Mellon Foundation
Grants Manager
The Mellon Foundation (“Foundation”) believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and we believe that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom to be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive. The Foundation makes grants in four core program areas - Higher Learning, Arts and Culture, Public Knowledge, and Humanities in Place - and through its signature Presidential Initiatives.
The Foundation seeks a Grants Manager for its Grants Management team.
About Grants Management:
Mellon Grants Management supports our grantmaking practices, procedures, systems, and data. We strive to build operational excellence, compliance capabilities, and strategic workflows and processes that enable the Foundation to fulfill its social justice mission and goals.
Position Summary:
Reporting to the Assistant Director, Grants Management and Operations, the Grants Manager will be responsible for the management of the Foundation’s grants throughout the grant life cycle, which includes both pre-and post-award processes, and collaborating closely with colleagues in Programs and Legal to provide effective oversight of grants. In partnership with assigned program(s), the Grants Manager will conduct compliance and due diligence reviews of a grant file and supporting documentation. This role will also support preparing the grant docket for Mellon’s Board of Trustees, who meet three times a year, and approval materials for Delegated Authority and Officer grants, which are reviewed monthly. The Grants Manager will collaborate with colleagues across the Foundation to provide grantmaking support, ensure alignment with grantmaking policies and procedures, and work to identify continuous process improvements. The work is detail-oriented and requires excellent communication, relationship, and project management skills, as well as an ability to enhance grantmaking practices through a social justice lens.
Position Description:
Responsibilities may include, but will not be limited to, the following:
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Reviews grants throughout the grant lifecycle, including grant proposals, reports, payments, and modifications, for completeness and accuracy and conducts appropriate due diligence for assigned program areas, including ensuring compliance with Foundation policies and adherence to applicable law.
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Works closely with the Legal team and Program staff to respond to and resolve compliance issues during the grant lifecycle, ensuring reviews and processes are conducted in a timely manner, and elevates grant reviews to Legal, as needed.
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Serves as the key point of contact for Program staff on grantmaking practices and policies.
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Pre-Award Processes
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Reviews grant proposals, including grant budgets and supplemental documents, and conducts and documents appropriate due diligence.
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Responsible for docket preparation and compiling grant materials for monthly Officer approval, including review of a grant write-up for each grant.
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Prepares and coordinates grant agreements and other grant-related documents.
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Reviews grant payment and report schedules, and any associated contingencies.
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Post-Award Processes
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Monitors and reviews grant reports, as needed, for compliance or other considerations.
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Monitors and reviews grant modifications, as needed, and prepares reporting for the Board and Officers on modifications and other key grant changes.
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Reviews and helps to process grant payments, in advance of Finance review and approval.
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Helps to ensure all grant reports and requirements are met and works to mitigate overdue reporting and ensure grants are closed within a timely manner.
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Grantmaking policies, procedures, and resources
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Helps to maintain and refine grantmaking policies and procedures, in coordination with the Legal team and other relevant stakeholders, as needed.
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Maintains and develops internal/external guidance documents and training materials.
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Helps update the Grants Management manual and other internal process documentation.
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Provides ongoing training support and resources for Program and Foundation staff on grantmaking processes, internal policy changes, best practices in the philanthropic sector, and grantee organizational effectiveness.
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Assists with data analysis and compilation for Foundation research and reports, including reports for the Board and 990PF, as needed.
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Participates in and contributes to cross-Foundational projects, as needed, to advance the Foundation’s social justice mission.
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Supports and provides backup to others on the team during heavy workloads and takes on other grants management duties/tasks as needed.
Qualifications:
The ideal candidate would have a minimum of 5+ years of successful, progressive experience in a grants management function at a private foundation. An advanced degree in a humanities discipline, social science, law, or other related field, is preferred.
Applicants should also possess:
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Outstanding interpersonal, written, and oral communications skills
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Strong administrative, organizational, time, and workflow management skills
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Experience writing and reviewing complex documents (e.g., grant proposals and agreements)
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Experience managing and implementing projects and/or policies
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Ability to review and analyze organizational budgets and financials
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Experience working within databases or relational management systems and the ability to quickly acquire proficiency in database software (e.g., the Fluxx database)
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An orientation toward self-starting, proactive anticipation of team needs, and creative problem-solving.
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Flexibility, adaptability, curiosity, integrity
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Commitment to the Foundation’s mission, core values, and focus on social justice.
Mellon Foundation is an equal opportunity employer. Mellon offers a generous total reward package that includes base salary and a comprehensive benefits program, as well as an excellent working environment. Mellon is committed to providing compensation that is competitive and equitable within the philanthropic sector. The estimated annual salary range for this role is $150,000 - $165,000. The amount of pay offered will be determined by several factors, including but not limited to qualifications, unique skills, credentials, or experience that is expected to impact the candidate’s contribution to the role. We will also consider market data as well as the Foundation’s internal pay equity framework.
Please note that Mellon maintains a hybrid work schedule, with three days per week in person at the Foundation’s Manhattan offices.
Candidates should apply by submitting a cover letter describing fit for the position and a resume by Friday, November 8, 2024, to Natalie Leonard, nleonard@employcore.com. Please note that incomplete applications will not be considered.
The Foundation will consider each complete application carefully but only contact those individuals it believes are most qualified for the position.