Grant Operations Manager (2 years, fixed-term)

Hybrid

Full-time

Fixed-term

Your Role in a Nutshell

As Grant Operations Manager at the adidas Foundation, you play a central role in ensuring that the Foundation’s grantmaking is delivered in a way that is clear, reliable, and supportive for partners and communities the Foundation serves. By translating the Foundation’s mission, programmatic goals, and compliance requirements into well-designed systems and workflows, you help create efficiency and smooth integration across the full partnership lifecycle.

The role holds operational ownership of the Foundation’s grant management infrastructure, ensuring that grants can be managed transparently, efficiently, and in an audit-ready, consistent manner, from intake to contracting, reporting, and close-out.

Through thoughtful system design and continuous improvement, the Grant Operation Manager enables internal teams to concentrate on decision-making and impact. At the same time, partners benefit from simplified, accessible processes, with the aim to minimize manual workload, allowing them to focus on their essential on-the-ground work. Together, these endeavors support the Foundation’s broader simplification efforts and strengthening trust and long-term collaboration with our partners.

Key Stats

Country of Employment: Germany
Office Location: Nuremberg (up to 80% mobile work within Germany per month)
Contract Term: 2 years, fixed-term
Working Hours: 35 hours per week (full-time)

Your Day-To-Day

1. Grantmaking System Configuration & Management

Own the operational setup and continuous improvement of the Foundation’s grant management system
Configure and maintain workflows, grant lifecycle stages, document structures and accessibility, reporting cycles and functionalities, automations, notifications and user permissions, in line with the Foundation’s partnership lifecycle
Translate process requirements across Foundation internal teams into system logic and workflow design, ensuring processes are intuitive, proportionate, and supportive for internal and external users
Maintain standardized and clean data structures, naming conventions, and document architecture across grants records
Maintain platform governance, including user roles and access rights, workflow cleanup and removal of outdated stages, forms, or permissions, and conduct operational process improvements to streamline grantmaking and enhance user experience
Act as product owner and primary point of contact for Foundation team and system vendors, including issue escalation, bug tracking, and solution design for identified gaps

2. Grant Lifecycle Operations

Manage and coordinate the end to-end system administration of grant cycles, including the system administration of RFPs and open calls by operationalizing criteria, application forms, review stages, and scoring workflows
Ensure that grant status, decision points, and conditions are correctly captured in the system to maintain clear audit trails
Manage contract cycles, close-out and archiving processes, ensuring completeness of records and readiness for retention
Ensure first level checks on applications, reports and data for completeness, timelines, and formats
Design and maintain workflows that compile and surface complete partner reporting packages for review by relevant teams across Programs, MEAL, and Finance, reducing duplicative requests and improving clarity for partners

3. User Enablement & Support

Serve as the administrative point of contact for partners and internal teams regarding system access, submission processes and timelines, supporting a smooth, predictable, and accessible user experience
Develop and maintain system guidance materials and onboarding documentation for internal teams and partners
Train internal teams and partners on how to use the grantmaking system effectively, where required

The People You'll Work With

adidas Foundation’s department heads and broader team
Program Partners, Community Representatives
Non-Profit Organizations, Coalitions and Associations
Funders & donors
External vendors and consultants

What Makes You Awesome

A results-driven and self-motivated team player with compassion, integrity, trust, and perseverance, eager to work in a hands-on startup environment
Profound experience supporting system implementations and process redesign, including the operational setup of grant management lifecycles, RFPs, and selection processes within a grantmaking context.
Strong coordination, documentation, and workflow management skills, with confidence working in grant management systems and digital tools to design, operate, and maintain end‑to‑end processes
Exhibits sound judgment, tact, humility, and discretion, with extensive interpersonal skills to build trust-based relationships across diverse communities, stakeholders, and cultures
Strong organizational and project management skills with the ability to prioritize work, pay high attention to detail and data quality, and meet deadlines
Strong English presentation and communication skills (verbal and in written), with composure in conveying information clearly to other stakeholders. Additional language knowledge is a plus

Your Fundamentals

Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience (e.g., Social Sciences, International Development, Business Administration, Information Systems, Operations Management or equivalent)
Minimum of 3-5 years of relevant experience in grant management or program operations within philanthropy, NGOs, or similar grant-making or funding-based organizations
Hands‑on experience with setting up and maintaining grant management systems (e.g. Fluxx, Amp Impact, or comparable platforms)
Experience working in organizations or programs related to sports-for-good, sustainability or international development is an advantage

To Apply:
Interested candidates should submit a resume, and cover letter exclusively through our job platform. To ensure a fair and equal process for everyone, please understand that we cannot engage in individual conversations. Applications will be accepted until 30th April 2026, 11:59 PM (CEST).

Your Future Working Environment

Experience and thrive in a dynamic, true startup environment and be part of building a non-profit organization from its early years onwards
Competitive compensation in line with industry standards for the non-profit sector
Flexible work arrangements (based on 35 hours full-time) with up to 80% mobile work within Germany
30 days annual leave plus up to 30 days working from elsewhere (subject to individual's country of citizenship, work permit and employer approval
Continual enhancement of benefits during and beyond 2026

Please note that relocation, visa sponsorship and permanent cross-border employment are currently not possible.