Overview

Project Administration and Grants Specialist Jobs in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria at International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)

Title: Project Administration and Grants Specialist

Company: International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)

Location: Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture seeks suitable Nigerian nationals for the positions below at the Institute’s Headquarters in Ibadan.

Position: Project Administration and Grants Specialist

Contract: 2-years renewable contract

Location: Ibadan

Closing Date: 9 September 2026

DUTIES

  • Project Planning and Budget Management
  • Coordinate preparation of project budgets for new proposals, extensions, and annual work plans
  • Work with scientists and Finance to develop realistic activity-based budgets and expenditure forecasts
  • Monitor expenditures against approved budgets, work plans, and identify significant variances, underspending, overspending, and emerging financial risks
  • Support budget revisions, reforecasting, reallocations, and project financial planning
  • Maintain consolidated financial and implementation dashboards for the program’s project portfolio
  • Support project leaders in ensuring appropriate allocation of staff time and shared operational costs across projects
  • Sub-Grant and Partner Management
  • Coordinate development and processing of sub-grants, subcontracts, and other partner agreements
  • Support development and review of partner budgets, work plans, milestones, deliverables, and payment schedules
  • Maintain a database of partner agreements, reporting requirements, deliverables, disbursements, and agreement expiry dates
  • Track implementation and expenditure by partners and proactively follow up on overdue technical and financial reports
  • Coordinate internal review and processing of partner reports and requests for subsequent disbursements
  • Flag implementation, financial, compliance, or contractual issues requiring management attention
  • Technical and Financial Reporting
  • Coordinate preparation and timely submission of donor technical and financial reports
  • Maintain a consolidated calendar of project reporting obligations, milestones, deliverables, and donor deadlines
  • Collate inputs from scientists, partners, Finance, and other contributors and ensure consistency between technical achievements, expenditure, and reported deliverables
  • Support preparation of annual reports, donor reviews, project steering meetings, and other project performance documentation
  • Maintain organized records of submitted reports, approvals, donor correspondence, and supporting documentation
  • Project Implementation and Operational Coordination
  • Support project start-up, including establishment of work plans, budgets, reporting schedules, procurement plans, partner agreements, and implementation trackers
  • Monitor implementation against agreed project milestones and identify potential delays requiring corrective action
  • Coordinate with Finance, Procurement, PDAU, P&C, Legal, and other institutional units on operational requirements
  • Follow up on procurement, travel, service agreements, partner payments, and other administrative actions necessary for timely project implementation
  • Support project closeout, including completion of deliverables, financial reconciliation, partner closeout, asset-related documentation where relevant, and archival of project records
  • Proposal development
  • Support development of budgets and budget narratives for new funding opportunities
  • Coordinate collection of partner budgets, institutional documentation, letters of commitment, and other administrative components of proposals
  • Review proposal budgets for consistency with proposed activities, donor requirements, institutional policies, and allowable cost categories
  • Support costing of personnel, field operations, partner activities, travel, and other project requirements
  • Portfolio Management and Management Information
  • Maintain an overview of the program’s active grants, budgets, partners, reporting requirements, and implementation status
  • Produce periodic management summaries highlighting expenditure, upcoming deadlines, partner performance, and major implementation risks
  • Support program-level annual planning and resource allocation
  • Contribute to continuous improvement of project-management tools, templates, procedures, and administrative systems

Requirements

QUALIFICATION

Master’s degree in Business Administration, Project Management, Finance, Accounting, Economics, Development Management, Agricultural Economics, Public Administration, or another relevant discipline. A strong candidate with a relevant bachelor’s degree and substantial experience may also be considered. At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in project administration, grants management, financial management, or program coordination, preferably within an international research, development, university, NGO, or donor-funded environment.

COMPETENCIES

The ideal candidate must have:

  • Demonstrated experience in developing and managing multi-year project budgets
  • Demonstrated experience in sub-grant or partner agreement administration, including budget review, disbursement tracking, deliverable monitoring, and partner reporting
  • Experience coordinating technical and financial reporting for donor-funded projects
  • Experience managing several projects, budgets, partners, and reporting deadlines simultaneously
  • Good understanding of donor compliance, allowable costs, budget management, procurement, contracting, and financial-control principles
  • Experience working with international and national partners would be a strong advantage
  • Familiarity with agricultural research or CGIAR-type research programs would be desirable
  • Strong financial and numerical skills, with excellent proficiency in Microsoft Excel and budget analysis
  • Strong organizational and project-management skills
  • Ability to manage multiple deadlines and follow through systematically on outstanding actions
  • Strong analytical ability and attention to detail
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English
  • Ability to synthesize financial, administrative, and technical information for management decision-making
  • Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work effectively with scientists, finance professionals, institutional support units, donors, and external partners
  • Ability to work independently, exercise sound judgment, and proactively identify implementation risks and solutions
  • High standards of integrity, confidentiality, accountability, and professional conduct
  • Experience with ERP, grants-management, project-management, or financial-management systems would be an advantage

Benefits

REMUNERATION

We offer highly competitive salary with equally attractive benefits and excellent working conditions in a pleasant campus environment.

METHOD OF APPLICATION:

Interested applicants should complete the online application attaching detailed cover letter and curriculum vitae saved with their names in Microsoft word format to IITA website: https://apply.workable.com/iita/#jobs no later than Two Weeks from the date of this publication.

IITA is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to building a diverse workforce, particularly welcoming applications from women. While all applications will be acknowledged, please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

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