Grants Compliance Manager

International Justice Mission (IJM) is the global leader in protecting vulnerable people from violence around the world. Our team of over 1,300 professionals works in over 30 offices worldwide. Together, we are on a mission to rescue millions, protect half a billion, and make justice unstoppable. We are a global community that values professional excellence with joy and celebration, believing the way we work is as important as the results we achieve.

About the role

For over 25 years, IJM has pioneered efforts to protect vulnerable people from violence. In the last decade, IJM’s Justice System Strengthening Projects have reduced slavery and violence by 50–85% for large populations in poverty. As we expand our impact to protect 500 million people, we seek a Grants Compliance Manager to strengthen IJM’s capacity in managing grant compliance and partnership risk. This role serves as an authoritative compliance resource for IJM’s global institutional funding portfolio, ensuring adherence to donor regulations and internal policies.

The Grants Compliance Manager leads grant administration and compliance, oversees Global Grants Standards, supports policy and assurance initiatives, strengthens grants capacity, and contributes to strategic portfolio operations and risk management. This position is hybrid (onsite Tuesdays & Thursdays) for candidates in the Washington, DC area or remote for non-local candidates. It reports to the Director, Grants Portfolio and is open only to candidates with the right to work in the US.

Responsibilities

• Oversee award administration frameworks for financial assistance awards and partnership agreements, including cooperative agreements, grants, sub-grants, sub-contracts, contracts, and memorandums of understanding.
• Serve as an authoritative guide for day-to-day grants compliance questions, applying expert regulatory knowledge to interpret award terms and conditions.
• Collaborate across functions to ensure holistic compliance support for staff implementing grants.
• Ensure teams are informed of donor compliance requirements, supporting portfolio managers with grant start-up, close-out, and compliance over the life of the award.
• Maintain oversight of internal and external grant repositories, ensuring complete, audit-ready compliance files in platforms like MyGrants.
• Provide compliance input during the negotiation of award terms for new awards, subawards, and modifications.
• Support grant teams in identifying and requesting formal grant approvals, modifications, or amendments.
• Communicate practical applications of changing regulations to key stakeholders.
• Review grant proposal documentation, including budgets and narratives, for compliance with donor regulations and internal guidelines.
• Provide input and review in drafting, negotiating, and executing subgrant agreements.
• Collaborate with Global Risk and Legal Affairs to update subaward templates in response to regulatory or policy changes.
• Contribute to pre-award risk assessments and ongoing monitoring of subrecipients to ensure compliance with donor requirements and IJM standards.
• Oversee internal compliance and coordination of Grants Standards, ensuring alignment with global governance and organizational initiatives.
• Institutionalize protocols for grants activities from start-up to close-out, establishing systems to help teams meet grantor requirements efficiently.
• Develop and maintain grant-related policies, guidelines, tools, and systems for effective compliance.
• Recommend policy and procedural changes related to institutional donor and partner compliance, integrating new requirements with organizational readiness.
• Ensure enterprise data systems and platforms meet grant-related needs.
• Partner with the Global Assurance team during internal audits and corrective action plans for Project Offices implementing grants.
• Identify risks within the portfolio and recommend mitigation plans, including reputational and audit-related risks.
• Coordinate with Global Finance and support IJM teams on compliance and audit risks, including drafting necessary documents.
• Support the cross-regional grants community of practice, contributing compliance and portfolio management inputs to meetings and forums.
• Represent Global Grants in interdepartmental initiatives, advocating for robust systems that enable effective grants management and compliance.
• Develop human-centered trainings, guidance, and coaching for staff implementing grants, using proactive and reactive approaches to build compliance capacity.
• Lead grant compliance training sessions for program and advancement staff, including international travel when beneficial.
• Mentor grants management and compliance staff, fostering effective working relationships across teams.
• Deliver timely and constructive coaching and feedback for staff supporting or implementing grants.
• Partner with Global Grants team members to draft monthly communications and learning content.
• Participate in IJM’s community of spiritual formation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree in international development, business administration, or a related field strongly preferred.
• Minimum 7 years of experience leading institutional grant compliance, legal, or capacity-building at the portfolio level.
• Certificate in Federal Grants Management preferred.
• Expertise in U.S. government grant regulations, including the Uniform Guidance and other federal grant policies; knowledge of other donor government regulations preferred.
• Experience applying human-centered design techniques for problem-solving.
• Experience designing and conducting training programs in person and remotely.
• Familiarity with capacity development methods, training, and mentorship approaches for regional staff.
• Ability to execute systematic courses of action for diverse teams to ensure objective accomplishment and adherence to standards.
• Mature orthodox Christian faith as defined by the Apostles’ Creed.

Skills

• Eager commitment to IJM’s Core Values: Christian, Professional, and Bridge-Building.
• Self-starter and problem solver with strong initiative.
• Disciplined with priorities and working boundaries.
• Excellent interpersonal and customer-service skills, with high self-awareness.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication.
• Flexible and adaptive to changing requirements.
• Effective team player who fosters a collaborative environment and supports others.
• Respectful and effective communication with people from other cultures, religions, and geographies.
• Willingness to travel internationally.
• Adept at creative problem-solving.

Benefits

• Comprehensive Medical/Dental/Vision benefits.
• Monthly commuter and parking benefits in the DC metro area.
• Retirement benefit options.
• Paid leave starting at 23 days.
• 12 holidays (plus early release the day prior).
• Daily, quarterly, and annual community spiritual formation.
• Robust staff care resources.