Federal Grants Administrator (Contract - Grant Funded)

City of Evanston, IL•Evanston, IL

42d•$40 - $61•Hybrid

About The Position

This full-time (37.5 hrs/wk) position is responsible for grant management, compliance, and reporting for the City of Evanston's $43M State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), and other grants as assigned. The position is responsible for and involved in the planning and implementation of funded activities and programs. The position works closely with City staff, as well as program/project managers and finance staff at external organizations receiving grant funding to monitor progress, ensure compliance with Federal and local requirements, and evaluate if program/project goals are achieved. This position prepares feasibility studies, cost-effectiveness analyses, and determines regulatory conformance of proposed projects/programs. The position has primary responsibility for developing policies and procedures for programmatic and financial reporting, and a compliance and monitoring plan for the portfolio of ARPA and other grant-funded activities. Also works on related planning and community development issues as needed.

Requirements

Must possess a high school diploma/GED and ten (10) years of grants management and compliance experience OR a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university and a minimum of four (4) years of grants management experience at state or local governments, non-profits, colleges or universities, or medical research or other industries that receive federal funding directly or through State recipients.
Budgeting, audits, including federal single audits, and general financial management.
Ability to analyze business plans, real estate pro formas, and other financial planning documents for feasibility and return on investment.
Ability to use personal computers and associated software, including G-Suite and Microsoft Office, iCompass or similar agenda management software, New World or similar finance and accounting systems, internet search engines, and relational databases.
Ability to apply principles of logical or scientific thinking to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions; interpret a variety of federal statutes and regulations, and technical instructions in mathematical or diagrammatic form; and deal with multiple abstract and concrete variables.
Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide all units of measure; to perform the four operations with like or common decimal fractions; to compute ratio, rate, and percent; draw and interpret graphs; perform arithmetic operations involving all American monetary units.
Ability to read business letters, memoranda, technical journals, abstracts, financial reports, and legal documents; write business letters, memoranda, abstracts, and financial reports with proper format, punctuation, spelling, and grammar; and use principles and methods of effective and persuasive speaking to diverse audiences with poise and confidence.
Ability to attend evening and weekend meetings when necessary.
Ability to work with and relate to diverse people from varying socioeconomic and racial/ethnic backgrounds and to deal with individuals and groups at all levels.
Excellent organizational and project management skills.
Self-motivated, disciplined, organized, and reliable. Innovative, creative, resourceful, and independent thinker.

Nice To Haves

Experience with large and/or multi-year federal grants from HUD, EPA, FEMA, DOE, HHS, DOC, or major private foundations, and fund accounting preferred.

Responsibilities

Determines eligibility of programs/projects, and documents which eligible ARPA category each is eligible under based on the Final Rule that regulates use of SLFRF funds.
Ensures that appropriate grant or subrecipient agreements are executed for funded programs and projects, including timelines, budgets, payment schedules, reporting requirements, and that recipients have Universal Entity Identifiers when required.
Maintains regular communication with all City staff and external organizations receiving funding to track progress; provides technical assistance on a wide range of compliance issues; reviews and approves requests for payments and source documents from external recipients of funds.
Monitors the use of funds for compliance with all federal regulations and local requirements, as applicable; ensures compliance with 2 CFR Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, and relevant OMB Compliance Supplements.
Ensures that procurement methods provide full and open competition, and written standards of conduct and prohibitions on dealing with suspended or debarred parties are maintained.
Verifies that all ARPA funds have been obligated by written agreement/contract by December 31, 2024, and all expenditures are incurred during the grant performance period of March 3, 2021, to December 31, 2026.
Develops and maintains risk-based due diligence analyses, as well as subrecipient and contractor eligibility for federal fund awards using SAM.gov.
Calculates and documents any program income according to written policies and procedures.
Maintains detailed records of all expenditures for the City's audits/federal single audits using machine-readable formats for collecting, transmitting, and storing those records following guidance from U. S. Treasury, and other federal agencies, as assigned.
Works with City Finance and Budget staff to ensure that grant expenditures are assigned correctly in the City's chart of accounts; ensures that all expenses posted to an incorrect general ledger line are moved to the correct GL using journal entries.
Completes and submits all required project and expenditure reports via the federal grant reporting portals on a quarterly and annual basis, including detailed obligation and expenditure information for contracts, grants, loans, transfers to other governmental entities, and direct payments following any grant-specific requirements.
Prepares schedules and manages virtual and in-person meetings; develops agendas and meeting packets, and records minutes; presents projects and programs proposed for grant funding, and periodic progress updates for City Council, BCCs, and Evanston residents and stakeholders as needed.
Performs other duties as assigned.