Internal call - (RFP500609) Associate Team Leader, Grants Management Unit (Rome, Italy)

Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT; Roma; On-site; EUR 45,000 - 55,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive benefits

Job summary

The Alliance of Bioversity International & CIAT, based in Rome, Italy, seeks an Associate Team Leader for the Grants Management Unit to coordinate day-to-day operations and a portfolio of active grants and subgrants. You will liaise with regional teams, support process improvements, and ensure compliance with donor requirements.

We value experience in grants administration, strong coordination skills, and the ability to work with Finance, Legal, IT, and partner organizations.

Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree in International Relations, Political Science, Business Administration, Public Administration, Development Studies, Law, or related field.
• Preferably at least four years of grants and subgrant management experience in international development or donor-funded settings.
• Experience coordinating a portfolio of active grants and subgrants across the award lifecycle.
• Ability to review donor agreements, assess obligations and deadlines, and ensure compliance.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate day-to-day team activities, onboarding and supervision of team members.
• Oversee a large portfolio of active grants and subgrants ensuring donor and internal policy compliance.
• Support regional workflows, improve GMU systems, and develop Power BI dashboards.
• Assist GMU Manager with performance monitoring and objective setting.
• Liaise with regional coordinators to align priorities and communications.
• Coordinate interactions with Finance and Accounting, including financial analysis playbooks.

Skills

Grants management

Team coordination

Stakeholder liaison

Risk & compliance

Data analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in international relations / development studies / public administration / law

Tools

OCS/Unit4

Power BI

Job description

The Organization

The Alliance of Bioversity International & CIAT delivers research-based solutions that harness agricultural biodiversity and sustainably transform food systems to improve people’s lives. Alliance solutions address the global crises of malnutrition, climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation.

About The Position

Based in Rome, Italy and under the direct supervision of the Manager, Grants Management Unit, the Associate Team Leader will be responsible for providing operational support to the Manager, Grants Management Unit, and for coordinating day-to-day work plans across the regional team. The ideal candidate will have experience in project coordination, task oversight, and support a portfolio of active grants and subgrants.

Key Duties And Responsibilities

• Coordinate day-to-day team activities, including the technical onboarding and task-level supervision of team members, offering guidance on complex operational matters.
• Coordinate a large portfolio of active grants and subgrants, ensuring compliance with donor requirements and internal policies and procedures.
• Provide operational inputs to support the improvement of regional team workflows and tools. Support the operational maintenance and the technological development of all team’s system (ERP) and maintenance and development of Power BI’s Dashboards to increase scientific community engagement, Data curation and information accessibility. Including being the access point between the IT department and GMU.
• Support the GMU Manager with team performance monitoring, providing input for individual annual objectives based on work plans, mid-term reviews and annual performance reviews.
• Liaise with other regional coordinators and ensure communications regarding global level priorities are trickled down to Asia team.

Grants administration

• Conduct review of donor contracts against the Alliance's policies and procedures and facilitate the process of contract clearance and signature.
• Provide support to more junior staff in the review and negotiation of complex grants.
• Apply risk management and compliance practices to improve grants management.
• Contribute to the negotiation of contracts with donors for their subsequent execution.
• Monitor the portfolio of projects assigned and ensure that the commitments in legal documents with donors and partners are accomplished by the established dates and in compliance with the Alliance's regulations.
• Coordinate the interaction with the Finance and Accounting Units, including active participation in the generation and interpretation of financial analysis on payables and receivables.
• Coordinate grant audits and assist with financial and institutional audits.
• Maintain an overview of reporting requirements (deadlines, templates, etc.), carry out compliance reviews, and communicate it regularly to relevant internal stakeholders.
• Liaise with donors on all grant-related issues, including submission of donor reports and requests for project modifications.
• Support scientists in the overall management and monitoring of grants, sharing information about compliance requirements and reviewing adherence to them.

