Grants Manager

Department: Finance & Operations (F&O)

Reports to: Director of Grants Management (DGM)

Status: Full Time, Exempt

About the Skoll Foundation

The Skoll Foundation was created by Jeff Skoll in 1999 to pursue his vision of a more peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable world. The mission of the Skoll Foundation is to drive large-scale change by investing in, connecting, and celebrating social entrepreneurs and the innovators who help them solve the world’s most pressing problems. Social entrepreneurs are society’s change agents – creators of innovations that disrupt the status quo and transform our world for the better. By identifying the people and programs already enacting positive change throughout the world, the Foundation empowers them to extend their reach, deepen their impact, and fundamentally improve society.

The Skoll Foundation has invested approximately $763 million worldwide, including the Skoll Award to 135 social entrepreneurs from 111 organizations on five continents.

This is a full-time position based in Palo Alto, CA. For more information on the Skoll Foundation, please visit skoll.org.

Position Description

The Grants Manager is responsible for the efficient and effective implementation of the Foundation’s policies and procedures related to grants management. S/he collaborates with and builds interdependent working relationships with other teams to facilitate responsible and efficient grantmaking across programs. As the primary point of contact on grant compliance, Grants Manager ensures that the Foundation adheres to legal requirements for private foundations and best practices in the field. In addition, the Grants Manager may lead or support Foundation-wide projects and initiatives related to process improvement, technology, procedures, and/or grant data. 

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

• Serve as a primary point of contact for grants management, engaging with program staff throughout the grant life cycle.
• Partner with program staff on resolving potential issues and challenges that may be presented by a particular grant or grantee circumstance.
• Review grant recommendations and files, ensuring that grants move expeditiously through the review and approval process with a particular focus on timeliness, quality, and consistency of grants processing.
• Monitor active grants for key issues such as equivalency determination renewals, unsigned agreement letters, payment contingencies or overdue reporting requirements. Work with program staff to address and resolve open issues.
• Review all grants to confirm compliance with IRS regulations and Foundation requirements. Refer special cases to legal counsel as needed and work toward resolution.
• Partner with DGM on designing optimal processes and standards appropriate for the Foundation’s innovative grant making environment and implementing quality support systems and workflows.
• Provide input to and effectively manage discrete projects associated with technology changes or enhancements. Prepare Skoll Foundation’s 990-PF statements 11 and 12 and Skoll Fund’s 990 grants statement annually. Support DGM with the annual audit.
• Develop reports and other tools to ensure data integrity, convey trends and to highlight useful information to support decision-making.
• Working with the DGM, write, implement and monitor policies to support grantmaking, with an orientation toward continuous improvement.
• Prepare monthly cash forecast for scheduled payments and update three-year rolling forecast for liquidity planning.
• Oversee efficient coordination of grant payments as requirements are fulfilled to ensure timeliness and accuracy.
• Provide ongoing guidance and training to Foundation staff on grantmaking best practices, compliance and processes.
• Prepare grant documents for the Board docket.
• Conduct due diligence and recommend special opportunity grants as needed.
• Perform other assignments from the DGM as needed.

Qualifications

While no one candidate will embody all the qualifications enumerated below, the ideal candidate will possess many of the following professional and personal abilities, attributes, and experiences: 

• A deep passion for social entrepreneurship and the Foundation’s mission.
• Minimum of five years of professional experience in nonprofit or philanthropy sector. Prior grants management experience preferred; familiarity with exempt-organization rules and regulations a plus.
• Demonstrated knowledge of grantmaking approaches and processes of private foundations, and ability to monitor and apply federal regulations. 
• Strong knowledge of Salesforce, FoundationConnect or other grants managements systems, with a track record of improving and enhancing existing technologies and developing new solutions.
• Excellent organization, financial and data management, project management, problem-solving and workflow/process design skills.
• Exceptionally strong interpersonal and diplomacy skills and the ability to interact effectively with individuals at all levels of the organization.
• Demonstrated ability to take initiative, exercise judgement, prioritize, manage multiple complex projects/assignments, and set/meet deadlines with an orientation toward results.
• High standards, integrity, humility, sense of humor, adaptable, and comfortable working in and thriving in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment.

To Apply

Interested? Email a cover letter and resume to [email protected]. Please include “Grants Manager” in the message subject line.