Grants Manager

 
The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) is a nonpartisan, nationwide, nonprofit organization of public officials who head departments of elementary and secondary education in the states, the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Education Activity, the Bureau of Indian Education, and five U.S. extra-state jurisdictions. CCSSO provides leadership, advocacy, and technical assistance on major educational issues. CCSSO seeks member consensus on major educational issues and expresses their views to civic and professional organizations, federal agencies, Congress, and the public.
 

 
The Grants Manager is primarily responsible for the management and administration of an assigned portfolio of grants, including preparation of grant proposals, relationship management and cultivation, managing all aspects of grant application submissions and budgeting; continually researching funding opportunities to support successful implementation of the Council’s strategic  plan and managing up-to-date and accurate records for funders and the organization.
 
Qualified candidates should possess excellent writing, communication, and computer skills (Microsoft Office Word, PowerPoint, Adobe, and Excel), strong relationship-building and management skills, and knowledge of customer management information systems and experience preparing program-level budgets. The candidate must be highly organized with the ability to effectively work under pressure, use independent judgment and produce a quality work product within tight time constraints.
 
To ensure success, this individual must have proficient knowledge of fundraising methods and be committed to the mission of the Council. Preferred applicants are deadline-driven team players with outstanding multitasking abilities.
 

• Writes, reviews and edits grant proposals to public, private and corporate entities
• Corresponds with prospects and grantors, including following up on status of proposals and reporting back on program investments
• Maintains database and files regarding information about grantors, including contact information, grantor’s funding priorities, reporting requirements and deadlines
• Coordinates regular communications with current and prospective funders, such as providing scheduled updates of CCSSO activities and facilitating webinars with CCSSO members
• Manages and administers a portfolio of 25-30 grants
• Works with Program Staff, and Accounting to develop performance metrics and budgets for grant proposals
• Meets with Program Staff and the Accounting teams to review financial reports, verify budget information for accuracy, completeness, and compliance with grant regulations
• Reports on quantitative and qualitative results that demonstrate the organization’s programmatic impacts to grant funders
• Maintains and implements funding calendar activities, including cultivation activities
• Regularly informs supervisor of project status and any deviation from established timeline or goals
• Continually expands portfolio of prospects suitable for solicitation
• Conducts prospect research on potential corporate, foundation, and individual grantors
• Coordinates on-site and virtual meetings with prospects/grantors

• Bachelor's Degree
• 3-5 years' experience with relationship management, proposal writing and grant coordination
• Fully versed in proposal life cycle development process
• Experience developing proposal outlines that are aligned with a specified scope of work and evaluation criteria described in the grant application
• Experience conducting proposal kickoff meetings, proposal reviews, and necessary logistics for timely proposal submission
• Experience creating a variety of written products and deliverables in a timely manner
• Experience assessing RFP/RFQ packages for requirements to ensure compliance with all submission requirements
• Experience preparing and managing proposal development schedule from pre/post RFP to submission

 
Proficient with Microsoft Office Word, PowerPoint and Excel, and database management skills (previous Sales Force experience preferred)
 

 
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. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
 
While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is regularly required to sit and talk or listen. The employee is frequently required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel. The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk and reach with hands and arms. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds.  Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.
 

 
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet.