Job Summary

HarvestPlus, a program of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), seeks a Business Manager for Budgets, Contracts, and Grants. This role is pivotal in managing and overseeing the financial operations for HarvestPlus, including budget, allocations, financial reporting, and donor grants and contract management. HarvestPlus enhances nutrition and public health by advancing biofortified food crops and contributing to CGIARs mission for a food-secure future.

The Business Manager will lead the budget and contracts team, manage financial transactions, and work closely with HarvestPlus country offices, its partners, as well as the IFPRI finance team. This position will be based in Washington, D.C.

Essential Duties

• Financial Management :

• • Oversee all aspects of financial management, coordinate annual budgets, financial forecasts, and management reports, ensuring alignment with internal and external reporting requirements.

  • • Develop and manage the budget for IFPRI HarvestPlus Program, estimated at $12M - $18M annually, with a focus on allocating budgets by funding source, monitoring, and ensuring appropriate allocation of all financial transactions.
    • Develop, coordinate and review HarvestPlus unit budgets administered through host centers (Alliance/CIAT, IITA, ICRISAT, and ILRI).
    • Review, monitor, and facilitate fund requirements and transfers to host centers, in accordance with respective project activities.
    • Prepare and provide budget updates to the HarvestPlus Leadership team and HarvestPlus advisory board and other financial reports such as the annual Supplemental Schedule on HarvestPlus Statement of Cash receipts and Disbursements, as required.
    • Facilitate transition of delivery operations to the new spin off entity, HarvestPlus Solutions (HPS) working in collaboration with the HPS controller / CFO.

• Grant and Contract Management :

• • Manage core and restricted grants (currently about 12 - 15 grants annually), proposal budgets, and financial communications with donors and implementing partners.

  • • Prepare and/or review annual, mid-term or quarterly financial reports to donors and partners, and budget forecasts, ensuring timely submission to donors.
    • Monitor expected donor contributions and timely submission of invoices to donors.
    • Coordinate internal audits with IFPRI Finance and host centers, audit assessments and due diligence surveys.
    • Facilitate fund transfers and monitor in-country budgets for operations based at host centers, including Alliance/CIAT, IITA, ICRISAT, and ILRI, in accordance with grant agreements and related grant activities.
    • Develop and/or review proposal budgets for submission to donors.

  • Oversee the processing and approval of contracts, subcontracts to implementing partners, vendor payments, and agreements (about 150-180 sub-grantees annually) in coordination with the IFPRI Contracts and Grants team.

  • • Review collaborator contract workplan budgets and approve processing of contracts, and subsequent contract payments and expenditure reports.
    • Coordinate with key implementing partners to transition delivery operations, ensuring proper allocations by funding source and financial transaction accuracy.
    • Monitor HarvestPlus contracts commitments, disbursements, and deliverables.
    • Review budget and contracts team procedures, approval matrices, contracts and General Provisions templates (in coordination with IFPRI Contracts and Grants team) to ensure compliance with donor requirements.

• Finance Team Leadership and Oversight :

• • With the initial support of the outgoing business manager, lead the budgets and contracts team of 3-4 at HQ and 5-7 in-country, supporting staff capacity-building and fostering professional development, human resourc coordination, and ensuring smooth financial and operational transitions of delivery operations from HarvestPlus to HPS in alignment with organizational priorities.
  • Review agreements (teaming, non-disclosure, sub-grant, donor) and coordinate approvals and documentation with IFPRI Finance.

• Financial Policy and System Development :

• • Develop and implement financial policies and practices to enhance process efficiency and internal controls.
  • Establish systems to streamline operations across HarvestPlus partners, HarvestPlus Solutions, and country offices. Work with country offices to identify gaps in current financial systems and communicate with IFPRI Finance for resolution.

Required Qualifications

Education

:

• Bachelors degree (Business, Finance, or Accounting) with 10-12 years of relevant experience, or a masters degree with at least 7 years in a related field.

Experience

:

Minimum of 2-4 years in a managerial role with demonstrated leadership and performance evaluation experience.

[]{style="font-

"}