Subawards Specialist

Join Our Team as a Subawards Specialist at the International Republican Institute (IRI)!

ABOUT IRI

The International Republican Institute (IRI) advances democracy and freedom. We link people with their governments, support politicians to be responsive to citizens, and motivate those citizens to engage in the political process.

At IRI, every employee plays a crucial role in advancing our mission across the globe. We’re looking for passionate individuals who embody our Core Values and are eager to contribute to our dynamic team. Our values include:

• Respect: We lead with trust, empathy, and dignity; empowering colleagues and partners.
• Teamwork: We collaborate across teams; solve problems together; are humble and ready to learn.
• Ownership: We take initiative; champion solutions; deliver results for IRI’s mission.
• Excellence through Execution: We balance thoughtfulness with timeliness; learn from results; prioritize progress over perfection.
• Transparency: We share information openly; give direct feedback; build trust through honest communication.
• Freedom: We are empowered to make decisions, try new approaches, and adapt as needed.

ABOUT THE ROLE: SUBAWARDS SPECIALIST

The Subawards Specialist supports the timely, accurate, and compliant administration of IRI subawards throughout the full award life cycle. The position serves as the subaward focal point at IRI, taking ownership for preparing, reviewing and processing subaward packages. This includes drafting agreements and modifications, conducting required compliance and risk reviews, maintaining complete award files and tracking records, and proactively coordinating with program, finance, procurement, and partner staff to identify and resolve documentation issues. The Specialist also reviews subaward financial reports, invoices, reimbursement requests, and milestone payment documentation, providing clear and proactive solutions when necessary to support accurate and timely payment processing. The role provides practical guidance to staff and subrecipients and helps ensure that subawards comply with donor requirements, IRI policies, agreement terms, and applicable federal regulations.

This position is located in Washington, DC. The Subawards Specialist is expected to work in-office at least three days per week.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Establish and maintain productive working relationships with IRI regional and program teams, Finance, Procurement, the Project Delivery Team, other internal stakeholders, and subrecipient organizations.
• Proactively provide responsive guidance and hands-on support to IRI staff and subrecipients regarding subaward package requirements, billing documentation, agreement terms, reporting obligations, and compliance expectations.
• Support training and the development of tools, templates, job aids, and standard procedures for subaward administration and billing.
• Balance customer service with consistent enforcement of donor, regulatory, and organizational requirements.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Subaward Processing and Administration

• Serve as focal point for subawards at IRI, taking ownership for ensuring subawards are conceptualized, executed, monitored and closed efficiently, effectively and compliantly.
• Review subaward application and award packages for completeness, accuracy, consistency, and compliance with the solicitation, approved program design, donor requirements, and IRI policies.
• Review and provide specific, solution-oriented feedback on project descriptions, deliverables, performance periods, budgets, budget narratives, indirect cost treatment, and payment structures.
• Confirm required due diligence and supporting documentation, including organizational information, registrations, certifications and representations, risk documentation, banking information, and other required forms.
• Coordinate subrecipient pre-award reviews and risk assessments; document identified risks and ensure required mitigation measures, special conditions, or monitoring requirements are incorporated into the award.
• Draft subaward agreements and modifications using approved IRI templates, incorporating the final scope of work, budget, reporting requirements, applicable terms and conditions, mandatory flow-down provisions, special conditions, and risk-mitigation actions.
• Facilitate internal review and approval of subawards and modifications, confirm funding and required approvals, route documents for signature, and support award issuance and funds release.
• Communicate with IRI staff and subrecipients to request clarifications, obtain missing documentation, resolve inconsistencies, and provide clear next steps needed to move assigned actions forward.
• Track assigned subaward actions from initiation through execution and proactively follow up, providing support wherever possible, on pending actions to support timely completion.

Subaward Financial Review and Payment Processing

• Review subaward invoices, financial reports, reimbursement requests, advance requests, cost-reimbursable drawdown requests, and milestone payment submissions for accuracy, completeness, and compliance with the subaward terms.
• Verify that billed costs fall within the approved budget and period of performance, are supported by required documentation, and are allowable, allocable, reasonable, and consistently treated under applicable requirements.
• Review milestone and deliverable documentation to confirm that payment conditions have been met; identify gaps or inconsistencies and clearly document outstanding requirements before payment processing.
• Check mathematical accuracy, prior payments, advances, available balances, cost share, indirect costs, and cumulative expenditures to reduce duplicate, unsupported, or over-budget payments.
• Coordinate with program, finance, procurement, and project delivery and partner staff to resolve billing discrepancies and obtain corrections or missing documentation.
• Prepare or complete required internal payment documentation, maintain a clear audit trail, and track submissions through the payment process.
• Monitor subaward spending and payment status and flag unusual spending patterns, delayed liquidations, approaching budget limits, or other financial concerns for timely action.

