Director of Grants Strategy and Development

Metropolitan State University of Denver • Denver, CO

14d • $94,000 - $130,000

About The Position

The College of Health and Human Sciences (CHHS) embraces inclusivity and an orientation to lifelong learning to prepare diverse students for interculturally competent practice, research, and leadership in their disciplines. Through collaboration and engagement with the community and one another, faculty, staff, and students lead transformative and justice-oriented endeavors to secure the health and well-being of people and their communities. As a more recently established college within the university, CHHS serves about 4,500 undergraduate and graduate students across 8 academic departments and the Health Institute.

The Director of Grants Strategy and Development provides visionary leadership for all external funding activities across the College of Health and Human Sciences (CHHS). Reporting to the Dean, the Director leads a comprehensive grants strategy that advances the college’s mission, strengthens its research and program capacity, and ensures sustainable systems for managing external funding. This position establishes the strategic direction for all pre- and post-award processes, ensuring that CHHS remains proactive, compliant, and future-ready regardless of changes in funding opportunities. The Director anticipates workload and staffing impacts, designs efficient and scalable systems, and fosters a collaborative, solutions-oriented environment. The Director serves as the college’s strategy liaison to the Office of Sponsored Research and Programs (OSRP), Sponsored Projects Accounting and Compliance (SPAC), Corporate and Foundation Relations (CFR), and other institutional partners, building strong partnerships to ensure seamless grant lifecycle management.

Requirements

• Master’s degree from an accredited institution
• At least five (5) years of progressive experience in grant strategy, development, and compliance in higher education or nonprofit settings
• Demonstrated success in securing and managing externally funded projects exceeding $1 million
• Experience supervising professional staff and leading teams toward operational excellence
• Strong understanding of federal and non-federal funding mechanisms, compliance frameworks, and institutional grant operations

Nice To Haves

• Advanced experience leading collaborative proposal efforts involving multiple departments or partners
• Demonstrated ability to design or implement grant management systems or process improvements
• Experience cultivating funder relationships and representing an organization in external partnerships
• Strong interpersonal, leadership, and change management skills
• Experience with higher education administrative systems such as Workday
• We encourage you to apply even if you do not meet every preferred qualification. We are most interested in finding the candidate who will best contribute to CHHS and the University.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and implementation of a strategic, college-wide grants plan that aligns with CHHS and institutional priorities.
• Establish sustainable pre -award systems that anticipate workload impact and ensure long-term operational capacity.
• Partner with the Director of Grant Operations to maintain post-award systems and ensure pre-award functions work in collaboration with post-award functions.
• Oversee strategic alignment of personnel effort across all active grants, contracts, and gifts to ensure compliance and resource sustainability.
• Collaborate with Director of Grant Operations, ensuring strong post-award practices and integration with overall college strategy.
• Develop frameworks, toolkits, and policies to improve efficiency, clarity, and collaboration across departments and units.
• Provide supervision and/or mentoring to CHHS grant personnel.
• Lead major proposal initiatives, serving as an expert advisor on proposal strategy, narrative framing, and competitive positioning.
• Partner with faculty and program leaders to conceptualize and structure proposals that advance the college’s strategic goals.
• Write and/or co-author major interdisciplinary or college-level grant proposals; serve as Principal Investigator or Project Lead as appropriate.
• Provide guidance on budget development, compliance considerations, and institutional alignment early in the proposal process.
• Oversee a sustainable and transparent proposal pipeline and maintain a comprehensive grants database and reporting dashboard.
• Serve as the strategic liaison with OSRP, SPAC, CFR, the Budget Office, and other key university partners to ensure consistent interpretation and implementation of policies.
• Cultivate relationships with external partners, including funders, foundations, and community collaborators.
• Convene regular strategy meetings between CHHS and university central offices to improve coordination and reduce administrative friction.
• Provide faculty and staff with high-level training on grants strategy, proposal competitiveness, and ethical grant management practices.
• Partner with the Dean’s Office to align grant activities with long-term college and university strategies.
• Develop and track performance metrics for CHHS grants, analyzing trends in submissions, success rates, and compliance outcomes.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement and professional development within the CHHS Grants Office.
• Serve on institutional and college committees and perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• The University’s benefits package is comprehensive and offers medical, vision and dental, free RTD pass, tuition reimbursement, as well as a life and supplemental insurance plans, retirement plans and other programs, such as access to a long-term disability (LTD) plan.
• Visit MSU Denver’s benefits website to learn more.
• For a brief overview, please see: https://www.msudenver.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/MSU-Benefit-Summary.pdf

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director