Senior Manager, Grants and Contracts and Cost and Pricing Europe

This is a hybrid position which requires 8 days per month in the office. You can be based in our office in London or the Hague. Existing work authorization is required at the time of application submission as WRI is unable to sponsor any visa work sponsorship for this position.

This will be a 1 year contract initially with the possibility of renewal.

About the Program:

WRI Europe represents the World Resources Institute's activities across Europe and works to increase WRI's global impact through partnerships, policy engagement, fundraising, and operational excellence. As WRI Europe continues to grow and evolve, the organization is entering a period of significant development that will include new ways of working, enhanced systems and processes, and increased collaboration across WRI's global network.

The Grants & Contracts and Cost & Pricing function plays a critical role in enabling this growth by ensuring robust stewardship of donor funding, strong compliance practices, efficient subaward and procurement administration, and consistent financial management across a complex and diverse funding portfolio.

Job Highlight:

Reporting to the Europe Operations Director and working closely with global Finance, Grants & Contracts, Development, and Program teams, you will lead the Grants & Contracts and Cost & Pricing function for WRI Europe.

You will provide operational leadership across all aspects of grants, contracts, subawards, procurement compliance, donor financial management, and proposal budgeting. You will oversee a small team of two professionals and play a key role in shaping and strengthening systems, policies, and processes as WRI Europe continues to grow.

This role requires a strong combination of technical expertise, people management, stakeholder engagement, and change leadership. You will be comfortable working in a dynamic environment, driving improvements, establishing new processes, and helping teams successfully navigate periods of transition.

What You Will Do:

Grants & Contracts Leadership and Management (25%)

• Lead and oversee the Grants & Contracts function for WRI Europe, ensuring efficient, compliant, and risk-based management of awards throughout their lifecycle.
• Manage and develop a team of two staff members, providing performance management, professional development, and workload prioritization.
• Serve as the primary Europe-based subject matter expert on donor compliance, award administration, procurement, subawards, and contractual matters.
• Provide strategic advice to program and operations teams regarding donor requirements, compliance risks, and award implementation challenges.
• Collaborate closely with WRI Global Grants & Contracts, Finance, Development, Legal, and Program teams to ensure alignment of policies and practices across the Institute.
• Support organizational decision-making by identifying risks, recommending solutions, and escalating issues where necessary.

Grants, Contracts, Subawards and Procurement Oversight (25%)

• Review prime awards for consistency with proposals, acceptability and/or risk of agreement terms and conditions, and recommend for signature or sign within delegated authority levels
• Oversee the review, negotiation, issuance, amendment, and closeout of grants, contracts, subawards, subcontracts, consulting agreements, and other funding-related agreements.
• Ensure compliance with donor regulations, WRI policies, and applicable legal requirements.
• Review and approve procurement and subaward transactions within delegated authority levels.
• Ensure appropriate due diligence, risk assessments, and monitoring processes are applied to partners, vendors, and subrecipients.
• Maintain effective systems for award documentation, records management, and compliance monitoring.
• Advise staff on complex contractual issues and support resolution of compliance concerns.

Cost & Pricing Leadership (25%)

• Lead the Cost & Pricing function for WRI Europe, providing expert guidance on proposal budgeting, donor financial management, cost recovery, pricing strategies, and financial compliance.
• Review and approve proposal budgets and funding applications within delegated authority.
• Partner with Development, Program, and Finance teams to develop competitive and compliant budgets for a diverse donor portfolio.
• Provide guidance to WRI Europe staff on indirect cost recovery, foreign exchange considerations, procurement approaches, VAT and tax implications, and partner budgeting.
• Analyze funding gaps, cost-sharing requirements, and cost recovery impacts and provide recommendations to support organizational financial sustainability and informed decision-making.
• Lead efforts to standardize and strengthen proposal budgeting practices across WRI Europe , including the development and maintenance of budgeting tools, templates, and guidance materials.
• Represent WRI in discussions with donors regarding budget structures, cost allocation and recovery methodologies, and pricing approaches.
• Oversee and coordinate responses to donor due diligence requests related to financial systems, controls, policies, procedures, cost structures, and institutional capabilities.

