Director of Grants Management

Resources Legacy Fund

7d•$180,000 - $210,000•Remote

About The Position

Resources Legacy Fund (RLF) is seeking a Director of Grants Management to provide strategic direction and oversight for its grants management function, which processes approximately 1,000 outgoing grants and contracts totaling about $90 million annually. The Director will design and implement best practices, policies, and procedures for outgoing funds across RLF’s related 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) entities, fiscally sponsored projects, and donor-advised funds. The role leads a grants management team of approximately 20 staff and helps foster a collaborative, transparent, and supportive culture within the team and across the organization. The Director will promote responsive, values-aligned grantmaking while ensuring compliance with legal requirements. This requires sound judgment about where program administration can be flexible and creative and where legal constraints or established best practices require specific approaches. The position is remote, exempt, and requires U.S. travel as needed, at a minimum quarterly. It reports to the Chief Finance and Administration Officer (CFAO). Resources Legacy Fund supports environmental progress through partnerships and campaigns focused on climate resilience, land and water conservation, and community well-being. Rooted in California and expanding across Western North America and beyond, RLF has a 25-year track record and hosts fiscally sponsored projects reaching across the globe.

Requirements

A minimum of 5–10 years as a Grants Management Director or equivalent demonstrated experience developing and implementing grants management strategies.
Strong understanding of grantmaking best practices and broad, deep experience implementing grants management processes, procedures, and policies within a foundation or other grantmaking organization.
Experience leading grants management system optimizations and implementations.
A minimum of 3–5 years of direct supervisory or management experience.
Ability and enthusiasm for leading and managing teams, mentoring individuals, and facilitating meetings and trainings.
Leadership and management style that enables colleagues to do their best work for grantees, fiscally sponsored projects, and donors.
Outstanding decision-making, problem-solving, and analytical skills, including experience overseeing grantmaking compliance.
Ability to balance technical database knowledge with helping users understand how systems can support their work.
Proven project management and change management skills.
Ability to explain complex technical concepts in business terms, evaluate system and grants-management requests, assess needs, build consistency and buy-in, and promote adoption of business processes across organizational levels.
General computer literacy and Microsoft suite proficiency, with the ability to learn new technology quickly and thoroughly.
Strong commitment to data management and data governance practices.
Strong technical skills in administration, system configuration, and maintenance of grants management systems and/or CRM systems.
Professionalism, accountability, collaboration, strong verbal and written communication, and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Self-starter with strong prioritization, time management, and organizational skills, and ability to multitask in a highly responsive environment.
Comfort with ambiguity, a positive outlook, and commitment to RLF’s mission, grantees, fiscally sponsored projects, and funder clients.

Nice To Haves

Experience overseeing complex grantmaking portfolios at multi-entity organizations, including 501(c)(3)s, 501(c)(4)s, donor-advised funds, and fiscal sponsorship organizations.
Experience with Salesforce.
Familiarity with business analytics tools such as Power BI.
Experience implementing grantee portals or other major systems.

Responsibilities

Champion grantmaking best practices and process improvements that increase efficiency, democratize data management, and improve data transparency.
Provide consistency across programs and fiscally sponsored projects and serve as the subject matter expert on grant and contract administration policies and procedures.
Support grants management, program/project, and other staff with processing outgoing grants and contracts.
Develop creative, values-aligned solutions to grants management questions and elevate cross-programmatic and cross-divisional issues as a member of the senior Leadership Team.
Identify training needs and oversee ongoing staff training in philanthropic processes and use of the grants management system.
Oversee grants management templates, policies, procedures, and training materials as needed.
Lead a grants management team of nearly 20 staff, including a Deputy Director of Fiscal Sponsorship & Grants Management, Grants Manager, and Grants Coordinators/Senior Grants Coordinators.
Foster a collaborative, transparent, supportive, and trusting team culture and solicit staff input and process-improvement ideas.
Collaborate with in-house and outside counsel on legal compliance and risk mitigation for grants and contracts, balancing programmatic needs with values-aligned practices.
Partner with Finance to ensure fiscal and audit compliance; address and triage inquiries concerning compliance, due diligence, risk mitigation, and grants management.
Provide strategic leadership for Salesforce as it relates to outgoing funds processing and support alignment with incoming funds processing.
Ensure Salesforce configuration changes account for both human and technology systems; work with the Salesforce Analyst and Operations staff to determine when to engage external consultants and oversee their work.
Oversee system architecture and advise Executive and Leadership Teams on system-related process options.
Evaluate Salesforce releases and third-party tools, oversee implementation of upgrades, and identify system training needs.
Coordinate with program/project staff on questions about application content and requirements.
Serve as a central contact for staff and grantee feedback on system enhancements and bugs and ensure issues are resolved promptly.
Promote learning and development and assess reporting, dashboard, and data needs so colleagues have appropriate decision-making information.
Support the Salesforce Analyst in providing data-related training and provide data-driven findings to inform decisions and external storytelling.