solving;
• Familiarity with a variety of capacity development methods, training, and mentorship approaches with regional staff;
• Demonstrated ability to lead and execute systematically at the global level, empowering regional and national staff to problem solve and manage their grants;
• Determines priorities and allocates time effectively, balancing between strategic projects and ad-hoc support requests;
• Communicates and interacts respectfully and effectively with people from other cultures, religions, and geographies; and
• Willing to travel internationally 2-3 times per year.

Critical Qualities:

• Mature orthodox Christian faith as defined by the Apostles’ Creed;
• Proven leader who can bring strategic perspective while supporting day-to-day operations;
• Self-starter and systematic problem solver with strong initiative;
• Disciplined with priorities and working boundaries;
• Excellent interpersonal and customer-service skills, with high self-awareness;
• Exceptional verbal and written communication; able to communicate effectively with both leaders and staff;
• Adapts quickly and willingly to meet the needs of a dynamic portfolio; and
• Effective team player who fosters collaborative environment and is eager to support others.

Application Process:

Upload Resume, Cover Letter & Statement of Faith* in one PDF document.

*What is a statement of faith?
A statement of faith should describe your Christian faith and how you see it as relevant to your involvement with IJM. The statement can either be incorporated into the cover letter or submitted as a separate document and should include, at a minimum, a description of your spiritual disciplines (prayer, study, etc.) and your current fellowship or place of worship.

What does IJM have to offer?

• Comprehensive Medical/Dental/Vision benefits
• Monthly commuter and parking benefits in the DC metro area
• Retirement benefit options
• Paid leave starting at 23 days
• 12 holidays (plus early release the day prior)
• Daily, quarterly, and annual community spiritual formation
• Robust staff care resources

IJM holds strict safeguarding principles and a zero tolerance to violations of the Safeguarding Policy, Protection against Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment Policy, and Code of Conduct. Parallel to technical competence, recruitment, selection, and hiring decisions will give due emphasis to assessing the candidates value congruence and thorough background, police clearance, and reference check processes.