Managing Director, Awards Management

Acacia Center for Justice; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 140,250 - 187,750; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Employee Assistance Program

Vacation days

Sick time

Personal days

Wellness days

Home office stipend

Internet stipend

401k with employer contribution

Job summary

Acacia Center for Justice in Washington, DC, seeks a Managing Director, Awards Management to unify budgeting and resource management for federal and private awards. You will lead a finance team, ensure compliance, and partner with program, development, and legal teams to record, monitor, and report award activity.

The role emphasizes policy development, training, and strong governance, with a salary around $165,000 and a comprehensive benefits package.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, or business required.
• Minimum 12 years related experience, with 5+ years leading a team.
• At least 5 years in federal contracts management including procurement and pricing.
• Experience designing curricula and training in nonprofit financial management.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end award management processes including procurement, implementation, and closeout.
• Oversee budget and resource management staffing, policies, and platforms.
• Drive pre- to post-award financial management and reporting.
• Support audit readiness and documentation organization.
• Collaborate across programs, development, and policy teams.
• Mentor and develop staff within the department.

Skills

Federal contracts management

Non-profit awards management

Budgeting and pricing

Team leadership and mentoring

Effective communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, or business

12+ years related experience

5+ years federal contracts management

Curriculum and training program design

Job description

About Acacia Center for Justice

Acacia Center for Justice ("Acacia") provides legal support and representation to immigrants facing deportation through the development, coordination, and management of national networks of legal services providers serving immigrants across the country. Acacia’s goals are twofold: to support immigrant legal services and defense networks to provide exceptional legal services to immigrants; and to advocate for the expansion of these programs and the infrastructure critical to guaranteeing immigrants access to justice, fairness, and freedom. Acacia ensures accountable, independent, zealous, and person-centered legal services and representation to protect the rights of all immigrants.

Job Summary

The Managing Director, Awards Management will lead the unification of the Budget and Resource Management Team, in partnership with the Chief Financial Officer (CFO). This role is responsible for bringing together the current budget and resource management functions into a cohesive, standardized, and high-performing unit that strengthens organizational effectiveness, compliance, and risk management. The Managing Director will oversee all budgeting and compliance for government (federal and state) contracts and grants, and private grants. The Managing Director must be able to adapt to a continually evolving environment and thrive in an autonomous and deadline‑oriented workplace, while managing a finance team of eleven (11). Reporting to the CFO, this position provides key leadership and oversight. The Managing Director will work closely with finance, programs, technical compliance, development, and legal teams to ensure the complete and accurate recording, monitoring, analysis, and reporting of award activity for the organization. The Managing Director will create, centralize, and continuously strengthen budget and resource management functions, including policies, procedures, systems, training, and implementation frameworks to support compliant and efficient financial management of awards. The Managing Director will also oversee the financial management of sub‑awards, sub‑contracting, and procurement‑related activities, while building staff capacity through clear guidance and developing technical resources across word‑based and spreadsheet‑based platforms.

Primary Duties/Responsibilities

Financial Oversight & Team Management (60%)

• Lead award management processes from end‑to‑end, from: a) award procurement; to b) program implementation; to c) award closeout.
• Lead the award management functions, including oversight over the Budget and Resource Management’s staffing, policies, procedures, tools, templates, and platforms, across the functional areas of award compliance, award financial management (pricing, billing, financial reporting), sub‑granting, sub‑contracting, and procurement.
• Lead the Budget & Resource Management Team to effectively financially manage awards, including pre‑award management, producing or reconciling relevant reports, monitoring, post‑award management.
• Support organizational audit readiness by ensuring strong processes for saving and organizing required documentation.
• Work with a team to ensure a high level of communication and collaboration with other parts of the organization.
• Foster a team culture that supports individuals’ growth and development; coach and mentor leaders within the department.

Policy Development & Training (20%)

• On an ongoing basis, evaluate, refine, and strengthen Acacia’s policies and procedures for award management, including due diligence, financial monitoring, close‑outs, and the administration of subgrants and subcontracts throughout the life cycle of the award.
• Maintain a comprehensive understanding of the specific regulations related to federal contracting and awards, state‑funded awards, and private foundations and donors, and ensure procedures and templates are consistent with those requirements.
• Standardize, document, and operationalize award management procedures across the organization. Ensure staff are trained and informed when updates are made.
• Work across internal teams to provide training and guidance to cross‑departmental teams on best practices, compliance, and financial management and strategies and tools for awards and management of subcontracts and subgrantees.

Budgeting (20%)

• In coordination with programs, development, and policy teams, play a key role in the proposal development process, including analysis of funder requirements, development of cost proposals and related pricing strategies, and negotiation of funded awards.
• Support the CFO in developing and reviewing internal budgets at the departmental and organizational level.

Required Skills, Knowledge, Abilities

• Demonstrated expertise in federal contracts management, including procurement and pricing.
• Deep familiarity with non‑profit awards management.
• Ability to design, implement, and direct projects, set deadlines, and ensure accountability and team ownership.
• Cultivating the creative ideas of others, and experimenting to find creative solutions.
• Effective communication skills, written and verbal, with a learners mindset.
• Strong project management skills, including the ability to coordinate complex projects across multiple stakeholders and teams on tight timelines.
• High degree of versatility, in translating word problems into spreadsheet solutions, and vice versa.
• Balances motivation and initiative with a curiosity for learning about the context and landscape.

Education and Experience

• A bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, business, or other related field.
• Twelve (12) years minimum of related experience, with a minimum of five (5) years hiring, managing, supervising, and developing a team of at least (3) staff.
• A minimum of five (5) years in federal contracts management, including procurement and pricing.
• Experience designing and developing curricula and training programs on non‑profit financial management.

Compensation and Benefits

Acacia has established an internal compensation philosophy that centers equity and pay transparency. The salary for this position is set at $165,000. The salary listed is just one component of Acacia’s total compensation package for employees. Supporting Acacia staff—both personally and professionally—is our priority.

• Medical/Dental/Vision—Some plans at $0 cost to the employee
• Employee Assistance Program
• 20 days per year of vacation time
• 12 days per year of sick time
• 5 personal days
• 4 organization‑wide Wellness Days
• 11 observed holidays, including the last week of December
• First time home office set‑up stipend
• Internet Stipend
• 401k with 5% employer contribution, no employee participation required.

Equal Opportunity Employment

Acacia is an equal opportunity employer and seeks to recruit persons of diverse backgrounds and support their retention and advancement within the organization. We are committed to fostering a workplace culture inclusive of people with respect to their race, ethnicity, national origin, gender/gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, marital status, age, disabilities, political affiliation, religious beliefs, or any other characteristic. Our commitment to justice and diversity also means providing a work environment that is welcoming, respectful, and engaging.

Acacia Center for Justice is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without unlawful discrimination based on race, color, creed, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, prior record of arrest or conviction, citizenship status, current employment status, or caregiver status.

This job description is not meant to be an all‑inclusive list of duties, responsibilities and requirements but constitutes a general definition of the position's scope and function within our organization.