J-PAL North America, an economics research center at MIT, is actively recruiting for a Grants and Finance Manager. Working at J-PAL North America means being part of a vibrant, collaborative team of professionals who are committed to translating research into innovative policy solutions that are effective in reducing poverty. As a regional office of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), J-PAL North America is part of a network of hundreds of researchers at universities around the world, including some of the world’s leading economics researchers. J-PAL North America works closely with J-PAL’s global headquarters and six additional independent regional offices in Africa, Europe, Latin America, Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia to generate cutting-edge research, policy outreach, and training. This position is based on the MIT campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts and provides a hybrid work schedule with some days in the office and some days remote. 

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

At J-PAL North America we understand that inequity is often institutionalized into policies and systems, and that these inequities contribute to cycles of poverty and a lack of opportunity for a great portion of the population, particularly women, people of color and other marginalized populations. We approach our work with the following staff values and are actively engaged in creating a diverse, inclusive and equitable culture where everyone can feel a sense of belonging and effectively contribute to the work. We seek applicants with diverse backgrounds and lived experiences that can help to broaden our perspective and approach to economics research and policy. 

To learn more about our work and team culture, visit www.povertyactionlab.org/na. 

Opportunity Overview

As a member of the J-PAL North America team, you’ll be part of a Nobel-prize winning scientific movement that can transform US policy making. The Grants and Finance Manager works closely with the Grants and Finance Lead and Director of Finance and Operations to maintain an accurate forecast of J-PAL North America’s financial position and supervises and performs grant and financial management activities related to J-PAL North America’s daily operations. As a Grants and Finance Manager, your primary tasks will involve preparing budget and grant reports and providing guidance to the leadership team and project team leads on appropriate spending to meet funder requirements and funding deliverables. The Grants and Finance Manager also supports fundraising efforts, providing guidance on funder requirements, preparing budgets, and supporting the submission of funding requests. Additionally, the Grants and Finance Manager manages a Senior Finance Associate, and may manage other Finance & Operations team associates or senior associates as appropriate. For this position, we are looking for candidates with a bachelors degree and 4 years of experience with pre and post award grant administration and financial management experience. We seek applicants from diverse backgrounds and especially encourage candidates with lived experience with the social policy issues that J-PAL North America aims to address through its work.  

Key Responsibilities

Sponsored program grant and gift-related financial activities:

• Performs and supervises various sponsored program grant and gift-related financial activities (e.g., financial review and control, salary distributions and tracking, management of accounts, budget cycle, etc.) related to the daily operations of J-PAL North America.
• Tracks and monitors the financial performance of various grants and contracts to ensure compliance with MIT and sponsor policies.
• Advises staff on matters pertaining to research administration, including policies and procedures. Escalates complex matters.
• Collaborates with key-stakeholders and provides guidance to faculty and staff across J-PAL North America on how to most effectively develop proposals and budgets, anticipating potential logistical or administrative challenges.
• Develops and maintains relationships and works directly with the Department of Economics, the School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, and MIT’s Research Administration Services, among others, on the management, timely assembly, and submission of proposals and ensures they meet MIT’s standards and requirements for submission.
• Develops and maintains relationships and works directly with funders as needed in support of the preparation of proposals, reporting, re-budgeting and funding extension requests.
• Supervises the completion of all delegated responsibilities around maintaining and tracking budgets, personnel allocations, expenses, and deliverables for grants.
• Performs needs analysis for upgrades and improvements to processes and procedures. Recommends and/or implements enhancements.
• Oversees and/or authorizes departmental procurement transactions.
• Oversees, advises and/or trains staff on grant and financial activities as needed.
• Ensures J-PAL North America is in compliance regarding grant and financial activities.  

Financial Planning and Budget Management:

• Contributes to the development of office-wide budget and financial planning processes, establishing assumptions, projections, and goals for J-PAL North America, including managing staff allocations and financial planning across intersecting multi-million dollar grants.
• Creates and reviews budget reports to ensure accuracy and increase accessibility of information to J-PAL North America’s senior leadership and project managers.
• Meets with project teams and senior management at least quarterly to review budget performance. Presents budget information to staff and faculty and answers questions related to overall budget performance.
• Enhances current procedures and overall management of multi-year budgets and financial projections for J-PAL North America, including identifying fundraising needs and recommending how to allocate funding across multiple priorities. 

People and Stakeholder Management:

• Assists in the recruitment of new members of J-PAL North America’s Finance & Operations team.
• Manages day-to-day work portfolio and overall professional development of senior associate and associate level finance and operations staff.  Provides timely feedback and conducts performance reviews.
• Develops and maintains positive relationships with faculty, staff, and collaborators in other internal MIT offices as well as with funders and other external stakeholders.

