Project Administration and Grants Specialist

AI summary

IITA is hiring a Project Administration and Grants Specialist in Ibadan, Oyo State. The role supports project planning, budget management, sub-grant and partner management, technical and financial reporting, and proposal development across agricultural research projects.

• Role based in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria
• Supports project budgeting, financial planning, and expenditure monitoring
• Coordinates sub-grants, partner agreements, and donor reporting
• Involves proposal development and institutional coordination

Original source description

Project Administration and Grants Specialist at International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) ⏲ Aug 26, 2026, 9:27 AM ⋕ View all Product & Project Management jobs The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is a not-for-profit institution that generates agricultural innovations to meet Africa’s most pressing challenges of hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and natural resource degradation. Working with various partners across sub-Saharan Africa, we improve livelihoods, enhance food and nutrition security, increase employment, and preserve natural resource integrity. IITA is a member of CGIAR, a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future. We are recruiting to fill the position below: Job Title: Project Administration and Grants Specialist Job ID: IITA/P&C/NRS2026-042 Location: Ibadan, Oyo Duities Project Planning and Budget Management: Support project leaders in ensuring appropriate allocation of staff time and shared operational costs across projects. Support budget revisions, reforecasting, reallocations, and project financial planning. Maintain consolidated financial and implementation dashboards for the program’s project portfolio. 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 and work plans, and identify significant variances, underspending, overspending, and emerging financial risks. Sub-Grant and Partner Management: Flag implementation, financial, compliance, or contractual issues requiring management attention. Coordinate development and processing of sub-grants, subcontracts, and other partner agreements. 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. 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. Technical and Financial Reporting: Coordinate preparation and timely submission of donor technical and financial reports. 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. Collate inputs from scientists, partners, Finance, and other contributors and ensure consistency between technical achievements, expenditure, and reported deliverables. Maintain a consolidated calendar of project reporting obligations, milestones, deliverables, and donor deadlines. Project Implementation and Operational Coordination: Support project start-up, including establishment of work plans, budgets, reporting schedules, procurement plans, partner agreements, and implementation trackers. Follow up on procurement, travel, service agreements, partner payments, and other administrative actions necessary for timely project implementation. Monitor implementation against agreed project milestones and identify potential delays requiring corrective action. Support project closeout, including completion of deliverables, financial reconciliation, partner closeout, asset-related documentation where relevant, and archival of project records. Coordinate with Finance, Procurement, PDAU, P&C, Legal, and other institutional units on operational requirements. Proposal Development: Review proposal budgets for consistency with proposed activities, donor requirements, institutional policies, and allowable cost categories. Coordinate collection of partner budgets, institutional documentation, letters of commitment, and other administrative components of proposals. Support costing of personnel, field operations, partner activities, travel, and other project requirements. Support development of budgets and budget narratives for new funding opportunities. Portfolio Management and Management Information: Contribute to continuous improvement of project-management tools, templates, procedures, and administrative systems. Maintain an overview of the program’s active grants, budgets, partners, reporting requirements, and implementation status. Support program-level annual planning and resource allocation. Produce periodic management summaries highlighting expenditure, upcoming deadlines, partner performance, and major implementation risks. Requirements: 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. A strong candidate with a relevant bachelor’s degree and substantial experience: may also be considered. Master’s degree in Business Administration, Project Management, Finance, Accounting, Economics, Development Management, Agricultural Economics, Public Administration, or another relevant discipline. Competencies: The ideal candidate must have: Ability to synthesize financial, administrative, and technical information for management decision-making. Strong analytical ability and attention to detail. Strong financial and numerical skills, with excellent proficiency in Microsoft Excel and budget analysis. Experience: with ERP, grants-management, project-management, or financial-management systems would be an advantage. Familiarity with agricultural research or CGIAR-type research programs would be desirable. Good understanding of donor compliance, allowable costs, budget management, procurement, contracting, and financial-control principles. Demonstrated experience: in sub-grant or partner agreement administration, including budget review, disbursement tracking, deliverable monitoring, and partner reporting. Ability to work independently, exercise sound judgment, and proactively identify implementation risks and solutions. Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English. High standards of integrity, confidentiality, accountability, and professional conduct. Demonstrated experience: in developing and managing multi-year project budgets. Ability to manage multiple deadlines and follow through systematically on outstanding actions. Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work effectively with scientists, finance professionals, institutional support units, donors, and external partners. Experience: coordinating technical and financial reporting for donor-funded projects. Experience: working with international and national partners would be a strong advantage. Experience: managing several projects, budgets, partners, and reporting deadlines simultaneously. Strong organizational and project-management skills. Benefits: We offer highly competitive salary with equally attractive benefits: and excellent working conditions in a pleasant campus environment. How to Apply Interested and qualified candidates should: Click here to apply online Application Deadline: 9th September, 2026. View all Jobs in Nigeria Oyo State