Director of Competitive Grants (Immediate Opening)

Description

Director of Competitive Grants

Role Mission: IDEA Public schools is seeking a Director of Competitive Grants to join our growing Business Office team. As the Director of Competitive Grants, you will report to the Vice President of Finance Compliance and Grants and support the Finance Team regarding all aspects of federal, state and local financial compliance. Additionally, you will ensure that procured goods and services and staff composition are evaluated each year to identify potential cost savings and support leaders during the planning process.

As a member of the National team, you will support all regions across four states to achieve annual operating income goals while remaining good stewards of public funds and donations. You will be the subject matter expert on federal, state, and local financial laws, policies, and procedures and be adept at translating them to stakeholders across the organization.

Location: This is a full-time, immediate opening based in Texas. While this is a remote role, preference will be given to candidates who live in Austin, El Paso, Greater Houston, Permian Basin, Rio Grande Valley, San Antonio, or Tarrant County, or who are willing to relocate.

What You’ll Do - Accountabilities

In this role you will:

• Work with other IDEA departments and Business Office staff to ensure an accurate, timely efficient and transparent process for the entire grant life cycle, from proposal to close. This entails pre-award management, tracking payments, reviewing and producing relevant reports, monitoring grant activity, post-award management and records retention.
• Support in drafting grant applications ensuring grant compliance requirements are maintained across budgets and proposed programming. Ensure applications do not require IDEA to violate existing grant compliance requirements and that all fiscal and compliance statements in applications are accurate and valid.
• Lead high level monitoring and reporting of IDEA’s competitive and discretionary federal grant portfolio.
• Serve as the expert on grant compliance and interpretation of relevant federal requirements including EDGAR and the Uniform Guidance, as well as other related Federal and State regulations and legislation and board policy.
• Remain abreast of all compliance changes and identify trends; communicate appropriately with staff concerning updates and the potential amendment of board policy and administrative procedure.
• Collect all compliance related documentation (e.g., time and effort reports, job descriptions, etc.) and retain the information pursuant to the board’s policy for the retention of records and report the maintenance of records to the Records Management Officer.
• Work with Schools team and Program team to create and develop robust Campus Needs Assessment and Campus Instructional Plans appropriately conforming to relevant statutory standards.
• Develop and review state and federal budgets with the Financial Planning & Analysis team verifying that the expense ties back to the application and needs of the School and Program team.
• Conduct monthly check-ins with external and internal evaluation partners on progress towards the agreed upon scope of work, milestones and deliverables.
• Coach Program Managers on when and how to provide feedback during the year and at the end of the year for evaluation plans related to federal grants.
• Maintain positive working relationships with all current state and federal funders, positioning IDEA for future grant opportunities.
• Assist as needed to monitor requests for proposals from state and federal entities and create and present one-page summaries for Chiefs within one week of grant announcement to garner senior leadership’s approval to apply.
• Monitor and review requests for procurements by verifying that the requisitions conform to Board policy, purchasing procedures and applicable Federal and state legal requirements.
• Conduct monthly, cross-functional grant reporting meetings and establish systems for Program Managers to access data from teams across the organization.
• Act as a liaison within the organization to other IDEA departments as the subject matter expert related to all competitive grants in the IDEA portfolio.
• Coordinate with the Director of Federal Compliance and Evaluation to develop tools to measure the success of the grants for students.
• Coordinate with the Business Office Training and Development Manager to develop exemplar trainings for staff
• Prepare and submit all compliance reporting related to the competitive grants.
• Support the VP of Finance Compliance and Grants in building and revising finance policies across legal entities
• Prepare sufficiently detailed time accounting records for the work performed for different cost objectives in a manner consistent with applicable Federal and state requirements, Board policy and administrative procedure.

What you’ll bring – Competencies

Knowledge and Skills:

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, specifically Excel and Enterprise Resource Planning Software
• Ability to effectively communicate with stakeholders of varying degrees of analytical understanding
• Excellent analytical and problem solving skills
• Initiative and independent judgment within established policy and procedural guidelines
• Hold ethics and values to high standards

Required Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in accounting, business administration, or economics
• Master’s degree in accounting, business administration, or economics (Preferred)
• 3+ years’ experience in finance leadership or financial compliance
• 5-7 years’ experience in the above (Preferred)

Compensation & Benefits:

Salaries for people entering this role typically fall between $80,000 and $100,900 commensurate with relevant experience and qualifications and in alignment with internal equity. This role is also eligible for a performance bonus based on individual and organizational performance and goal attainment, including the availability of funds for incentive compensation.

Additionally, we offer medical, dental, vision, and supplemental benefits as well as retirement plans and a generous vacation package. You can find more information about our benefits at https://ideapublicschools.org/careers/benefits/.

* IDEA may offer a relocation stipend to defray the cost of moving for this role, if applicable.

Application process:

Submit your application online through Jobvite. Please note that applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis until the position is filled. You are encouraged to apply as early as possible.

• Learn more about IDEA

  At IDEA the Staff Culture and Belonging Team uses our Core Values to promote human connection and a culture of integrity, respect, and belonging for all Team and Family members. Learn more about our Commitment to Core Values here: https://ideapublicschools.org/our-story/#core-values