Senior Funding Operations Specialist

Loka; Portugal; Remote; EUR 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Every other Friday off

Remote-first culture

Relocation program (international)

Paid sick days and local holidays

Fitness and mental health subsidies

LokaLabs access

Job summary

Loka is seeking a Senior Funding Operations Specialist to orchestrate AWS funding programs from request to reconciliation. You will partner with AWS account teams, Finance, Sales, PM and Engineering to accelerate funding approvals while mitigating risk.

The role emphasizes meticulous compliance, timely documentation, and continuous process improvement in a remote-first environment with relocation opportunities and flexible scheduling.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in program coordination and administration, focusing on funding programs and policy adherence.
• Experience with AWS funding mechanisms is a significant plus.
• Strong data validation and meticulous documentation.
• Excellent written and verbal communication across teams.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate across AWS funding programs, ensuring proper submission and timely follow-up.
• Distribute updates and dashboards to stakeholders; monitor approvals and statuses.
• Audit funding requests for accuracy and compliance; collect supporting materials.
• Improve workflows, templates, and training; document best practices.

Skills

Program coordination

AWS familiarity

Data validation

Communication

Attention to detail

Tools

AWS

Job description

At Loka we use a modern tech stack to support meaningful projects across a huge range of industries. In the last year our teams have helped clients advance the world’s #1 GenAI reading tutor, eliminate $1B in food waste and develop novel drugs for fighting cancer, all while enjoying every other Friday off. Join us, feed your need to grow and ship projects you believe in with a team you’re proud to be a part of.

The Senior Funding Operations Specialist is Loka’s central orchestrator for all AWS funding programs, ensuring meticulous management from request to reconciliation. This role is crucial for optimizing funding approvals, mitigating financial risk and fostering seamless communication across internal teams and AWS. Success entails highly organized processes, strict compliance and strategic improvements that enhance our funding efficiency.

Key Responsibilities

Funding Request Management

• Serve as the primary coordinator for all AWS funding programs ensuring proper submission and timely follow-up.
• Maintain a centralized tracking system for all open funding requests, capturing details such as request owner, AWS program, submission date, approval status and expiration.
• Regularly review program guidelines to ensure funding requests meet AWS eligibility criteria and internal policies.
• Ensure timely customer review and sign-off, escalating as necessary to prevent bottlenecks and expedite funding approvals.

Information Sharing & Communication

• Act as the liaison between AWS account teams, internal Sales, Finance, PM and Engineering teams to distribute updates on funding availability, program changes, approval status and next steps.
• Prepare and distribute weekly/monthly dashboards or reports summarizing active, approved and closed funding requests.
• Notify stakeholders of missing documentation, incomplete applications or discrepancies requiring action to avoid delays or denials.

Verification & Compliance

• Audit submitted funding requests to verify accuracy of claims, project scopes, budget alignment and compliance with AWS program requirements.
• Collect and validate supporting materials prior to funding approval.
• Ensure timely completion of post-approval tasks, including acquiring agreed-upon deliverables and submitting required proofs of performance to AWS.
• Update funding request statuses in real time.
• Collaborate with Finance to ensure proper invoicing.
• Identify and remediate any gaps between committed activities and actual deliverables to mitigate clawback risk.

Process Improvement & Documentation

• Continuously refine funding request workflows and templates (funding request forms, approval matrices, closeout checklists) to streamline the process and reduce cycle time.
• Document processes, best practices and lessons learned to build a knowledge base for new team members.
• Lead funding-program training sessions for all teams on an ad hoc basis.

Required Qualifications

Experience

• 5+ years in program coordination and administration, specifically managing funding programs, tracking requests and ensuring guideline adherence, preferably within a technology services or consulting environment.
• Record of adherence to program guidelines and data validation, meticulously reviewing documentation, ensuring program rule compliance and validating submitted data.
• Familiarity with AWS services and AWS funding mechanisms is a significant plus.

Soft Skills

• Meticulous attention to detail
• Exceptional organization
• Strong written and verbal communication
• Every other Friday off (26 extra days off a year)
• Remote-first culture
• Explore and Relocation programs (three months work abroad or full international relo)
• Paid sick days and local holidays
• Business English classes program
• Fitness and/or Mental Health Subscriptions
• Access to LokaLabs™, our internal research and development program
• Defined career path