Project Administration and Grants Specialist

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture seeks suitable Nigerian nationals for the positions below at the Institute’s Headquarters in Ibadan. Position:        Project Administration and Grants Specialist Contract:       2-years renewable contract                                            Location: Ibadan Closing Date: 9 September 2026 DUTIES  A.     Project Planning and Budget Management ·       Coordinate preparation of project budgets for new proposals, extensions, and annual work plans. ·       Work with scientists and Finance to develop realistic activity-based budgets and expenditure forecasts. ·       Monitor expenditures against approved budgets, work plans, and identify significant variances, underspending, overspending, and emerging financial risks. ·       Support budget revisions, reforecasting, reallocations, and project financial planning. ·       Maintain consolidated financial and implementation dashboards for the program’s project portfolio. ·       Support project leaders in ensuring appropriate allocation of staff time and shared operational costs across projects.   B.      Sub-Grant and Partner Management ·       Coordinate development and processing of sub-grants, subcontracts, and other partner agreements. ·       Support development and review of partner budgets, work plans, milestones, deliverables, and payment schedules. ·       Maintain a database of partner agreements, reporting requirements, deliverables, disbursements, and agreement expiry dates. ·       Track implementation and expenditure by partners and proactively follow up on overdue technical and financial reports. ·       Coordinate internal review and processing of partner reports and requests for subsequent disbursements. ·       Flag implementation, financial, compliance, or contractual issues requiring management attention.   C.      Technical and Financial Reporting ·       Coordinate preparation and timely submission of donor technical and financial reports. ·       Maintain a consolidated calendar of project reporting obligations, milestones, deliverables, and donor deadlines. ·       Collate inputs from scientists, partners, Finance, and other contributors and ensure consistency between technical achievements, expenditure, and reported deliverables. ·       Support preparation of annual reports, donor reviews, project steering meetings, and other project performance documentation. ·       Maintain organized records of submitted reports, approvals, donor correspondence, and supporting documentation.   D.     Project Implementation and Operational Coordination ·       Support project start-up, including establishment of work plans, budgets, reporting schedules, procurement plans, partner agreements, and implementation trackers. ·       Monitor implementation against agreed project milestones and identify potential delays requiring corrective action. ·       Coordinate with Finance, Procurement, PDAU, P&C, Legal, and other institutional units on operational requirements. ·       Follow up on procurement, travel, service agreements, partner payments, and other administrative actions necessary for timely project implementation. ·       Support project closeout, including completion of deliverables, financial reconciliation, partner closeout, asset-related documentation where relevant, and archival of project records.   E.      Proposal development ·       Support development of budgets and budget narratives for new funding opportunities. ·       Coordinate collection of partner budgets, institutional documentation, letters of commitment, and other administrative components of proposals. ·       Review proposal budgets for consistency with proposed activities, donor requirements, institutional policies, and allowable cost categories. ·       Support costing of personnel, field operations, partner activities, travel, and other project requirements.   F.       Portfolio Management and Management Information ·       Maintain an overview of the program’s active grants, budgets, partners, reporting requirements, and implementation status. ·       Produce periodic management summaries highlighting expenditure, upcoming deadlines, partner performance, and major implementation risks. ·       Support program-level annual planning and resource allocation. ·       Contribute to continuous improvement of project-management tools, templates, procedures, and administrative systems. QUALIFICATION Master’s degree in Business Administration, Project Management, Finance, Accounting, Economics, Development Management, Agricultural Economics, Public Administration, or another relevant discipline. A strong candidate with a relevant bachelor’s degree and substantial experience may also be considered. At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in project administration, grants management, financial management, or program coordination, preferably within an international research, development, university, NGO, or donor-funded environment.   COMPETENCIES The ideal candidate must have: ·       Demonstrated experience in developing and managing multi-year project budgets. ·       Demonstrated experience in sub-grant or partner agreement administration, including budget review, disbursement tracking, deliverable monitoring, and partner reporting. ·       Experience coordinating technical and financial reporting for donor-funded projects. ·       Experience managing several projects, budgets, partners, and reporting deadlines simultaneously. ·       Good understanding of donor compliance, allowable costs, budget management, procurement, contracting, and financial-control principles. ·       Experience working with international and national partners would be a strong advantage. ·       Familiarity with agricultural research or CGIAR-type research programs would be desirable. ·       Strong financial and numerical skills, with excellent proficiency in Microsoft Excel and budget analysis. ·       Strong organizational and project-management skills. ·       Ability to manage multiple deadlines and follow through systematically on outstanding actions. ·       Strong analytical ability and attention to detail. ·       Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English. ·       Ability to synthesize financial, administrative, and technical information for management decision-making. ·       Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work effectively with scientists, finance professionals, institutional support units, donors, and external partners. ·       Ability to work independently, exercise sound judgment, and proactively identify implementation risks and solutions. ·       High standards of integrity, confidentiality, accountability, and professional conduct. ·       Experience with ERP, grants-management, project-management, or financial-management systems would be an advantage. REMUNERATION We offer highly competitive salary with equally attractive benefits and excellent working conditions in a pleasant campus environment.   METHOD OF APPLICATION: Interested applicants should complete the online application attaching detailed cover letter and curriculum vitae saved with their names in Microsoft word format to IITA website: https://apply.workable.com/iita/#jobs no later than Two Weeks from the date of this publication. IITA is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to building a diverse workforce, particularly welcoming applications from women. While all applications will be acknowledged, please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.