Reports to:  Director of Grants and Contracts

Location: Syracuse, NY

Type:  Full-time

Travel: up to 25%

Relocation Assistance:  Yes

The Near East Foundation (NEF) is seeking candidates for the position of Grants and Contracts Senior Officer or Manager to be based in its Syracuse, New York headquarters. NEF is a non-profit international development organization that has supported livelihoods recovery and community-based economic development in the Middle East, Africa, and Caucasus since 1915. NEF draws on local teams, experience, and partnerships in these regions to create community-led solutions to reduce poverty, create economic opportunity, increase resilience, and empower conflict and crisis-affected groups to improve their future outlook and wellbeing. Working through a network of country offices and local partners, NEF has operations in ten countries: Armenia, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Mali, Morocco, Palestine, Sudan, South Sudan, and Syria. HQ offices are based in Syracuse, NY, Washington, DC, London, UK, and Brussels, Belgium. Our programs are organized around three pillars: Inclusive Economic Development, Climate-resilient Development, and Stabilization and Peacebuilding.

The Grants and Contracts Senior Officer/Manager will be responsible for ensuring NEF’s global portfolio of grants and contracts comply with  applicable contractual and regulatory requirements,  NEF policies, and best practices from start-up through close-out. The Grants and Contracts Senior Officer/Manager will liaise with HQ teams (program, MEL, finance, HR) and country teams to ensure compliance-related systems are in place to manage grants and contracts. The Grants and Contracts Senior Officer/Manager will add to and strengthen the operations and compliance department’s professional profile within and outside NEF. The selected candidate will foster internal collaboration and cooperation in all compliance matters.

Responsibilities:

• Reviews and prepares agreements and contracts including government-funded prime awards, sub-recipient agreements, and consulting agreements;
• Coordinates sub-recipient assessments and monitors sub-recipient compliance with award provisions;
• Coordinates procurement procedures in accordance with NEF procurement policy from;;
• Manages advertising for HQ-level procurement actions and global consultant retention;
• Manages due diligence and vetting of NEF stakeholders;
• Manages systematic startup and closeout of projects globally;
• Interprets and provides advice on regulatory issues for NEF-relevant donors (e.g. USAID, DoS, FCDO, GIZ, UN, EU, 2 CFR 200, ADS);
• Participates in activities and discussions related to streamlining operating procedures;
• Maintains electronic filing of compliance and operational documents;
• Maintains calendar of and monitors upcoming compliance and operational deadlines;
• Conducts internal trainings on operations-related policies and procedures (procurement, anti-fraud, safeguarding, whistleblower, etc);
• Contributes to solicitations and pre-proposal documents prior to submission for compliance with applicable rules, regulations, laws, and NEF policies;
• Travels to field offices to assist in start-up, close-out, or compliance reviews/audits as needed.

Experience/Qualifications:

We encourage all individuals who believe they have the skills necessary to succeed within this position and thrive at NEF to apply for this role, even if you do not meet 100% of the qualifications.

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant subject or equivalent years of experience; Master’s degree preferred
• Senior Officer: 4-8 years of of relevant experience in grants/contracts management;
• Manager: 8+ years of relevant work experience in grants/contracts management;
• demonstrated knowledge of government rules and regulations; Knowledge of government rules and regulations applying to international development and/or humanitarian work (US, UK, or EU);
• Experience assessing sub-recipients;
• Experience developing systems, tools, and procedures;
• Experience presenting training materials;
• Demonstrated ability to work in a team;
• Detailed oriented and ability to manage multiple competing deadlines;
• Strong interest for regulatory-oriented work;
• Willingness to undertake extensive travel to NEF’s areas of work;
• Knowledge of French and/or Arabic is not required but highly preferable.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

NEF will accept rolling applications until the position is filled.  Review of applications will begin on Friday, March 24, 2023. Interested candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

Please apply by submitting the following documents:

• Cover letter outlining all relevant experience;
• Curriculum Vitae;
• List of three references (including one from current, or most recent, employer).

Applicants are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Near East Foundation by visiting the NEF website at www.neareast.org.

The Near East Foundation promotes Equal Employment Opportunities for all applicants seeking employment.

Please note only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Benefits

NEF offers a comprehensive benefits package which includes: 20 PTO days plus 12 Company Holidays; generous medical, dental and, vision coverage; HRA and FSA benefits; employer paid short and long-term disability; employer paid life insurance; TIAA-CREF retirement plan with 8% employer contribution, paid family leave, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and more!