Assistant Director, Grants & Contracts

Job Description

Job Description

JOB SUMMARY:

Illinois Action for Children, a local, state, and national leader in the early care and education sector for 57 years, is seeking a seasoned grant professional to join its development team. The ideal candidate will have the experience and initiative to play an instrumental role in helping to manage and grow the organization’s funding portfolio through philanthropic and government grants.

Under the direction of the Director of Philanthropy, the Assistant Director, Grants and Contracts will work with multiple teams across the organization, serving as the project manager, and execute the full cycle of grant seeking and grant management processes— from pre-award research and proposal development through post-award compliance, database input and tracking, reporting, and closeout—for a range of public entities and philanthropic organizations, such as foundations, corporations, government, and other institutions. This position will also conduct routine and targeted prospect research to expand philanthropic grant support in alignment with Illinois Action for Children’s three-year strategic plan.

This position will be expected to promote and adhere to the workplace core capabilities of: accountability, customer focus, continuous quality improvement, communication (CQI), competent people. and clear priorities. All work to be completed with supervision and in accordance with organizational standards.

This position requires on-site work at our Lawrence and Broadway location with scheduled remote workdays.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include but are not limited to the following. The company reserves the right to add, delete, change, or modify the essential duties and responsibilities at any time.

Grant Writing, Prospect Research, and Project Management

• Primary writer/editor of high-quality, well-positioned Letters of Inquiry/Interest, proposals, reports, applications, and other requests for philanthropic and government funding.
• Act as project manager, providing detailed grant proposal/report development assistance including project management through all stages of proposal conceptual development and refinement including:

• Learn proposal requirements, agency mission and culture, and specific program objectives with the goal of producing more competitive grant proposals
• Facilitate proposal and report development meetings with program leadership, front-line staff, and other contributors, ensuring the accountability of all contributors to meet funder deadlines
• Conduct quality, relevant research into subjects at proposal-preparation stage and for statement of need and implementation sections of government proposals
• Coordinate timely workflow of proposal preparation and submission.
• Maintain processes, procedures, forms, etc. for the efficient management of philanthropic and government grants.

• Manage preparing, writing, and submission of all grant seeking and reporting activities, including compiling required attachments and completing forms for philanthropic foundations and local, state, and federal agencies.
• Develop and maintain a detailed knowledge of IAFC’s priorities and programs and conduct emerging programs, services, advocacy, public policy, and research for grant funding.
• Support program personnel in developing project budgets, logic models, making sound recommendations based on organization and program goals and funder alignment.
• Support leadership’s cultivation efforts (development, program, CEO, etc.) of funding partners by responsively and professionally managing and maintaining IAFC/funder communications, meeting coordination, grant and report submissions, funder inquiries and requests, and other relationship-building opportunities.
• Manage prospective and current funder “site visits”, progress updates, introductory and follow-up meetings through schedule coordination and effective preparation including facilitation of prep meeting(s). In collaboration with Director, Philanthropy and funded programs, develop materials including internal agendas, funder presentations, and post-meeting information for funder and notes for IAFC teams and donor records.
• Develop and sustain an overview of all organizational funding to effectively identify financial gaps and leverage government and philanthropic opportunities to fill those gaps and implement program augmentation and enhancement to better serve children, families, providers, and communities.
• Manage and grow a pipeline of philanthropic grant prospects through active and ongoing prospect research to identify, research, qualify, and prioritize prospective grant and requests for proposal (RFP) opportunities of $10K + that advance programmatic and organizational strategic priorities.
• Act as the organization’s point of contact for non-fiscal inquiries of government grants and contracts; input and track in database, and ensure government proposals meet all administrative requirements and include all relevant attachments.
• Actively research and identify local, state, regional and federal funding RFPs, NOFOs, and other opportunities to support organizational growth, and prepare opportunity recommendations for Senior Leadership.

Data and Financial Management

• Manage and maintain all philanthropic grantmaking funder and prospect accounts and opportunity records in Salesforce NPSP including entering opportunities (grants) and producing acknowledgement letters; record detailed notes on interactions; enter new prospects, accounts, and contacts.
• Manage and maintain a comprehensive grants calendar that combines proposal and report deadlines, open/start dates for available opportunities, grant and contract terms for the organization.
• Produce twice monthly opportunity and grant reports for internal leadership teams.
• Liaise between CFO and program team to ensure budgets and financial reports are thorough, accurate, and appropriate before submission.
• Conduct quarterly and annual grants reconciliation with Finance.
• Stay current on financial/budget requirements and allocations for philanthropic and government grants and contracts to work seamlessly with Finance on application and report submittals.

General

• Provide copy editing/proofreading and writing support on newsletters, appeals, and other fundraising and marketing materials, as needed.
• Support annual benefit project planning and onsite implementation, as needed.
• Other support of development and External Relations Department activities, as needed.

EDUCATION and EXPERIENCE:

• Bachelor’s degree required with at least 3 years of successful grant writing experience and proven ability to secure government and private funding.
• Demonstrated experience in writing persuasive, clear, concise, and visually attractive proposals/reports preferably in a nonprofit or educational setting, such as appeal writing, grant writing, technical writing, proofreading, editing, copywriting, or other equivalent written communication format.
• Experience successfully soliciting local, regional, and national foundations and a proven track record of securing new foundation grants.
• Able to work under pressure to meet tight deadlines and funding goals, and simultaneously manage multiple priorities while maintaining a calm, professional work style.
• Demonstrated teamwork skills, team oriented, and able to build morale and group commitments to goals and objectives.
• Superior project management skills including the ability to coordinate overlapping projects and deadlines, and an excellent attention to detail.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills and the ability to work with minimal supervision.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS and COMPETENCIES:

• Passion for Illinois Action for Children’s mission and vision.
• Demonstrated ability to successfully navigate a diverse, multi-functional organization.
• Experience managing a growing schedule of proposal writing and submissions.
• Thinks and visions innovatively about potential funding opportunities outside of traditional partnerships.
• Experience fostering an organization-wide culture of philanthropy.

Benefits of Working at IAFC :

• Working with passionate team members that are driven by our Mission: Illinois Action for Children is a catalyst for organizing, developing, and supporting strong families and powerful communities where children matter most.
• We strive to foster and implement a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion across our organization. We know it is not only critical to the success of diversity initiatives - but instrumental in creating an unbiased and inclusive workplace! It not only relates to the diverse clients we serve but also creates a positive employee experience.
• We offer an extensive benefits package that adds value to your total compensation. Our benefits include:
• Health, dental, and vision insurance plans with company contribution of 95% for single coverage
• 401 (k) with company match
• Generous PTO – first year-23 days, the second year-28 days, the third year and on-35 days
• 11 Paid Holidays and 1 Floating Holiday
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Flexible Spending Account
• STD & LTD insurance
• Company-paid Life Insurance

Location: Chicago, Illinois - Hybrid

IL Action for Children is EEO/M/F/V/D employer

While we desire for this job posting to be comprehensive, all aspects of the position may be amended at any time at the discretion of IAFC including job duties, work location and/or work schedule.