Development Manager, Institutional Grants

Vector Institute•Toronto, ON

1d•CA$64,400 - CA$80,500•Hybrid

About The Position

The Vector Institute is building its resource development capacity to attract new funding and to establish a structured system for securing grants. Reporting to the Director, Strategic Partnerships, the Development Manager, Institutional Grants will manage a grant portfolio for the Vector Institute while developing necessary business systems, corporate processes, and supporting relationships that will help scale Vector's funding. Working closely with Vector's research community and the Research Services team, the Development Manager will identify funding opportunities, prepare compelling proposals, and coordinate funding submissions across both technical and administrative teams. This role demands three core strengths: 1) an ability to find the right opportunities through prospect research, 2) skills to frame technical and research output into a compelling narrative, and 3) a capacity to orchestrate multi-stakeholder proposal processes efficiently.

Requirements

A bachelor's degree in a relevant field (e.g., communications, public policy/administration, business, social sciences, a scientific/technical discipline) or an equivalent combination of education and experience; a Master’s degree is preferred;
5-7 years grants management experience at a research institution, hospital foundation, university, or similar mission-driven organization;
Proven track record securing and managing competitive grants ($250K+ awards), including active funder stewardship;
Strong understanding of the research landscape with a proven ability to translate highly technical or abstract AI concepts into clear, impact-driven narratives for funders;
Advanced prospect research capabilities using grant databases and analytical frameworks;
Project management expertise coordinating multi-stakeholder proposals under tight deadlines;
Systems builder mentality – has developed grants infrastructure and knows what operational excellence looks like;
CRM proficiency (Salesforce preferred) with an ability to configure systems and manage complex pipelines;
Experience cultivating program officer relationships and navigating funding agency cultures;
Self-starter who can work independently while collaborating effectively across organizational boundaries;

Nice To Haves

Experience with the AI and technology research funding landscape, including private foundations, government programs, and international funding vehicles such as Horizon Europe, EUREKA, bilateral programs, and global philanthropic foundations is preferred;
Background in research administration, academic grant offices, or similar high-growth environments where building processes and infrastructure from scratch was part of the role is preferred.

Responsibilities

Manage end-to-end grant lifecycle for 8-10 high-value applications annually, from opportunity identification through to proposal submission and reporting compliance;
Lead proposal development and writing, preparing compelling narratives aligned with funder priorities;
Cultivate strategic relationships with program officers across priority funding agencies and foundations;
Coordinate proposal development across research, engineering, finance, legal, and program work streams, including developing cross-functional workflows;
Manage reporting and stewardship for grant awards;
Provide proposal development and submission support for faculty-led grants, leveraging these applications to build Vector’s external funding history and institutional credibility;
Project manage Vector's current grant activities with Horizon Europe, including work package tracking, financial reporting, consortium partner coordination, and exploration of additional research collaboration opportunities;
Monitor a cross-jurisdictional view of funding opportunities across various philanthropic foundations, public agencies, corporate funders, and international programs;
Conduct targeted prospect research using external grant databases to identify funding sources; evaluate opportunities by assessing alignment between Vector’s AI research and funder mandates to ensure strategic fit and high probability of success;
Build and maintain a forward-looking grants pipeline in Salesforce with stage management, forecasting, and tracking;
Develop institutional knowledge assets including coordination protocols, content libraries, proposal templates, submission checklists;
Other related duties as assigned from time to time.