Financial Reporting, Compliance and Risk Management (15%)

• Lead donor financial reporting processes, establishing standards, controls,  and quality assurance procedures to ensure timely, accurate, and compliant donor financial reports.
• Review and approve complex donor financial reports and provide guidance to staff on donor-specific reporting requirements, audits, and donor reviews.
• Monitor emerging donor regulations and compliance developments, ensuring timely communication and implementation across Europe.
• Identify compliance and financial management risks and develop mitigation strategies.
• Support internal and external audit activities, donor reviews, and compliance assessments, including preparation of financial documentation and engagement with auditors regarding financial systems, institutional processes, and cost allocation and recovery methodologies and practices. Ensure timely resolution of findings and recommendations.

Process Improvement, Change Management and Organizational Development (10%)

• Within existing frameworks and systems, lead initiatives to strengthen, streamline, and standardize grants, contracts, and cost & pricing processes across WRI Europe.
• Identify opportunities for automation, process enhancement, and system improvements.
• Play a key role in implementing new organizational structures, processes, systems, and compliance frameworks as WRI Europe evolves.
• Develop and deliver training, guidance materials, and capacity-building activities for staff.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, collaboration, accountability, and service excellence.

What You Will Need:

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, Economics, Law, Public Administration, International Development, or a related field.
• Experience: You have 8+ years of progressively responsible experience in grants management, contracts administration, donor compliance, finance, procurement, or related fields.
• Significant experience administering awards funded by institutional donors, foundations, and government agencies, including European donors.
• Experience managing subawards, procurement activities, contracts, and complex funding arrangements.
• Demonstrated people management experience, including coaching and developing staff.
• Experience developing and implementing policies, systems, and business processes.
• Experience leading organizational improvements, change initiatives, or transformational projects.
• Demonstrated knowledge of grants and contracts administration principles and practices.
• Strong understanding of donor compliance requirements and risk management.
• Expertise in proposal budgeting, cost recovery methodologies, and donor financial reporting.
• Knowledge of procurement and subrecipient management best practices.
• Proven ability to improve processes and drive organizational efficiency.
• Experience related to risk assessment.
• Ability to explain complex financial and compliance concepts to non-technical audiences.
• Proven ability to work effectively across cultures, geographies, and functional teams.
• Experience working within an international, matrixed organization is desirable.
• Experience with systems such as Workday, Salesforce, SharePoint, Power Platform, or similar enterprise platforms is desirable.

Potential Salary:

€76,000 – €95,000 (excluding 8% vacation allowance) if based in the Netherlands.

£67,000 – £84,000 if based in the UK.

Salary is commensurate with experience and other compensable factors.

How to Apply:

Please submit a resume with a cover letter by 2 October 2026. Internal applicants should submit their application through the Jobs Hub portal in Workday. External applicants must apply through the WRI Careers portal to be considered. We may close for applications sooner if we receive a high volume of applications from qualified candidates.

What we offer:

• Access to the WRI global network with the opportunity to exchange with and learn from passionate colleagues working at the cutting edge of their fields across Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and the US
• The chance to have an impact and to develop your career within a mission driven organization with access to varied learning and training opportunities 
• A workplace that strives to put diversity and inclusion at the heart of our work
• The opportunity to join and get involved in different working groups and affinity groups to shape the future of WRI
• Commitment to hybrid working model with flexible working hours
• Generous leave days that increase with tenure.

About Us:

World Resources Institute works to improve people’s lives, protect and restore nature and stabilize the climate. As an independent research organization, we leverage our data, expertise and global reach to influence policy and catalyse change across systems like food, land and water; energy; and cities. Our 2,000+ staff work on the ground in more than a dozen focus countries and with partners in over 50 nations.

Our mission and values:

WRI’s mission is to move human society to live in ways that protect Earth’s environment and its capacity to provide for the needs and aspirations of current and future generations.

Our values are shared ideals that bind us together: Independence, Integrity, Impact, Partnership and Care.

Our culture:

WRI is committed to advancing gender and social equity for human well-being in our mission including equal opportunities in employment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, caste, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, or protected Veteran status.

Our People team carefully reviews all applications.