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.

Requirements

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.

Benefits

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.