Director of Programs Administration

Overview

Golden LEAF’s mission is to increase economic opportunity in North Carolina’s rural, tobacco-dependent, and economically distressed communities through leadership in grantmaking, collaboration, innovation, and stewardship as an independent and perpetual foundation.

The Golden LEAF Foundation is a nonprofit organization established in 1999 to receive a portion of North Carolina’s funding from the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement with cigarette manufacturers. For 25 years, Golden LEAF has worked to increase economic opportunity in North Carolina’s rural and tobacco-dependent communities through leadership in grantmaking, collaboration, innovation, and stewardship as an independent and perpetual foundation.

Golden LEAF has provided lasting impact to tobacco-dependent, economically distressed, and rural areas of the state by helping create 68,000 jobs, more than $780 million in new payrolls, and more than 98,000 workers trained or retrained for higher wages.

Governed by a board of directors appointed by leaders of NC’s legislative and executive branches, Golden LEAF has focused on critical issues facing North Carolina communities including bringing jobs and building industry by providing resources to communities, awarding scholarships to local students and administering the state’s relief efforts following natural disasters.

Position Description

The Golden LEAF Foundation seeks a motivated, detail-oriented, quick learner to join the Programs team.

The primary focus of this role is internal-facing and leads processes to ensure implementation of standardized grant monitoring and related work of Program Officers, ensuring organizational excellence through training and resources, and providing other internal management and support.

This role will also spend a portion of their time managing a portfolio of active projects and taking on new applications. This role reports to the Senior Vice President/General Counsel and collaborates closely with programs leadership.

This role will have shared oversight of six program officers and direct oversight of the Program Associate. This role participates as a member of the President’s management team.

Job Responsibilities

Programs Administration

-- Maintain and update Program Officer desk review expectations and related materials to ensure alignment with Golden LEAF’s Grant Monitoring Policy.

-- Oversee the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of program guidelines for applicants, grantees, and staff.

-- Promote consistency and efficiency by standardizing practices used in grant monitoring and administration.

-- Provide training, guidance, and feedback to Program Officers, reinforcing established processes for communication and decision-making.

-- Conduct workload reviews for Program Officers, including scheduling, analyzing reports, and identifying issues for leadership attention (in collaboration with other Program Leads).

-- Analyze Program Lead workload and status of items pending review by all Program Leads and share information with each Program Lead and the Senior Vice President. Develop and provide monthly reports to the President and Senior Vice President.

-- Manage Programs calendar systems, including Outlook and Asana, by coordinating team meetings, recommendation meetings, due diligence planning, and other recurring activities.

-- Provide oversight for overdue report remediation and ensure timely resolution of outstanding compliance issues.

-- Monitor grant outcomes to identify potential issues and coordinate appropriate remediation strategies.

-- Analyze data regarding programs trends (project timelines, reporting timelines) and develop and implement solutions to bottlenecks or other challenges.

-- Ensure Programs team compliance with internal organizational requirements (leave tracking, professional development, etc.).

-- Lead the implementation of the annual performance based evaluation process for Program Officers and the Program Associate, with engagement of other Program Leads.

Grant Application Review and Monitoring Funded Projects

-- Evaluate proposals for alignment with the Foundation’s funding priorities, and with the Senior Vice President, and other programs staff, develop recommendations to the Programs Committee and Board.

-- Review and approve items completed by Program Officers, including reports, requests for payments, modifications, extensions, and budget revisions, and provide appropriate feedback to Program Officers.

-- Respond to inquiries from potential applicants interested in applying for Golden LEAF funding.

Sample day-to-day activities

In this role, you may: 

-- Collaborate with the Program Associate on common issues experienced by grantees in submitting reports and develop guidance to remediate

-- Pull a report of overdue reports and work with a Program Officer to prioritize and strategize follow up with grantees

-- Update guidelines for grantees related to submitting payment requests to address frequently asked questions (in collaboration with the Director of Grant Systems and Data)

-- Review an application and discuss follow-up questions with a Program Officer

-- Undertake a site visit to conduct due diligence regarding a pending application or to monitor a funded award

-- Plan for and lead a training session with Program Officers regarding required components for financial review

-- Respond to an inquiry from a potential applicant 

-- Respond to a question from a Program Officer regarding application of the Foundation’s Grant Monitoring Policy

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

-- A minimum of five years experience relevant to the Primary Functions of the Director of Programs Administration position listed above including experience with governmental, educational, and/or nonprofit sector entities and with grant reporting or grant management

-- Interest in learning concepts regarding public infrastructure including water, sewer, and buildings, especially in the context of economic development, healthcare job creation, agriculture job creation, applied agricultural research, and strategies and programs to support rural economic development

-- Project management experience, including developing necessary steps for implementation, assigning responsibility for activities, providing updates to team members, and setting and managing deadlines

-- Experience supervising staff including evaluating performance, providing feedback, and managing or conducting staff training

-- Demonstrated proficiency in the use of common software programs including Microsoft Outlook, Word, and Excel, and the ability to learn to use a grants management system (Golden LEAF uses Fluxx)

Preferred Qualifications

-- Familiarity with concepts regarding public infrastructure, especially in the context of economic development, and with strategies and programs to support rural economic development

-- Knowledge of purchasing, billing, and financial reporting practices in the not-for-profit and governmental sectors will be helpful

-- Demonstrated experience using project management tools to track and manage tasks (Golden LEAF uses Asana)

-- Familiarity with strategies and processes for organizational improvement or development

Work Location and Schedule

This position will be based at the Golden LEAF offices at 301 N. Winstead Avenue in Rocky Mount, NC, with some travel within the state expected (amount varies, but approximate average of two days per month). Currently, most Golden LEAF staff work from the office Mondays and Thursdays, with most roles having the option to work remotely the remainder of the week unless otherwise requested by a manager. This role may need to be in the office more frequently than two days per week to collaborate with other Programs staff.

Salary

Anticipated hiring range of $105,000 – $125,000, based on experience and other considerations.