Program Controller/ Grant Operations Manager
Leiden
IKEA Foundation
Are you the new Program Controller/ Grant Operations Manager of IKEA Foundation? Are you ready to make impact? Do you want to create a better everyday life for the many people? Based on your professional qualities you will work with one or more of the portfolio teams at the Foundation to manage, from a financial and operational perspective, a good mixture of multi-year grants with total value of hundred plus million euros.
Organisation
IKEA Foundation has a vision to create a better everyday life for the many people. They believe the two greatest threats to the future of children are climate change and poverty. It’s their mission to improve the lives of vulnerable children by enabling families to create sustainable livelihoods and fight and cope with climate change.
The IKEA Foundation is funded by INGKA Foundation, owner of the Ingka Group of companies. The IKEA Foundation is independent from the retail business with a sole focus on creating brighter lives on a liveable planet through philanthropy and grantmaking. Learn more at www.ikeafoundation.org.
Position
As Project Controller you will work with one or more of the portfolio teams at the Foundation to manage, from a financial and operational perspective, a good mixture of multi-year grants with total value of hundred plus million euros. As Project Controller, you will be part of a small but enthusiastic team of people who are committed to make a difference. You will report to the Grant Operations Lead, Planet, and will work closely with a team of Programme Managers and Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation Managers.
- Perform partner risk assessment (due diligence) on prospective and returning partners to identify key risks in areas of reputational, legal, governance, operational and financial management. Based on the findings, support the Programme Managers and the partners to agree on risk mitigation or capacity development plans and advise the Programme Managers on how to further shape the funding design.
- Review project financial proposals and assess the clarity and reasonableness of the proposed budget in relation to the grant proposal. Engage in discussions with partners about key budgetary assumptions and provide clear feedback to both the partners and the Programme Managers to strengthen the budget design. Set clear expectations about financial reporting and/or audit requirements for each grant and help partners understand them.
- Draft grant agreements using established templates and when necessary facilitate negotiations between partners and the IKEA Foundation’s legal counsel and other internal stakeholders. Make sure that grant agreements, amendments, and/or other formal documents are prepared in accordance with internal governance and documented properly for audit purposes.
- Closely monitor the grant’s financial performance and cashflow, and if necessary also the progress of any agreed improvement plans for partners’ organisational development, and actively follow up on issues identified.
- Review financial reports, revised budgets and partners’ audited financial statements or the project’s audit reports, provide clear feedback to both the partners and the Programme Managers and approve payments when conditions are met. Give clear signals if you identify the need for course correction.
- If required, facilitate the process of external audit/investigation with the assurance service providers under the guidance of the internal subject expert on audit and the Head of Grant Operations.
Profile
At the IKEA Foundation, you are welcome no matter where you come from, what you believe, and what you look like. We are interested to see what you can bring to the Foundation.
You have:
- A university degree in Finance, Business Administration, Accounting or established working record in one of these fields;
- 7+ years of working experience in similar role(s), preferably within an environment with mixed multicultural or professional backgrounds;
- Strong work ethics and high integrity standards. You have the courage to voice issues when you see them;
- Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build trustful relationships while being sensitive to cultural and personal differences. You can handle difficult conversations;
- A process-oriented mindset with the ability to correctly interpret and apply operational processes and procedures;
- Previous experience in conducting due diligence and assessing the financial position of organisations would be an advantage;
- Previous experience in managing multi-million, complex grants ornprojects would be an advantage;
You are:
- Purpose driven with a deep commitment to improving lives of people and the planet;
- Results-oriented. You are able to mobilize people all around you to achieve desired results. You take your responsibilities seriously and deliver your commitments;
- Risk sensitive. You can see where things could go wrong based on factual assessments and raise them in a sensitive and timely manner;
- Inclusive. You are confident and clear but can bring a calm, humble approach to collaboration even under time pressure;
- Team oriented. You always think and act in line with the team’s goals. And are committed to consensus building and seeking a team solution;
- Self-reflective. You are able to self-evaluate and self-improve your performance in line with the expectations of this role. You welcome and actively seek feedback for your personal development and performance improvement;
- Able and willing to travel within Europe or internationally 4-6 times per year;
- Fluent in English.
More information?
Get in touch with us.
Carlijn Croon
Vroom Talent
Nadine Veltman
Vroom Executive