Grants Associate

The Grants Associate is responsible for executing administration, compliance, data and reporting activities. They will support all aspects of grants management, ensuring accuracy and efficiency in proposal processing, compliance and troubleshooting. The Grants Coordinator will be an important member of the Grants team and report to the Director of Grants Administration. The successful candidate will be a pro-active and detail-oriented person, with excellent communication and data management skills, who will work with staff across the organization and engage with grantees around the world.

This position is fully remote with geographical pay differentials and offers the opportunity to work with purpose-driven professionals dedicated to impactful grantmaking.

ORGANIZATION

The Disability Rights Fund (DRF) supports the disability rights movement around the world by resourcing organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) to advocate for equal rights and full participation in society. The Disability Rights Advocacy Fund (DRAF), DRF’s sister organization, supports advocacy for legislative change. DRF/DRAF currently works across Africa, Asia, the Pacific Islands, and the Caribbean. The Funds are grounded in participatory and gender transformative approaches and follow grant making, peer learning, and advocacy strategies to support OPDs to advance the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), including in implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Global Disability Summit commitments, and other key international frameworks.

At DRF/DRAF, we believe our people are what make us great. Reflecting our values and participatory approach, persons with disabilities are leaders and decision makers at all levels of our organization – including our staff, Board, and Grant Making Committee. We value teamwork and a supportive work environment. Our goal is to find individuals who are good at what they do and passionate about our purpose.

To learn more about the Disability Rights Fund, please visit https://disabilityrightsfund.org/

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE GRANTS ASSOCIATE

Grant Administration (20%)

• Facilitate proposal processing from application to closeout.
• Generate and coordinate grant-related correspondence, including agreements, amendments, and payment status updates.
• Ensure timely and accurate tracking of grant disbursements and required documentation.
• Become superuser of grants administration system and stay up to date on platform updates and training.

Compliance & Due Diligence (20%)

• Conduct compliance reviews of applications and progress reports.
• Work with program officers and grantees to ensure compliance with IRS regulations and foundation policies.
• Perform international watchlist screenings of grantee stakeholders using an approved list and investigate flagged results.

Data Integrity & Reporting (40%)

• Maintain accurate and clean records in the grants management system (GMS).
• Generate internal and external reports, including donor-driven reports requiring intermediate Excel skills (pivot tables, conditional formatting, data combination).
• Act as the first responder for troubleshooting grants system issues.
• Support the implementation and transition to a new grants management system as a superuser.

Relationship Management (15%)

• Address general applicant and grantee queries related to grantmaking policies and requirements.
• Troubleshoot GMS technical issues for internal and external users.
• Provide GMS training to staff, grantees, and external users.
•  Support donor reporting by providing data reports to internal DRF teams

Other Duties (5%)

• Collaborate with other staff and provide backup support during absences.

Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS

To fulfill these responsibilities, the ideal candidate will have/be able to:

• Bachelor’s degree or 4 years work experience in a professional environment.
• 1-3 years of work experience with database management /customer relationship systems or in grants management in philanthropy, development, or in a grantmaking institution.
• Experience with grants or customer relationship management systems (e.g., Salesforce, Fluxx, SmartSimple, Foundant, Blackbaud, GivingData).
• Intermediate Excel skills, able to construct pivot tables, use conditional formatting, and merge data sets.
• Analytical skills to interpret and summarize grants management system data.
• Proactive, organized and detail-oriented, and able to manage multiple projects and competing demands.
• Excellent oral and written professional communication skills with the ability to draft clear and concise documents and explain processes to various audiences.
• Time management skills with the ability to prioritize and adjust as needed.
• Interpersonal skills with the ability to build relationships with colleagues and stakeholders.
• Able to solve problems, use good judgement, conduct research and share information.
• Able to navigate ambiguity, adapt to change, take accountability and responsibility, and to work effectively within the team and across the organization.
• Open to ongoing learning, feedback, and growth.
• A commitment to the human rights of persons with disabilities.
• Excellent technology skills (MS Office Suite, Zoom, etc.); willingness to learn additional applications and accessible technology as necessary.
• Fluency in English.

Preferred, but not required qualifications are:

• Experience in working as part of a small, fast-paced team and ability to work successfully in a virtual environment.
• Experience in working with staff members in different locations, across multiple nationalities, identities, and cultures.

• Familiarity with international grantmaking compliance and IRS regulations.
• Experience with data visualization tools.

Benefits

WHY JOIN US?

• Work in a purpose-driven environment supporting disability rights organizations around the world.
• Opportunity to shape and improve grant management systems and processes.
• Collaborative and supportive remote work culture.

LOCATION, COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Location: DRF operates globally, and all staff work remotely.

DRF offers a comprehensive compensation package including allowances/benefits appropriate to the location of the role (i.e., health, short/long term disability, insurance, pension/retirement contributions, work from home stipend), 15 days annual leave, two organizational-wide wellness weeks when the organization closes, paid holidays, reasonable accommodation resources, comprehensive parental leave and commitment to professional development and growth. DRF is committed to a total compensation philosophy that considers cost of living/ labor differentials and additional resources so all staff can flourish. We utilize a salary range framework to account for cost of living/labor differentials around the world. Staff are paid in their local salary.

Below is the salary range in USD with sample locations. Final salary offer within a range is based on a totality of factors including relevant experience, internal equity, and geographic location. At the initial interview, the recruiting team can provide details regarding salary ranges based on the candidate's specific geographic location.

Salary ranges based on sample locations:

• $64, 634 - 69,875 New York City, Geneva, San Franciso
• $60,125 - 65,000 Chicago, Sydney, Vancouver
• $51,106 - 55,250 Pittsburgh, Amsterdam, San Paulo
• $45,093 - 48,750 Addis Ababa, Lisbon, Bend (OR)
• $39,081 - 42,250 Kigali, Athens, Mexico City

This is a full-time, 35 hours per week position (non-exempt if within the United States) reporting to the Director of Grants Administration. This position is primarily remote but will require limited international travel (approximately 10% of the time), depending on safe travel conditions. The position requires working at least 50% of time within the Eastern Standard Time zone (UTC+5) standard working hours, however, working hours may vary at certain times according to operational needs. The position will be part of a global team spanning different time zones, so the candidate must be able to accommodate early/late meetings when needed to work effectively.

TO APPLY                                         

We consider all applications regardless of whether every knowledge, skill or ability noted above can be demonstrated. Please note due to the volume of applications we may receive we may not respond personally to every application. For additional questions or for reasonable accommodation requests about this position please contact us at jobs@disabilityrightsfund.org. The application deadline is March 10th. No decisions will be made prior to the application deadline date. Applications received after the deadline may be reviewed but not guaranteed.

The Disability Rights Fund is an equal opportunity employer and an organization that values diversity. Recruiting staff to create an inclusive organization is a priority, and we encourage applicants from all backgrounds. Candidates are evaluated solely on their qualifications to perform the work required.