Grants Manager

Job Description

Job Description

Would you like to join a growing, compassionate team of people who share a vision for a brighter future? El Futuro is a nationally recognized nonprofit organization and leading provider of behavioral mental health treatment and support services. We operate clinics across central North Carolina, specializing in services for Spanish-speaking individuals. Our mission is to nurture stronger familias to live out their dreams.

El Futuro is currently hiring a full-time Grants Manager to lead the workflow, systems, coordination, and day-to-day execution of El Futuro’s institutional funding program. This role manages the grants pipeline and calendar, assesses funding opportunities, coordinates proposal and reporting processes across departments, and maintains a portfolio of larger or more complex funders. The Grants Manager builds clear, sustainable practices that help the organization pursue and manage funding strategically, accurately, and on time.

The Grants Manager provides the operational leadership and infrastructure needed for a high-performing grants program. Working closely with Advancement, Programs, Finance, Evaluation, and Executive Leadership, this position turns institutional funding priorities into coordinated workplans, clear decisions, strong funder stewardship, and reliable systems. The role complements the Lead Grant Writer, who serves as the primary narrative lead for proposals and reports.

The ideal candidate is a collaborative problem-solver who brings clarity, organization, and follow-through to complex work. They enjoy building relationships across teams, asking thoughtful questions, and helping turn promising ideas into strong, fundable opportunities. They can balance strategy with execution, keeping people connected and work moving while ensuring deadlines, reporting requirements, and funder commitments are managed with care.

This position works 37.5 hours per week, hybrid schedule, working 50% of the time in-person, mainly in the Durham office; and must be available for Friday morning meetings, 9:00-11:00am. The typical schedule includes occasional evenings and weekends.

The annual salary starts at $70,000.00, with placement above the starting salary based on relevant experience, skills, and qualifications. El Futuro provides employer paid dental, vision, life, and long-term disability; 403B matching; generous PTO and paid holidays; paid family medical leave; paid parental leave; and paid time off for professional development.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

The Grants Manager performs the following essential functions, either independently or in coordination with program staff and external partners. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions:

Grants Workflow, Pipeline, and Portfolio Management 

• Own and manage the organization’s grants pipeline, annual grants workplan, and master calendar for proposals, reports, renewals, and stewardship activities. 
• Lead recurring grants meetings, establish priorities, clarify ownership, document decisions, and ensure timely follow-through. 
• Manage workflow across the full grant lifecycle, from opportunity assessment and pursuit decisions through submission, award setup, reporting, renewal, and closeout. 
• Monitor progress across the portfolio; identify risks, bottlenecks, capacity concerns, and upcoming decision points; and escalate issues early. 
• Directly manage a portfolio of institutional funders, with responsibility for funder relationships, grant deliverables, reporting, and ongoing stewardship. 

Funder Analysis and Institutional Funding Strategy 

• Analyze prospective foundation, corporate, and government opportunities for mission alignment, eligibility, competitiveness, restrictions, organizational capacity, sustainability, and overall fit. 
• Prepare concise opportunity assessments and recommendations to support pursue, defer, or decline decisions. 
• Partner with the Director of Philanthropic Engagement and organizational leadership to implement institutional funding priorities and annual goals. 
• Develop pipeline projections, portfolio analyses, and funding outlook reports that support planning and decision-making. 
• Support cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies for key institutional funders, including preparation for funder conversations and follow-up. 

Cross-Department Coordination and Grant Development 

• Lead coordination among Advancement, Programs, Finance, Evaluation, Communications, and Executive Leadership for proposals, reports, budgets, supporting materials, and funder deliverables. 
• Create clear workplans with internal deadlines, contributors, review steps, approvals, and submission responsibilities. 
• Facilitate planning conversations so stakeholders understand the opportunity, intended outcomes, commitments, timelines, and expectations. 
• Coordinate development of grant budgets and supporting documentation with Finance and program leaders while maintaining clear responsibility for final content and approvals. 
• Partner with the Lead Grant Writer and Strategist to ensure narratives, data, budgets, attachments, and submission requirements are complete, accurate, consistent, and timely. 

