Senior Grants Manager

Conservation International protects nature for the benefit of humanity. Through science, policy, fieldwork, and finance, we spotlight and secure the most important places in nature for the climate, biodiversity, and for people. With offices in 30 countries and projects in more than 100 countries, Conservation International partners with governments, companies, civil society, Indigenous peoples, and local communities to help people and nature thrive together.

POSITION SUMMARY - This position is based in Arlington-VA, Madagascar, South Africa, or Belgium

The Seed Fund for Nature supports countries in turning climate and nature commitments into coordinated action by providing catalytic funding, technical support, and strategic partnerships for Country Packages as part of the Forest & Climate Leaders’ Partnership (FCLP). The Seed Fund for Nature is hosted and administered by Conservation International.

The Senior Grant Manager plays an integral role in ensuring that their portfolio of subgrants and subcontracts complies with the donor council’s requirements, including financial reporting, contractual compliance, and strengthening sub-recipients’ management capacity. This position will develop a business-partner relationship with The Seed Fund for Nature leadership and stakeholders, providing full-cycle grants and contracts support and training to staff and sub-recipients.

This position provides direct support to the Grants and Contracts team and reports to the Senior Director, External Grants and Contracts.

Responsibilities

Grant & Contract Administration

• Support the full sub-award lifecycle for grants and contracts, including preparation of agreements, amendments, modifications, and closeout documentation.
• Conduct pre-award due diligence, including financial risk assessments, security screenings, verification of organizational information, and validation of award data in systems of record.
• Review and analyze financial and organizational due diligence documentation and recommend appropriate risk mitigation measures.
• Ensure donor, organizational, and regulatory requirements are appropriately incorporated into sub-awards, contracts, budgets, and related documentation.
• Coordinate pre-award activities including field visits, recipient orientations, kickoff meetings, and award negotiations, as appropriate.
• Interpret and communicate organizational and donor policies, procedures, and requirements to program staff, colleagues, vendors, contractors, and grantees.
• Partner with program and operations teams to design, institutionalize, and optimize grantmaking policies, procedures, and tools. Provide recommendations on operational approaches, develop supporting resources and guidance materials, and help ensure grant management practices remain effective, efficient, and fit for purpose as organizational and program needs evolve.

Sub-award & Contractor Relationship Management

• Develop and maintain respectful, accountable, and collaborative working relationships with grantees, contractors, vendors, and internal stakeholders.
• Serve as a primary point of contact for sub-recipients and contractors throughout the award period, providing guidance on award administration, reporting requirements, and compliance obligations.
• Convene meetings, calls, site visits, and other engagements as needed to address performance, compliance, reporting, or operational matters.
• Identify capacity-building needs and recommend appropriate support strategies for grantees and implementing partners.

Financial Oversight & Compliance

• Review financial reports and supporting documentation submitted by grantees and contractors to ensure completeness, accuracy, allowability, and compliance with organizational and donor requirements.
• Monitor sub-award and contract performance, compliance obligations, reporting deadlines, and corrective action requirements.
• Identify, investigate, and resolve day-to-day compliance issues and elevate significant risk or non-compliance concerns as needed.
• Develop compliance action plans and support implementation and monitoring of corrective measures.
• Request and track award disbursements, ensuring timely processing and accuracy of payment information.
• Use available data, reports, and monitoring tools to identify financial management, contractual, and compliance risks and recommend appropriate resolutions.
• Track compliance and reporting metrics and communicate status, risks, and expectations to internal stakeholders.

Systems, Reporting & Process Improvement

• Maintain accurate and timely award data in organizational systems of record
• Process Contract Master File and Vendor Master File requests and approvals, ensuring data integrity and consisten