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About the Role

The Simons Foundation seeks a Director of Grants Management to provide strategic leadership across all grants administration functions, driving continuous system and workflow improvements for pre- and post-award grantmaking processes. This role involves supervising a team, managing the foundation's grants management system (SAM), and ensuring operational efficiency and compliance.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the Grants Managers and their grant portfolios, including output and team success.
• Supervise and mentor Grants Managers and their direct reports.
• Streamline grant operations across the foundation's funding divisions.
• Oversee grantmaking timelines and workflows to ensure internal equity and meet program goals.
• Review and approve requests for applications (RFAs), award letters, award modifications, and financial statements.
• Develop metrics to evaluate the quantitative and qualitative outputs of the foundation and its funding divisions.
• Facilitate internal and external relationships to ensure program compliance with foundation policies.
• Serve as the business owner of the Simons Award Manager (SAM) system.
• Supervise the Senior Systems Manager who oversees SAM.
• Review and approve all technical assistance requests for internal and external stakeholders.
• Serve as a point of escalation for the SAM team for configuration requests.
• Ensure SOPs related to SAM are developed and maintained.
• Manage SAM enhancements and upgrades.
• Collaborate with technology and grants leadership to foster the continuous improvement of SAM.
• Lead the development, implementation, and oversight of grants management strategy.
• Identify and develop process improvement initiatives.
• Build and maintain a robust data and analytics program.
• Build and maintain relationships with senior leadership to inform grants management strategy.
• Stay current within the field of grant-making to ensure best practices.
• Build relationships with peer grant-making organizations.
• Promote SAM and the SmartSimple platform to other peer foundations.
• Partner with legal and finance to develop grant agreements and ensure international grantmaking compliance.
• Ensure SAM and department practices support audit readiness.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree preferred.
• At least 10 to 15 years of progressively responsible experience in grants administration, preferably at a private foundation or comparable research-focused organization.
• Demonstrated people management experience, including supervision of professional staff.
• Hands-on experience with SmartSimple is preferred.
• Experience managing or overseeing a SmartSimple implementation is ideal.
• Deep familiarity with the full grant lifecycle, including online application and scientific peer review process, pre-award due diligence, award execution, compliance monitoring, financial oversight, US laws, and IRS rules and regulations applicable to private foundation grantmaking.
• Ability to manage, develop, and empower a high-performing team while balancing multiple competing priorities.
• Strong analytical skills; ability to design and interpret reporting to inform operational decisions.
• Strong technical acumen, with the ability to provide technical direction to the SAM team and perform basic system configuration in SmartSimple/SAM.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with demonstrated ability to engage senior leadership and external stakeholders.
• Proficiency in Excel.
• Familiarity with Artificial Intelligence (AI), data visualization, and reporting tools is a plus.
• Sound judgment, adaptability, and attention to detail in a fast-paced environment.

Skills

• Grants administration
• System and workflow improvements
• Pre-award grantmaking
• Post-award grantmaking
• Project management
• Continuous learning
• Cross-functional team techniques
• Grantmaking technology
• End-to-end grantmaking processes
• SmartSimple platform
• Data integrity
• Data and analytics
• Reporting
• Excel
• Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Data visualization
• Written communication
• Verbal communication

Location

• New York City, NY

Work Type

• Full-time
• On-site

Experience Level

• 10-15 years of experience
• Director level

Education Level

• Bachelor's degree
• Advanced degree preferred

Salary/Compensations

• $175,000 to $200,000

Benefits

• Outstanding benefits package

About the Company

• The Simons Foundation advances the frontiers of research in mathematics and the basic sciences.
• The foundation supports partners, programs, and initiatives that seek to broaden the scientific community and open pathways to science and mathematics careers.

Equal Opportunity

• The Simons Foundation provides equal opportunities to all applicants without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, pregnancy, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic disposition, neurodiversity, disability, veteran status, or any other protected category under federal, state, and local law.