Grants Manager

Working as a senior member of the Grants team, the Grants Manager is responsible for managing the strategic delivery and continuous improvement of the grants program of Aboriginal Investment NT and its Board. The role ensures efficient systems and processes, facilitates compliance with policies and regulations, and supports decision-making through the preparation of high-quality documentation, reporting and insights.

This role provides high-level operational and coordination support across grants design, delivery, performance monitoring and stakeholder engagement to enable effective and impactful operations.

This role requires strong leadership, communication and collaboration skills. It involves overseeing grants management initiatives, ensuring that grant strategies are effectively implemented across the organisation, and providing insights and advice to the Chief Operating Officer.

·     Provide specialist and high-level advice and support to the organisation in respect to grants strategy, delivery, governance and compliance, including alignment with legislative and regulatory obligations.

·     Lead the design, development and implementation of end-to-end grants management processes, systems and policies to ensure operational excellence, accountability and strategic alignment.

·     Drive system architecture and optimisation of SmartyGrants, ensuring it supports accurate reporting, streamlined workflows, and a high-quality experience for applicants and staff.

·     Manage operational planning, performance, and capability development across the grants team, including direct line management of the Team Leader – Grants.

·     Lead cross-functional collaboration to ensure grants delivery is aligned with organisational strategy, investment priorities and stakeholder engagement objectives.

·     Prepare and present high-quality reports, insights and recommendations to the COO, Executive and Board to support governance, transparency and decision-making.

·     Build and maintain strong, culturally informed relationships with Aboriginal organisations, Traditional Owners, and other key stakeholders to ensure grants are accessible, appropriate and impactful.

Essential

·     Demonstrated experience in leading high-level grant design, delivery and oversight within a complex organisational setting.

·     Proven ability to develop and implement policies, processes and systems to support efficient, compliant and impactful grants management.

·     Experience managing and configuring grants management platforms (preferably SmartyGrants), including reporting and workflow optimisation.

·     Strong leadership capability, including experience managing teams, building capability and driving performance.

·     High-level written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to prepare reports and briefings for executive and governance audiences.

·     Demonstrated cultural capability and experience working respectfully and effectively with Aboriginal people, organisations and communities.

·     Strong understanding of risk management, governance and accountability in relation to public or philanthropic funding.

Desirable

·     Experience working in or with Aboriginal-controlled organisations or community-led funding initiatives.

·     Tertiary qualifications in business, public administration, community development or a related field.

Aboriginal Investment NT is the first of its kind: an investor, enabler, catalyst and advocate, designed by Aboriginal people to enable Aboriginal led investment and deployment of capital aligned with Aboriginal development priorities. Aboriginal Investment NT was established as the Northern Territory Aboriginal Investment Corporation (NTAIC), a corporate Commonwealth entity under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (Land Rights Act). The NTAIC Rules allow NTAIC to be known as Aboriginal Investment NT, a name which we have now formally adopted. Our statutory purpose is to make grants, provide financial assistance and invest to promote the self-management, economic self-sufficiency and social and cultural wellbeing of Aboriginal people living in the NT. Aboriginal Investment NT understands and operationalises this legislative purpose through the prism of Aboriginal self-determination. We view self management and economic self-sufficiency as key elements of Aboriginal self-determination which is, in turn, the key mechanism through which Aboriginal wellbeing is achieved. Understanding our legislative purpose through this prism of Aboriginal self-determination provides a holistic, integrated, rights-based and evidence-backed framework for achieving our purpose. Our long-term vision is for Aboriginal Territorians to have the agency and resources to make choices and negotiate opportunities to self-determine their own economic, social and cultural needs, and to live well according to their own values and measures of success. Our capital of $680 million is drawn from the Aboriginal Benefits Account - a Commonwealth Special Account established under the Land Rights Act to receive royalty equivalents from mining on Aboriginal owned and controlled land in the NT. Through Aboriginal Investment NT, this Aboriginal money is now in Aboriginal hands. With best-practice governance and broad-ranging powers – including to borrow money, make loans, give guarantees, act as trustee, form companies and enter into joint ventures and arrangements – we are well positioned to demonstrate the power and impact of Aboriginal-led investment and deployment of capital in the NT.