Save Children: Lead Associate, Portfolio Management; P2 – Illinois

Save the Children

For over 100 years, Save the Children has been fighting for the rights of children. The right to a healthy start in life, to have access to education, and to be in a safe environment protected from harm. We work in some of the world’s hardest‑to‑reach places – over 100 countries, including the U.S. When you join Save the Children, you’re creating positive, irreversible change for children and the future we all share.

The Impact & Evidence division serves people who serve children by providing high‑quality, strategically aligned resources, insights, and support to drive measurable, transformative change. We work efficiently and collaboratively, guided by shared purpose, mutual respect, and accountability to the communities we serve.

Hybrid – Washington DC, Fairfield, CT or Lexington, KY office locations.

* not inclusive of all role responsibilities. May be subject to change.

• Manage and monitor a portfolio of low‑ to medium‑risk awards across the full award lifecycle, from start‑up through closeout, in alignment with donor requirements and Save the Children policies.
• Serve as a primary point of contact for assigned awards, coordinating with Country Offices, finance, technical teams, procurement, and fundraising staff to ensure consistent and timely information flow.
• Conduct regular portfolio reviews to assess award health, implementation progress, and compliance, identifying risks and variances and escalating issues as appropriate.
• Support award start‑up activities, including coordination of meetings, documentation review, systems set‑up, and onboarding of Country Office teams.
• Lead or support award closeout processes, ensuring financial, contractual, and documentation requirements are met and award files are audit‑ready.
• Maintain organized and up‑to‑date award documentation in Save the Children award management systems.

• Track and analyze award budgets versus actual expenditures, identifying trends, variances, under spend or overspend risks, and required follow‑up actions.
• Support annual workplan and budget development in collaboration with Country Offices, international staff, and HQ program staff.
• Review financial transactions, expense reports, invoices, and timesheet coordination for assigned awards to ensure allowability, allocability, and accuracy.
• Contribute to donor financial reporting processes by reviewing financial data and supporting timely and accurate submissions.
• Provide budget holders and program teams with guidance on financial policies, procedures, and donor requirements.
• Support agency new business development efforts by contributing to proposal and concept note processes.
• Assist with cost proposal inputs, budget templates, pipeline tracking, internal approvals, and coordination with Country Offices and fundraising teams.

• Assist with the development of financial training materials and conduct regular trainings for finance and program staff on financial policies, procedures, and award compliance.
• Work with Managing Director and Senior Director to update financial policies and procedures and implement best practices across the team.
• Support the completion of needs assessments to identify staff training requirements, evaluate the effectiveness of training programs, and make improvements as needed.
• Assist in training both internal and external stakeholders on various financial topics including:
  • Budget holder guidance
  • Financial policies and procedures
  • Donor compliance and reports
  • Federal regulations, e.g. 2 CFR 200, EDGAR, and others
• Work with Senior Director to ensure training needs are being met for both internal and external stakeholders for awards in your portfolio.

• Minimum of a High School Diploma or equivalent, plus at least 3 years of relevant experience in award management, financial management, grants administration, or a related field.
• Willing and able to travel domestically and internationally up to 10% of the time.

• Demonstrated experience supporting award management across multiple…