Director of Strategic Grants

Stark State College•Stark State College - Main Campus (North Canton), OH

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Stark State College is seeking a highly skilled and motivated Grant Development professional to lead the College’s grant development efforts and support strategic initiatives across the institution. This position plays a vital role in identifying funding opportunities, developing competitive grant proposals, and building partnerships that connect available resources with the College’s strategic priorities and community needs. The successful candidate will oversee grant activities from opportunity identification and proposal development through award implementation, reporting, and compliance, while serving as a key resource to faculty, staff, administrators, and external partners.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Communication, Technical Writing, English, or a related field.
At least five years of professional writing experience, including three to five years of grant writing experience.
Experience with public and private grant development, proposal preparation, grant administration, or a related field.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with community colleges, including their missions, programs, services, administrative structures, and community partnerships preferred.
Experience with comprehensive planning or related institutional planning processes is a plus.

Responsibilities

Develop and manage the College’s annual grant development agenda by researching public and private funding opportunities aligned with institutional and community needs.
Lead faculty, staff, administrators, and external partners through grant development, including project design, research, writing, editing, budgets, timelines, and required documentation.
Oversee pre- and post-award activities, working with project managers and principal investigators on implementation, reporting, budget revisions, no-cost extensions, and other grant requirements.
Prepare and submit grant applications, reports, and related materials while ensuring compliance with funder requirements and College policies.
Serve as the primary point of contact for the College’s grants portfolio, maintaining relationships with funding agencies, consultants, and internal and external partners.
Maintain accurate grant records, project files, reporting schedules, and grants office procedures while monitoring compliance requirements.
Lead continuous improvement of grants processes and practices to strengthen efficiency, increase funding opportunities, and advance the College’s strategic goals.
Supervise the full-time grant writer role and support Foundation and Advancement initiatives and other projects that contribute to the mission and strategic priorities of the College.