Miscellaneous:

• Contributes to the design and creation of new systems and modifications to existing systems to maximize functionality and effectiveness.
• Assists with the identification and implementation of software systems or other resources to improve the efficiency and accuracy of grants and financial management processes.
• Any other tasks assigned by the Co-Executive Directors, Director of Finance and Operations or Grants and Finance Lead.

Compensation & Benefits

This full-time, exempt position is classified by MIT as a Mgmt 1, Finance Admin Spon Act, SRS role and has a grade 8 salary level. Current MIT salary levels are publicly available at https://hr.mit.edu/managers/hiring/pay. This is a fixed market-based salary range that is based on experience and starting salaries typically fall between the minimum and the midpoint.

J-PAL North America staff are MIT employees, which means they are eligible for a wide array of institutional benefits. Some of these MIT benefits include comprehensive health insurance, a 401(k) match up to 5% of salary plus a pension-based retirement plan, tuition assistance up to $5,250 per calendar year, commuter benefits, access to MyLifeServices, a generous vacation policy (3 weeks of paid vacation in your first year, and 4 weeks every year after that, plus an additional 12+ paid Institute-wide holidays per year and an end of year break), paid leave for sick time, maternity and parental leave, back-up child care benefits and much more.

Professional Development Opportunities

J-PAL North America supports a culture of learning, with opportunities to attend weekly seminars, engage in small-group discussions with other J-PAL staff, participate in workshops, or take classes for credit at MIT or elsewhere with our generous tuition assistance program.  

Qualifications

• Experience: Minimum of four years of financial management and grant management experience required. Experience in research administration and/or nonprofit financial management is strongly preferred.  The ideal candidate will have both pre and post award experience.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent required.
• Technical Skills: Knowledge of grant administration and nonprofit financial management principles required. Demonstrated ability to create and manage grant and gift budgets. Strong computer experience using Salesforce, Excel, SAP and other financial and project management platforms.  Knowledge of MIT's financial/accounting structures preferred. 
• Ownership of Work: Takes responsibility/is accountable for managing their own work with high attention to detail and limited supervision. Manages projects and delegates tasks to other staff. Follows up with staff as needed and ensures that projects are completed on time and at the quality expected. Works independently and balances their own workload. Takes initiative and offers ideas for new ways to approach work; shares knowledge and/or talents with others as needed to complete assigned tasks or projects.
• Written Communication: Accurately, succinctly, and persuasively communicates in writing with minimal supervision.  Effective at documenting financial policies and procedures and creating budget narratives.
• Oral Communication: Demonstrates strong active listening skills and accurately, succinctly, and persuasively communicates information orally to staff, researchers, donors, and external partners with minimal supervision.
• Task & Project Management: Initiates and manages a process-oriented task or project, plans and organizes work, delegates appropriately, coordinates with others, establishes appropriate priorities and timelines, exercises follow through, finishes it well, and adds overall value to the team.
• Problem Solving/Decision Making: Demonstrates adeptness at analyzing facts, judgment, and strong decision-making ability. Responds to problems, issues, and opportunities that are identified by supervisors. Collaborates to identify a solution or response. 
• People Management: Able to effectively supervise the work of senior associates, associates or interns. May serve on hiring committees and provide support to the hiring process. Provides candid feedback to and about colleagues including managers. Seeks feedback and areas for improvement. Willingly receives and acts on feedback.

How to Apply

Ready to join a team of collaborative, inclusive, and inquisitive colleagues? Apply now. 

Submit an application for this Grants and Finance Manager role via MIT’s human resources system. Visit http://jobs.mit.edu/external, search for job ID 24770 (Grants and Finance Manager), and complete an application. 

In a single PDF uploaded to the resume field, please include a resume and a cover letter which highlights: 

1. Your qualifications for this role, and how they have prepared you to be an effective Grants and Finance Manager.
2. Your interest in our mission of poverty alleviation in the North America region, especially in the US, including any professional, educational, or volunteer experiences that demonstrate your commitment to our mission.
3. Optional- please consider sharing how your personal lived experience or personal identities, beyond your professional or educational experience, contribute to your interest and insight into J-PAL North America’s anti-poverty work.

Please note that in addition to addressing these prompts, your cover letter will be evaluated as a writing sample for this role and we will be reviewing it to see if your interest in our work and qualifications for this role are clearly communicated.

Please apply by January 29, 2025.

We will begin reviewing applications on a rolling basis as we receive them. Short-listed applicants will be asked to complete a phone interview and technical exercise. Finalists will be called for a final interview and have references checked. 

Should you need a reasonable accommodation to fully participate in our employee selection process, please contact Isaak Kifle, Human Resources Manager at najobs@povertyactionlab.org or (617) 715-5844.

This position is not eligible for any type of visa sponsorship and any offer is contingent on the successful completion of a background check and your ability to provide proof of U.S. work authorization without sponsorship from MIT.

MIT is an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, ancestry, or national or ethnic origin.

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