Grant Operations Manager
Leiden
IKEA Foundation
Are you the new Grant Operations Manager of IKEA Foundation? Are you ready to make impact? Do you want to create a better everyday life for the many people? Based on your professional qualities you will work with one or more of the portfolio teams at the Foundation to manage, from a financial and operational perspective, a good mixture of multi-year grants with total value of hundred plus million euros.
Organisation
IKEA Foundation has a vision to create a better everyday life for the many people. They believe the two greatest threats to the future of children are climate change and poverty. It’s their mission to improve the lives of vulnerable children by enabling families to create sustainable livelihoods and fight and cope with climate change.
The IKEA Foundation is funded by INGKA Foundation, owner of the Ingka Group of companies. The IKEA Foundation is independent from the retail business with a sole focus on creating brighter lives on a liveable planet through philanthropy and grantmaking. Learn more at www.ikeafoundation.org.
Position
As Grant Operations Manager you will work with one or more of the portfolio teams at the Foundation to manage, from a financial and operational perspective, a good mixture of multi-year grants with total value of hundred plus million euros. Activities and responsibilities of this role include assessing the capacities of the prospective partners (due diligence), evaluating the financial proposals of different types of grant applications, monitoring the partner’s and the grant’s financial performances, and controlling any related risks or else give advice for course-corrections. You also ensure that the approved grants are contracted and administered in line with internal governance and procedures.
As Grant Operations Manager, you will be part of a small but enthusiastic team of people who are committed to make a difference. You will report to the Grant Operations Lead, Planet, and will work closely with a team of Programme Managers and Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation Managers.
Responsibilities
- Conduct comprehensive risk assessments on prospective and returning partners to identify potential risks in areas such as reputation, legal compliance, governance, operations, and financial management. Based on the assessment findings, collaborate closely with both internal and external stakeholders to develop risk mitigation strategies and capacity-building plans. Provide well-founded recommendations to refine the funding design, ensuring alignment with organizational objectives.
- Review project financial proposals and assess the clarity and reasonableness of the proposed budget in relation to the grant proposal. Engage in discussions with partners about key budgetary assumptions and provide clear feedback to strengthen the budget design. Set clear expectations about financial reporting and/or audit requirements for each grant and help partners understand them.
- Draft grant agreements using established templates and when necessary facilitate negotiations between partners and the IKEA Foundation’s legal counsel and other internal stakeholders. Make sure that grant agreements, amendments, and/or other formal documents are prepared in accordance with internal governance and documented properly for audit purposes.
- Closely monitor the grant’s financial performance and cashflow, and if necessary also the progress of any agreed improvement plans for partners’ organisational development, and actively follow up on issues identified.
- Review financial reports, revised budgets and partners’ audited financial statements or the project’s audit reports, provide clear feedback to internal and external stakeholders and approve payments when conditions are met.
- If required, facilitate the process of external audit/investigation with our assurance service providers under the guidance of the internal subject expert on audit and the Head of Grant Operations.
- Ensure all financial information of the grants or applications are accurately entered and maintained in the Foundation’s grants management software to ensure the quality of internal reporting
- Contribute to the improvement of organizational capabilities and strengthen the operational team to enhance overall efficiency and effectiveness. Demonstrate a clear commitment to achieving the objectives of the Grant Operations team
Profile
At the IKEA Foundation, you are welcome no matter where you come from, what you believe, and what you look like. We are interested to see what you can bring to the Foundation.
You have:
- A university degree in Finance, Business Administration, Accounting or established working record in one of these fields;
- 7+ years of working experience in similar role(s), preferably within an environment with mixed multicultural or professional backgrounds;
- Strong work ethics and high integrity standards. You have the courage to voice issues when you see them;
- Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build trustful relationships while being sensitive to cultural and personal differences. You can handle difficult conversations;
- Strong verbal communication skills and business writing skills with the ability to translate financial information to audiences with little or limited financial knowledge;
- A process-oriented mindset with the ability to correctly interpret and apply operational processes and procedures;
- Previous experience in risk management and assessing the financial position of organisations would be an advantage;
- Previous experience in managing multi-million, complex grants or projects would be an advantage;
You are:
- Motivated by living and sharing the values of the IKEA Foundation;
- Results-oriented. You are able to mobilize people all around you to achieve desired results. You take your responsibilities seriously and deliver your commitments;
- Risk sensitive. You can see where things could go wrong based on factual assessments and raise them in a sensitive and timely manner;
- Inclusive. You are confident and clear but can bring a calm, humble approach to collaboration even under time pressure;
- Team oriented. You always think and act in line with the team’s goals. And are committed to consensus building and seeking a team solution;
- Flexible minded. You are able to take on initiatives or perform tasks outside of the regular scope of your work when the situation requires;
- Able and willing to travel within Europe or internationally 4-6 times per year;
More information?
Get in touch with us.
Nadine Veltman
Vroom Executive