Program Design, Outcomes, and Reporting 

• Facilitate conversations about program design, scope, sustainability, outcomes, and alignment with organizational strategy and funder priorities. 
• Coordinate development and refinement of logic models, theories of change, outcomes frameworks, evaluation plans, and funder-specific performance measures. 
• Translate organizational priorities and program concepts into clear grant strategies and fundable project structures. 
• Oversee reporting workflows, ensuring programmatic, financial, and evaluation inputs are gathered, reviewed, approved, and submitted by required deadlines. 
• Track award commitments, deliverables, and reporting requirements and help teams resolve gaps or inconsistencies before they create compliance risk. 

Systems, Documentation, and Process Improvement 

• Serve as the business owner for monday.com grants management processes and related grant-tracking tools. 
• Develop and maintain dashboards, calendars, templates, standard operating procedures, decision records, and shared resource libraries. 
• Establish consistent standards for grant records, naming conventions, status updates, documentation, and knowledge management. 
• Maintain complete, accessible, and audit-ready records for proposals, awards, reports, agreements, correspondence, and supporting documentation. 
• Regularly assess workflows and implement improvements that strengthen clarity, efficiency, accountability, and continuity. 

Leadership, Supervision, and Collaboration 

• Establish clear roles, workflows, quality standards, and communication practices within the grants team. 
• Foster collaborative, respectful working relationships across departments and create shared accountability for grant-related commitments. 
• Serve as a knowledgeable internal resource on grants processes, funder requirements, and institutional funding practices. 

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s degree in nonprofit management, public administration, communications, business, social sciences, or a related field; or equivalent training and experience. 
• Significant experience managing institutional grants, complex grant portfolios, or cross-functional funding processes in a nonprofit, healthcare, behavioral health, education, government, or community-based setting. 
• Demonstrated experience building and managing grant calendars, workflows, reporting systems, and internal coordination processes. 
• Experience assessing funding opportunities and managing relationships or deliverables for foundation, corporate, or government funders. 
• Experience supervising staff or leading the work of a grants team strongly preferred. 
• Experience developing or coordinating grant budgets, outcomes frameworks, evaluation plans, and compliance documentation preferred. 

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES

• Bilingual fluency in spoken and written Spanish and English, preferred.
• Advanced grants management, project management, and workflow coordination skills. 
• Strong understanding of institutional fundraising, prospect and funder analysis, proposal and reporting processes, and funder stewardship. 
• Ability to manage multiple complex deadlines, contributors, and approval processes with accuracy and sound judgment. 
• Systems thinking and process design capabilities, including the ability to create practical SOPs, dashboards, templates, and tracking tools. 
• Strong facilitation and cross-functional collaboration skills, including the ability to clarify decisions, ownership, and next steps. 
• Excellent written, verbal, analytical, and interpersonal communication skills with diverse audiences. 
• High attention to detail and ability to maintain accurate, confidential, and audit-ready documentation. 
• Proficiency with Microsoft 365 and web-based project or grants management platforms; experience with monday.com strongly preferred. 
• Commitment to supporting El Futuro's mission to nurture stronger familias to live out their dreams.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a manner consistent with El Futuro's values of Calor Humano, Trust, Resilience, Belonging, and Community.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

• Setting: Work is performed in a hybrid environment, working 50% of the time in-person, mainly in the Durham office.
• Assigned Office Site: Durham office.
• Work Week: Typically works a standard Monday through Friday schedule. Friday 9:00am to 11:00am is required time for organization-wide and team meetings.
• Extra Time: May be required to work occasional evenings and weekends to meet critical deadlines or participate in funder or organizational activities.
• Technology & Systems: Regular use of computers, digital platforms, phone, video-conferencing tools, and electronic records systems.
• Travel: Ability to travel locally and occasionally statewide, as needed.

To apply, submit your cover letter and resume.

El Futuro is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate in its employment decisions on the basis of any protected category. We believe we are most impactful when people with a wide range of backgrounds, experiences, and identities come together with common purpose. We encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply.