Managing Director of Grants (Immediate Opening) - IDEA Public Schools

Managing Director of Grants

Business Office

Role Mission: IDEA Public schools is seeking a Managing Director of Grants to join our growing Business Office team. The Managing Director of Grants will report to the Vice President of Treasury and Grants. This position will be responsible for ensuring compliance with all aspects of federal, state, and local grants. The Managing Director of Grants will also ensure major programs 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 13 regions across 15 states to achieve annual operating income goals while remaining good stewards of public funds and donations. The Managing Director of Grants will be the subject matter expert on federal, state, and local financial laws, program guidelines, policies, and procedures. Strong leadership and impersonal skills are necessary in this role to effectively build partnerships, lead people and provide clear direction regarding grant requirements.   

Supervisory Responsibilities:

This position will have supervisory responsibilities to be determined in partnership with the VP of Treasury and Grants. 

Location:

This is a full-time remote position based in Texas with preference given to candidates who live in Austin, El Paso, Houston, Permian Basin (Midland/Odessa), Rio Grande Valley, San Antonio, and Tarrant County (Fort Worth), or who are willing to relocate.

Travel Expectations:

Up to 30% of the time during the busiest parts of the year 

What You’ll Do – Accountabilities

Essential Duties:

• Lead training to ensure national, regional and campus leaders understand the importance of grant compliance and clearly outline their responsibility as IDEA Public Schools fiduciaries.  Provide guidance to support them in making real connections to their functional work and the rules and regulations regarding grants funds.  

• Oversee the development and execution of comprehensive program plans, implementation of planned programs, and monitoring of budgets in accordance with federal, state, and local polices amongst all IDEA Public School Headquarters and Campus Teams. 

• Develop and deliver quarterly comprehensive training for the Business Office leaders to educate on federal and philanthropic grants, identify areas of risk and highlight key performance indicators.  

• Direct the team through the drawdown process by leading regular training and meetings regarding the allowability as identified within each grant program guideline.  

• Review and approve all grant reimbursements monthly prior to submission for accuracy, allowability, and ensure required documentation is in compliance and readily available for Texas and IPS entities.  

• Ensure all grants documentation is properly documented, uploaded, and accurate prior to submitting drawdowns monthly to ensure continuous progress in fulfilling the high-risk designation requirements.  

• Preparing periodic internal reporting for directors and the Business Office Team; the task will require active coordination with cross-functional stakeholders. Superior communication skills are required to properly facilitate this work;   

• Prepare and present Grant Program updates to the Board of Directors, Superintendent, Finance Committees, Governance Committees, etc. on a monthly cadence for both Texas and IPS entities. 

• Ensure all grant payroll compliance requirements are met in a timely manner, including but not limited to: allowability of position, approved salary amount, extra duty time sheets, time and effort, job descriptions, semi-annual certifications, and all other documentation required to meet the federal, state, and local reporting requirements for Texas and IPS entities.  

• Coordinate, implement, and maintaining all relevant internal controls by developing and implementing processes and procedures for obtaining appropriate backup in a timely manner;  

• Support the VP of Treasury and Grants in building and revising finance policies across legal entities   

• Responsible for developing measurable goals and objectives for Directors to provide highly effective and purposeful program guidance to facilitate growth within their position. 

•  Partner with the Internal Audit and Finance Teams to ensure internal audits are supported by the Grants Team, results are cascaded and understood by appropriate parties, and corrective action plans are implemented with fidelity. 

• Coordinate and collaborate with Schools Team leaders to ensure District/Campus Needs Assessments, District/Campus improvement plans and Targeted Improvement Plans are robust, attainable, comprehensive and comply with programmatic requirements. 

• Implement deadlines, milestones, and benchmarks to all appropriate national or regional financial teams. 

• Development, planning, implementing, evaluating, and reporting on all grants to ensure compliance with ESSA, EDGAR, and DOE requirements.  

• Actively review, monitor, and revise (when/if necessary) Corrective Action Plans to ensure IDEA Public Schools is making continuous progress in fulfilling the high-risk designation requirements. 

What You Bring – Competencies

Knowledge and Skills:

• Ability to effectively communicate with stakeholders of varying degrees of analytical understanding 
• Excellent analytical and problem solving skills 
• Constantly searching for and learning more regarding analysis methods and tools 
• Organizing own work and work of others, coordinating projects, setting priorities, meeting deadlines 
• Using 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  
• 7+ years’ experience in Accounting, Finance, Grants including a focus on Federal and State Programs required 
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, specifically Excel and Enterprise Resource Planning Software  
• Proficiency with Tyler Munis 

Preferred experience:

• Master’s degree in accounting, business administration, or economics
• 5-7 years’ supervisory experience in the above

Physical Requirements: Must be able to sit for extended periods of time.

What We Offer:

Compensation & Benefits:

Salaries for people entering this role typically fall between $119,000 and $142,800, commensurate with relevant experience and qualifications and in alignment with internal equity. This role is also eligible for performance pay based on organizational performance and goal attainment.

Additionally, we offer medical, dental, and vision plans, disability, life insurance, parenting benefits, flexible spending account options, generous vacation time, referral bonuses, professional development, and a 403(b) plan. 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. Applicants 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