Sub-grants administration

• Implement established processes and procedures for subgrants to ensure compliance and risk management.
• Coordinate capacity assessment and due diligence review of prospective partners.
• Ensure partners' awareness of reporting requirements, research ethics, and contractual compliance.
• Support the review of subgrant agreements connected to the assigned project portfolio to ensure compliance.
• Provide ongoing support to internal stakeholders and partners throughout the subgrant lifecycle on administrative and compliance issues, including contract modifications.
• Support the development of capacity-building, communication, and information-sharing materials around grants and subgrants administration; facilitate training for Bioversity and partners' staff as required.
• Support the Grants Manager in developing improved processes and tools for grants and subgrants administration.

IT-related tasks

• Coordinate the operational maintenance and continuous improvement of GMU systems, including ERP/OCS, identifying process, workflow and data
• Act as GMU’s functional liaison with IT, translating operational needs into system requirements and coordinating prioritization, testing, validation, and rollout.
• Define functional and reporting requirements and coordinate improvements to Power BI dashboards for grants and subgrants monitoring, partner information, data quality, and operational reporting.
• Review data curation and quality controls to improve the accuracy, consistency, completeness, and accessibility of grants and subgrants information.
• Support adoption of systems and dashboards through guidance, documentation, training, and structured user feedback.

Requirements

Required qualifications and experience

• Undergraduate degree in International Relations, Political Science, Business Administration, Public Administration, Development Studies, Law, or another field relevant to grants management. A relevant postgraduate qualification is an asset.
• Preferably at least four years of progressively responsible experience in grants and subgrant/sub-agreement management or administration, preferably in an international development, research, nonprofit, or donor-funded environment.
• Demonstrated experience coordinating a portfolio of active grants and subgrants across the award lifecycle, including agreement review and clearance, amendments, compliance monitoring, reporting, and closeout.
• Experience reviewing donor agreements and subgrant/subagreement documents and identifying contractual obligations, risks, deadlines, and compliance requirements.
• Experience supporting partner due diligence and capacity assessments
• Experience coordinating team workflows, guiding junior colleagues, and working across functions with Finance, Legal, or scientific teams, IT, donors, and partners.

Required Competencies

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office package, particularly Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams.
• Experience using ERP and grants-management systems such as OCS/Unit4 or similar platforms.
• Sound knowledge of donor compliance, grants and subgrants lifecycle management, contract administration, risk management, and partner due diligence.
• Experience with Power BI dashboards development and maintenance.
• Strong data-management, data-quality, and data-curation outlook.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English. Spanish and French would be an asset.

Benefits

• We offer a competitive salary and excellent benefits including but not limited to insurance, retirement plan, staff training and development, paid time off and flexible working arrangements.

Terms of employment

This position is a nationally recruited staff position based in Rome, Italy open to internal candidates, namely: regular staff members, complementary staff members and individuals who are currently employed or have completed a contract with Bioversity in the last 12 months.

The initial contract will be for up to one (1) year, subject to a probation period of six (6) months, and is renewable depending on performance and availability of resources.

This position is graded at BG08 level, with a minimum annual basic salary of Euro 50,024 in a scale of BG02 to BG14 (BG14 being the highest level according to the Alliance job classification framework policy). We offer a competitive salary and excellent benefits including but not limited to insurance, retirement plan, staff training and development, paid time off and flexible working arrangements.

The Alliance of Bioversity International & CIAT is committed to fair, safe, and inclusive workplaces. We believe that diversity powers our innovation, contributes to our excellence, and is critical for our mission. Recruiting and mentoring staff to create an inclusive organization that reflects our global character is a priority. We encourage applicants from all cultures, races, colors, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability statuses, sexual orientations, marital status, and gender identities. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Please note that eligible applicants must have the legal status to live and work in Italy:

• Be Italian nationals holding a valid passport or identity card.
• Or be EU citizens holding a valid passport or identity card and confirmation of registration from the Registrar’s Office (Anagrafe).
• Or Non–EU citizens holding a valid Italian work permit (permesso di soggiorno per lavoro subordinato).

Applications closing date: 19 October 2026

We invite you to learn more about us at: http://alliancebioversityciat.org