Vice President, Grants & Contracts

Vital Strategies is a global public health organization. Our programs strengthen public health systems and address the world’s leading causes of illness, injury, and death. We currently work in more than 80 countries, supporting data-driven decision-making in government, advancing evidence-based public health policies, and mounting strategic communication campaigns. Vital Strategies’ priorities are driven by the greatest potential to improve and save lives.

They include noncommunicable disease prevention, tobacco control, road safety, food policy, environmental health, and data for health. Our programs are concentrated in low- and middle-income countries and cities in Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Pacific. Please visit our website alstrategies.org to find out more about our work.

Vital Strategies is committed to building a diverse, equitable and inclusive (DEI) organization. We believe our programs are strengthened when they are developed and supported by individuals with diverse life experiences, whose understanding of social and cultural issues can help make our work and workforce more inclusive. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds.

The Vice President, Grants and Contracts (“VP, G&C”) will lead the formation of a unified Department of Grants and Contracts for Vital Strategies. This newly created role is responsible for bringing together currently disaggregated grants functions into a cohesive, standardized and high performing unit that strengthens organizational effectiveness, compliance and risk management.

Reporting to the Chief Financial and Administration Officer (CFAO), this position provides leadership, oversight, and operational management of the organization’s entire portfolio of grants and contracts which is currently funded predominantly by non-governmental sources. This role ensures robust compliance with donor regulations, effective sub-award and sub-contract management, efficient procurement processes and strong systems and practices to assess, mitigate, and manage award-related risk across the organization.

The VP, G&C will work closely with programs, finance, operations, partnerships and development, and legal teams to ensure the complete and accurate recording, monitoring, analysis, and reporting of award activity for the organization. The VP, G&C will design, centralize, and continuously strengthen grants and contracts functions, including policies, procedures, systems, training, and implementation frameworks to support compliant and efficient award management, while overseeing sub-awards, sub-contracting and procurement-related activities and building staff capacity through clear guidance and technical resources.

The VP, G&C will supervise a team of grants and contracts staff situated in offices across the globe. This position will coordinate with the Senior Vice President of Finance on the negotiation and communication of rates, including federal indirect cost rates and other direct and allocated rates, as well as on external audits, including potential 2 CFR 200 Single Audits of funded awards.

Overall, this role serves as a key organizational leader responsible for strengthening governance, standardization, and accountability in grants and contracts management while enabling programmatic teams to effectively implement donor-funded work worldwide.

This is a full-time position based in our New York office, where a hybrid, 2-day-per-week office schedule is in place. Vital Strategies offers highly competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits. The annual salary range for this position is $190,000 - $215,000 USD. The candidate must have authorization to work legally in the US at the time of hire.

• Lead the global award management function including oversight of the department’s staffing, policies, procedures, tools, templates, and systems, across the functional areas of award compliance, award financial management (pricing, billing, financial reporting, audit), sub-granting, sub-contracting, and procurement.
• In coordination with the CFAO and the Senior Vice President, Partnerships and Development, play a key role in…