Senior Grant Writer

Job Description

Job Description

Our Family Services is seeking an experienced  Senior Grant Writer who can independently lead the development of complex, competitive grant applications with minimal supervision. The primary purpose of this position is to oversee all grant functions of the agency with support and input from the Chief of Staff and the Chief Executive Officer.  This position reviews and applies for all government and private grant funding and coordinates submission of all grant reports as well as proper tracking of program outcomes.

The Senior Grant Writer, along with the Chief of Staff, coordinates resource development, grant writing, major gifts and planned giving, fundraising, special events, marketing, communications, and public relations to support the programs and staff to acquire and maintain the resources they need to provide quality services.

All agency positions are expected to meet the agency standards for attendance and punctuality, positive interactions with others, effective work habits, knowledge and skills, judgment and ethics. The successful candidate must be able to review and interpret funding opportunities, develop grant strategies, identify information gaps, conduct research, coordinate with clients and technical staff, develop project work plans and measurable outcomes, and produce comprehensive, submission-ready applications. We are looking for someone who is  independent but highly collaborative, confident but open-minded, and experienced but willing to listen, learn, and adapt.

The specific expectations and essential duties of this position include :

·         Appreciates and supports the mission and goals of Our Family Services

• Review NOFOs, RFAs, and other funding announcements.
• Determine eligibility, application requirements, scoring criteria, deadlines, and documentation needs.
• Develop grant strategies, application checklists, schedules, and information requests.

·         Creates and implements a realistic annual plan for the grants program to support the organization’s mission and goals, annual plan and budget.

·         Oversees all aspects of grant applications and reporting, including targeted sponsorship applications, within deadlines.

·         Creates realistic grant proposals that can be effectively implemented with the funding requested.

·         Creates sustainability and evaluation plans.

·         Creates budget narratives and justifications.

·         Researches and strategizes new funding opportunities.

·         Develops interesting and compelling ways to communicate the agency’s impact through narrative and infographics. Conduct research using credible federal, state, Tribal, academic, and other authoritative sources.

·         Facilitates meetings with program staff to acquire sufficient and accurate information to write successful grants.

·         Develops and maintains sustainable community engagement strategies and forms partnerships necessary to create competitive applications for funding and successful implementation of contracts.

• Translate broad project concepts into clearly defined, competitive, and fundable proposals.
• Identify weaknesses, missing information, or documentation and recommend solutions.
• Coordinate with managers, clients, partners, technical staff, and subject matter experts.
• Ensure consistency among narratives, budgets, schedules, and supporting documents.
• Track forms, attachments, letters of support, certifications, and other application requirements.
• Conduct quality-control and compliance reviews before submission.
• Deliver polished, substantially submission-ready applications for final management review.

·         Develops and maintains relationships with private funders, in partnership with the Chief of Staff.

·         Manages site visits with current and potential funders.

·         Maintains and updates passwords, subscriptions, and enrollment in private grant-related external systems. 

·         Creates and implements analysis protocols and regular reporting to the Chief of Staff and other key leaders regarding upcoming funding opportunities, current activities and rates of success for grants program.

·         Contributes content to the Annual Report, agency newsletter and other communications

·         Provides regular updates on progress and activities to the Chief of Staff.

·         Manages collection and reporting of agency outcomes data.

·         Other duties as assigned.

Expected Level of Independence

This is a senior-level position . After receiving a funding opportunity, project concept, and relevant background information, the successful candidate should be able to:

• Develop the application strategy and structure.
• Develop goals, objectives, activities, outcomes, and performance measures.
• Draft comprehensive application narratives.
• Identify application weaknesses and recommend improvements.
• Produce a substantially complete, submission-ready application.

The candidate should know what questions to ask, what information is missing, and what needs to happen next without waiting for detailed instructions.

As this position is part of the agency’s Leader’s Group, the following leadership expectations also apply:

·         Upholds agency staff values and expectations

·         Engages in respectful and ongoing communication and problem-solving with others

·         Follows protocol and established procedures while still being creative and taking initiative to do what needs to be done

·         Acts as a positive and professional ambassador for the agency both internally and in the greater community

·         Takes all practical steps to ensure a work environment that is safe, friendly, helpful, and free from harassment

·         Successfully engages, coordinates, and motivates agency staff to achieve program or project goals

·         Is able to face adversity, take unpopular stands, or engage in tough debates when necessary, but knows when to move on

Collaboration and Teamwork

Our Family Services places a high value on teamwork. The successful candidate must be:

• Open-minded and willing to consider different perspectives and approaches.
• A strong team player who enjoys working collaboratively.
• Respectful of clients, community members, technical professionals, and colleagues.
• Comfortable receiving constructive feedback and revising work when needed.
• Able to balance independent judgment with collaborative decision-making.
• Flexible when project direction or funding requirements change.
• Proactive in communicating questions, concerns, risks, and ideas.
• Willing to support other team members when deadlines require additional help.
• Focused on producing the best overall project and team result.
• Takes ownership of an application without taking ownership away from the team.

Qualifications

·         A minimum of two years of professional grant writing or technical writing experience, or grant development experience.

·         Demonstrated experience independently developing complex federal or state grant applications.

·         Strong knowledge of NOFO/RFA requirements, evaluation criteria, work plans, budgets, performance measures, and supporting documentation.

·         Excellent writing, editing, research, analytical, and organizational skills.

·         Ability to manage multiple applications and competing deadlines.

·         Strong attention to detail.

·         Strong interpersonal and communication skills.

·         Able to pass background check related to position requirements.

·         Strong communication and people skills.

·         Ability to work with diverse populations.

·         Ability to build strong relationships internally and externally.

·         Ability to be clear and concise in written and verbal communications.

·         Strong organizational skills.

·         Since driving may occasionally be required to fulfill the job functions, a valid Arizona driver’s license, reliable transportation, clean driving record, and current auto insurance are preferred

·         Considerable computer and technological skills necessary to create and update forms, write reports and policies, maintain appropriate correspondence, enter and retrieve information on database or spreadsheet, use email, and locate information on internet.

Scheduling flexibility:

This position generally works weekdays and daytime hours. Some evenings or weekends may be necessary to meet the needs of the position. Some flexibility in scheduling is available to meet employee needs, as long as agency and department needs are still being adequately addressed.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit and talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to stand; walk; and use hands to finger, handle, or feel. The employee is occasionally required to reach with hands and arms and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 40 pounds.

Work Environment

Must be able to sit for extended periods of time while working on a computer. Will meet with different departments to discuss proposals and progress. Will work normal business hours, though some long hours may be required to meet deadlines.