About IREX

IREX is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to building a more just, prosperous, and inclusive world by empowering youth, cultivating leaders, strengthening institutions, and extending access to quality education and information. Founded in 1968, IREX has an annual portfolio of over $140 million, work in more than 100 countries worldwide with offices in 20 countries, and a global staff of over 600. 

Position Summary

IREX seeks a qualified Finance and Grants Director to support an anticipated, USAID/LAC Bureau-funded activity, the LAC Regional Fund for Basic Education. The primary goal of the activity is to expand inclusive access to quality basic education for marginalized and vulnerable learners sustained over time. The project will accomplish this goal by managing a regional fund which will have three main components: 1) a grant facility that provides sub-grants to local organizations to expand their work in inclusive education and/or fund their ideas for promising innovations; 2) a technical assistance component to strengthen the capacity of local organizations to work with USAID, monitor and adapt their interventions, and increase access and improve quality of education for marginalized groups; and 3) a component that seeks to generate, disseminate, and use evidence and learning from the local education sub-grants. The activity will closely monitor and evaluate improvements in inclusive access and quality of education with an emphasis on improved foundational skills for marginalized groups, especially in, but not limited to, the early primary grades. 

The activity will work through local organizations across the LAC region, focused on but not necessarily limited to countries in which USAID has a presence in education through regional or bilateral programming. These countries currently include: Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, select English-speaking Eastern and Southern Caribbean countries, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, and Paraguay. USAID anticipates that the activity will issue multiple calls for sub-grant applications during the life of the activity, and the USAID LAC Team will seek concurrence for each call from the USAID Missions, relevant ministries of education, and other donor partners working in the countries of interest. It is possible and probable that one call could include a subset of the above-listed countries, while another includes a different subset of countries, depending on the inclusive education contexts in each of the target countries 

This position is contingent on project award. 

• The Finance and Grants Director will report directly to the Chief of Party. In close collaboration with the Chief of Party, the Finance and Grants Director will supervise the Finance and Operations team and lead the financial administration, operations, and grants management functions for the LAC Fund project; 

• Serves as the project Fund Manager; leads and implements subgrantee capacity strengthening interventions focused on financial management and compliance with USAID and other donor guidelines. Oversees subgrantee budgets and expenditures; provides relevant capacity building on financial and operational requirements for local partners  

• Ensures compliance with USAID and other donors, USG, host country, and IREX fiscal and operational policies and procedures. The Finance and Grants Director will also serve as the project’s subject matter expert on grants management for donor-funded projects; 

• Tracks and analyzes all costs incurred under the award; oversees all payments. Monitors the project budget and advises senior management on burn rates and other programmatic considerations; provides complete and compliant financial reporting; and maintains financial records for all program activities; 

• Ensures that appropriate financial record-keeping policies and practices are established and maintained throughout the life of the program; 

• Oversees all office expenditures and staff transportation/vehicles; leads human resource management; 

• Establishes financial and operational systems during start-up; 

• Liaises with IREX home office financial, compliance and field operations teams 

Skills and Experience

• A master’s degree in finance, accounting, business or a related field with at least eleven (11) years of progressively responsible experience leading financial administration, grants management, and/or operations activities for donor-funded projects; or a bachelor’s degree with at least twelve (12) years of experience required. 

• Proven experience leading financial administration and operations functions for USAID-funded projects required. 

• Experience overseeing financial administrations of a project with multiple funders (USG, foundations, other)  with different timelines, requirements, regulations, etc.  

• Demonstrated experience successfully establishing and managing grants programs for USAID-funded projects required. 

• Experience with managing USAID mission buy-ins preferred. 

• Strong command of FAR and ADS regulations required; track record of successful implementing captivity strengthening activities to strengthen organizational compliance with USAID and USG regulations strongly preferred. 

• Strong knowledge of MS Office programs 

• Excellent interpersonal and teamwork skills, proven leadership qualities and excellent management skills. 

• Demonstrated ability to track and manage budgets and plan both strategically and creatively to meet project objectives. 

• Ability to communicate effectively with internal and external stakeholders, including governments, private sector, higher educational institutions, schools, donors, etc. 

• Strong representational and organizational skills  

• Commitment to inclusive programming that encourages full participation of individual regardless of gender, disability status, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or other marginalized status 

• Effective oral and written communication skills. Fluency English and Spanish (written and spoken) required. 

• Experience working in one or more of the following countries in the LAC region is required: Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, English-speaking Eastern and Southern Caribbean countries, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, and Paraguay. 

• Work authorization in the country of preferred location, the United States, El Salvador, or Guatemala.