Director I (Director of Grant Partnerships)

About the Role

The Director of Grant Partnerships leads and manages a portfolio of philanthropic grants and contracts supporting the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's strategic priorities. This role adopts a proactive, solutions-oriented approach to grant management, balancing portfolio oversight, operational execution, stakeholder needs, and organizational priorities to ensure grant-funded work achieves intended outcomes. The Director oversees the full grant lifecycle—initiation, implementation, monitoring, and closeout—along with budgets, contracts, and payments. By establishing priorities, anticipating needs, identifying risks, and ensuring successful execution, the Director maintains effective systems, documentation, and communication to deliver grant-funded work on time, within scope, and in alignment with all obligations.

The Director supervises the Grants Partnership Coordinator, provides leadership for grant administration activities, ensures compliance, and serves as the primary resource for complex grant and contract matters. The role requires clear, purposeful communication; adaptability to diverse audiences; and the ability to translate information, priorities, and expectations into actionable direction.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the grant and contract portfolio, ensuring compliance, timely implementation, monitoring, and successful closeout.
• Oversee the transition of grants from pre-award/proposal to post-award administration, partnering with the Executive and Strategic Communications Manager to incorporate funder and program requirements.
• Lead kickoff meetings and ongoing check-ins, communicating requirements, priorities, roles, and expectations while adapting approaches to stakeholder needs.
• Monitor grant implementation, timelines, deliverables, and compliance to identify risks, communicate impacts, and support issue resolution.
• Supervise the Grants Partnership Coordinator, providing direction, coaching, feedback, workload prioritization, and professional development.
• Partner with program leads on scopes of work and contracting processes to align grant requirements, responsibilities, and timelines before execution.
• Develop and maintain grant management documentation, including budgets, internal check-ins, funder communications, tracking tools, and implementation records.
• Oversee expenditures, reconciliations, payment schedules, and requests to ensure compliance with policies and grant requirements.
• Provide financial oversight to the Grants Partnership Coordinator, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and alignment with policies.
• Translate financial information into clear updates, recommendations, and actionable next steps for informed decision-making.
• Lead THEF administrative functions for annual audits, insurance, policy development, and grant-related financial reporting.
• Coordinate logistics, communications, and materials for THEF Board and Strategic Partnership activities, including Commissioner’s meetings.
• Support the agency’s annual conference, Higher EDge, and other Strategic Partnerships priorities.
• Build and maintain productive relationships with internal and external stakeholders, tailoring communications to audience needs.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.
• Experience supporting or managing grant-funded programs, projects, contracts, or externally funded initiatives.
• Experience managing budgets, financial processes, or detail-oriented administrative functions.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience managing grant-funded programs, projects, or contracts.
• Experience developing, monitoring, or reporting on grant budgets, expenditures, and financial activities.
• Experience supervising staff or leading teams, including assigning work and supporting development.
• Experience developing or improving processes, systems, tools, or documentation for operational effectiveness.
• Knowledge of project management principles, including planning, implementation, risk management, and deliverable tracking.
• Knowledge of higher education, nonprofit, foundation, or public sector environments.
• Experience supporting audits, board activities, organizational reporting, or governance-related functions.

Skills

• Managing multiple priorities, projects, and deadlines with accuracy and attention to detail.
• Developing and maintaining effective systems, processes, documentation, and tracking tools.
• Communicating complex information clearly and concisely to diverse audiences.
• Building and maintaining collaborative relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Working independently, exercising sound judgment, identifying risks, and recommending solutions.
• Translating financial, operational, and grant-related information into clear updates and actionable next steps.
• Balancing strategic thinking with day-to-day execution and operational details.
• Adapting communication approaches to stakeholder needs and collaborating with diverse groups.
• Applying creative solutions to problem-solving and continuous improvement.

Schedule

This position requires on-site work with a hybrid telework schedule of up to two (2) days per week.

Working Conditions

• Standard office environment with frequent computer, telephone, copier, and printer use.
• Extended periods of sitting and working at a computer.
• Frequent deadlines and collaboration in both in-person and virtual environments.