Monitoring, Compliance, and Closeout

• Maintain complete, accurate, and audit-ready electronic subaward files and ensure key award, monitoring, reporting, payment, and closeout documentation is recorded in IRI systems and tracking tools.
• Monitor compliance with subaward terms, reporting schedules, special conditions, and required risk-mitigation actions; promptly escalate significant compliance concerns or recurring performance issues.
• Apply applicable donor requirements, IRI policies and procedures, and 2 CFR 200 requirements, including subrecipient monitoring, cost principles, mandatory disclosures, and required award terms.
• Support subrecipient monitoring activities, including desk reviews, documentation follow-ups, monitoring plans, corrective action tracking, and reviews of audit or financial information.
• Support required subaward reporting, including FFATA reporting when applicable, and assist with internal, donor, and external audit requests.
• Coordinate subaward closeout by confirming final programmatic and financial reports, final payments and liquidations, disposition of outstanding balances, completion of required deliverables, and resolution of open compliance items.
• Identify process or documentation gaps and recommend practical improvements to strengthen compliance, consistency, efficiency, and audit readiness.

Note: This post is not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, or skills required in this role. Further details of the role will be shared during the recruitment process.

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

We seek a passionate and experienced individual with:

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, finance, accounting, international development, public administration, or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience.

• Minimum three years of progressively responsible experience in subaward, grant, contract, financial, or sponsored-program administration, preferably in an international nonprofit or federally funded environment.

• Working knowledge of subaward administration and 2 CFR 200, including subrecipient monitoring and federal cost principles. Experience applying donor-specific requirements is preferred.

• Experience reviewing budgets, financial reports, invoices, supporting documentation, and payment requests for accuracy and compliance.

• Ability to read, interpret, and apply agreement terms, donor requirements, organizational policies, and procedures.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with excellent attention to detail and the ability to identify documentation, financial, and compliance issues.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to provide concise, specific, and actionable feedback to internal staff and external partners.

• Demonstrated ability to organize and maintain complete records, manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and proactively follow assigned actions through completion.

• Ability to work independently, exercise sound judgment, maintain confidentiality, take initiative, and escalate significant issues appropriately.

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications and experience using electronic agreement, financial, document-management, or workflow systems.

• Experience with international subrecipients, foreign assistance awards, or systems such as JAMIS, Costpoint, Cognos, Concur, Agiloft, or comparable platforms is preferred.

• Professional proficiency in Spanish, French, Arabic, Russian, or another relevant language is preferred.

IRI TOTAL COMPENSATION

The anticipated compensation range for this position is $60,000 to $76,000 USD.

The salary for this position is determined based on a wide variety of factors including but not limited to an individual’s professional experience, qualifications, education and other business needs along with internal equity considerations. Employees are not typically hired at the top of the range for their role and compensation decisions are made based on the aforementioned considerations.

WE OFFER

An empathetic and dedicated work environment with generous benefits that demonstrates IRI’s commitment to all dimensions of employee wellness, including:

• Health and Wellness Support: Significant coverage of health, dental, and vision insurance costs. Meaningful assistance programs through an Employee Assistance Plan (EAP) and Rula (access to mental health experts).
• Long-term Financial Health: Retirement plan with generous employer contribution (vested after 12 months).
• Hybrid Work: Employees typically work in-office three days per week and telework two days per week.
• Time Off: Company-paid holidays, parental leave, generous vacation, sick, and personal leave days.
• Family Support: Dependent Care FSA
• Learning and Development Opportunities: Annual allowance for professional development courses and seminars along with access to world-class e-learning via eCornell.
• Compensation Equity: Regular competitive review of internal and external equity to ensure fairness in pay for employees working in similar jobs requiring comparable knowledge, skills, and experience.

Benefits, professional development, and flexibility offerings may vary based on employment classification and location.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS – RESUME, COVER LETTER, & REFERENCES

In your application, please include a copy of your most up-to-date resume along with a cover letter that outlines your background and explains why you are interested in this opportunity. Additionally, please include the contact details of at least 2-3 professional references. If you are selected for an interview, we will contact your references before the final interview.