Manager - Grant Management and Accounts

About Janaagraha

Janaagraha is a non-profit trust, established in 2001, working towards the mission of transforming quality of life in Indias cities and towns. It works with citizens to catalyse active citizenship in city neighbourhoods and with governments to institute reforms to city governance (what we call City-Systems).

Janaagraha is part of the JANA Group - one of Indias best-known groups of not-for-profit institutions working towards the mission of fixing Indias cities.Swati Ramanathan and Ramesh Ramanathan co-founded Jana Group in 2001 and it presently works across citizen participation and city governance reforms (through Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy), city planning and design (through Jana Urban Space Foundation), banking and financial services for the urban poor (through Jana Small Finance Bank) and affordable housing for the urban poor (through Janaadhar).

We are looking for a highly passionate and competent professional, based out of Bangalore, to manage Janaagrahas finance function and grants.

The role will oversee the financial and reporting aspects of grants received by the organization. This includes preparing donor reports, managing internal budgets related to grant-funded programs, and ensuring compliance with donor requirements. The ideal candidate will have strong financial acumen, excellent communication skills, and a deep understanding of nonprofit grant cycles. This role will also be responsible for managing day to day accounting, compliance (financial and statutory), supporting budgeting, planning and monitoring for all the various projects undertaken by Janaagraha.

What will the Manager - Grant Management and Accounts really do?

Donor Reporting

• Prepare timely and accurate financial reports for donors.
• Coordinate with program teams to ensure alignment with grant objectives.
• Maintain a reporting calendar and ensure all deadlines are met.

Budget Management

• Develop and monitor internal budgets for grant-funded projects.
• Allocation of donor funds and preparation of Annual budget including co-ordination with programs.
• Track expenditures and ensure alignment with approved budgets.
• Work closely with the finance team to reconcile grant spending and forecast future needs.

Grant Compliance

• Ensure adherence to donor guidelines, including allowable costs and reporting formats.
• Maintain documentation for audits and donor reviews.
• Support internal controls and financial integrity across grant activities.
• Support the development team in compliance-related documentation
• Handle Donor audits as may be required
• Develop and maintain grant management tools, templates, and resources for the organization.

Coordination & Communication

• Liaise with internal teams to clarify financial and reporting expectations.
• Provide budgetary support during proposal development to Director - Development.
• Train program staff on budget tracking and donor compliance.

Accounts

• Assisting in submitting utilisation statements to Donors for designated projects, supporting development on documentation for new proposals, onboarding the donors, ensuring Donor requirements are met timely and any other as may be required.
• Validate the end-to-end procurement process to ensure compliance with internal SOPs, DOA, and donor/FCRA requirements, including vendor selection, quotation benchmarking, approvals, and documentation prior to commitment.
• Generation of MIS reports Budget vs Actual Variance at Program and Organization level including challenge process with Program Heads and timely alerts for submission to Management Committee for quarterly reviews.
• Prepare finance and compliance decks for the Board and Committees covering funding available, utilisation, variances and FCRA risks.
• Review of grant MOUs/ agreements to ensure alignment with objects, budgets, and FCRA conditions, identify compliance risks (including admin expense classification and utilisation restrictions), and coordinate timely closure with Legal and Programs before execution.

Qualifications and Experience

• Chartered Accountant or Masters Degree in Financial and Business Management or Masters in Bachelor of Commerce or an equivalent degree
• Overall 8+ years of relevant experience in Financial Management, Audit and Compliance.
• 4+ years in grant management, donor reporting, or nonprofit finance
• Experience of working in a non-profit environment will be a plus
• Ability to manage teams and collaborate with cross functional teams to achieve objectives.

What competencies does it take to be Manager Grant Management & Accounts?

• Passionate about building robust systems for transparent and compliant internal accounting.
• Maturity, agility and flexibility to work with people/colleagues from diverse teams and senior management to meet the organisations accounting & internal control needs.
• Strong quantitative and analytical capabilities.
• Flexible to the needs of the organisation without compromising on regulatory compliance
• Familiarity with accounting software and abreast with the laws, statutes and governance related issues.
• Good oral and written communication skills.
• Highly approachable and responsive to all cross functional teams

What Janaagraha offers

At Janaagraha, you will be part of a multi-disciplinary team of professionals and passionate citizens who apply cutting-edge technologies and practices aimed at social change in Indias cities. At work, you will be exposed to a unique combination of policy, practice and platforms and will have abundant opportunities to learn and apply professional skills to social challenges.

Remuneration

Janaagraha is an equal opportunity employer and offers a highly dynamic and enabling work environment. We provide competitive remuneration commensurate with relevant experience, skill-sets and background.

This position is based out of Bengaluru and reports to Director - Finance.