Director, Grantmaking Operations

About ACF Asia Community Foundation (ACF) is the first Asia-wide platform for collaborative and strategic giving. ACF enables donors to pool resources, co-create solutions, and drive positive social and environmental impact across the region. Through donor-advised funds, impact funds, and bespoke giving vehicles, ACF helps philanthropists give with confidence, transparency, and impact. Role Overview The Director, Grantmaking Operations will lead ACF’s grantmaking operations, ensuring the organisation delivers high-quality, efficient, and responsive services to donors and nonprofit partners across Asia. Reporting to the CEO, and serving as a member of ACF’s Senior Leadership team, the Director will be responsible for overseeing grantmaking operations, grant portfolio management, funded partner stewardship, and the systems and processes that support effective delivery. The role will ensure that grants are managed efficiently, grant commitments are fulfilled, and social impact partners receive a high standard of stewardship, support, and ongoing engagement throughout the grant lifecycle. Working closely with ACF’s donor engagement team, which manages donor relationships, the role will provide timely and accurate grant and portfolio updates to support donor communications. As ACF continues to grow, the Director will play a critical role in strengthening operational excellence, building scalable systems and processes, and ensuring the organisation remains closely connected to the organisations and communities it supports. This role requires a strong operational leader with excellent organisational skills, sound judgement, and the ability to manage complex workflows, relationships, and priorities in a growing organisation. Key Responsibilities: 1. Grantmaking Operations and Delivery Lead and oversee the full grantmaking lifecycle across donor-advised funds, collaborative funding initiatives, and other grantmaking programmes Ensure grants are processed efficiently, accurately, and in accordance with organisational policies and procedures Ensure grantmaking activities meet ACF’s due diligence, risk management and compliance requirements, with appropriate controls and escalation processes in place Lead the coordination of grant reviews, approvals, disbursements, reporting, and ongoing portfolio management Drive effective planning, prioritisation, and workflow management across the grantmaking function Monitor operational performance and identify opportunities to improve efficiency, consistency, and service quality 2. Grant Portfolio Management and Donor Engagement Support Oversee the day-to-day management of ACF’s grant portfolio and related grantmaking programmes Ensure grant recommendations are processed in a timely and responsive manner Maintain oversight of ACF’s grant portfolio, ensuring commitments, reporting requirements, and grant obligations are effectively managed Provide the donor engagement team with accurate portfolio information, timely grant updates, and operational guidance to support donor communications and stewardship Work closely with colleagues across donor engagement, finance, and grantmaking to deliver a seamless donor experience 3. Partner Stewardship and Portfolio Learning Lead ACF’s approach to funded partner stewardship, ensuring each partner has a clear primary point of contact within the G&I team and receives appropriate, consistent engagement throughout the grant lifecycle Conduct partner meetings, portfolio reviews, and site visits where appropriate to deepen understanding of funded work and emerging opportunities and challenges Capture and share insights from funded partners and portfolio performance to support organisational learning and inform future grantmaking Identify opportunities to improve partner experience and enhance the effectiveness of ACF’s grantmaking processes Support a culture of learning, partnership, and continuous improvement across ACF’s grantmaking activities 4. Systems, Processes and Continuous Improvement Develop and continuously improve systems, processes, templates, and tools that support effective and scalable grantmaking operations Identify opportunities to streamline workflows, strengthen coordination, improve organisational efficiency, and leverage technology to support effective service delivery Maintain accurate grant records and documentation, ensuring information is readily accessible, well managed, and able to support reporting, audit and compliance require…