Grants Manager

Zearn•New York, NY

1d•Remote

About The Position

The Grants Manager at Zearn is responsible for ensuring that philanthropic funding is managed with rigor and that communication with philanthropic organizations effectively demonstrates how their support enables Zearn to achieve its goals and mission. This role is crucial for sustaining Zearn's growth and scaling its impact on math achievement. Reporting to the Director of Strategic Projects, the Grants Manager will be the primary driver of grant execution and the main day-to-day contact for program officers. The role involves managing grant commitments, optimizing management processes, and creating compelling donor communications that highlight how philanthropic support contributes to children's love of math and learning.

Requirements

4-6+ years of experience in grant management or project management, with a strong focus on reporting and execution, preferably in the nonprofit or edtech sector.
Prior experience as a grantee managing report-outs to funders.
Exceptional writing and stakeholder management skills.
Ability to synthesize technical information into clear narratives.
Demonstrated experience coordinating complex, multi-stakeholder projects.
Technical proficiency in data analysis.
Basic financial tracking (budgets/spend) skills.
Experience with AI tools to accelerate coordination and writing.
Bachelor’s Degree in a related field.
Familiarity with compliance structures of large national philanthropic foundations.

Nice To Haves

The "Next Problems for this Role to Solve" section implies a need for strategic thinking and problem-solving related to reporting cadence, qualitative data gathering, AI tool utilization, and portfolio-level strategic narrative development.

Responsibilities

Manage funder relationships and proactive reporting for strategic grants, ensuring Zearn is viewed as a highly organized and trusted partner.
Serve as the primary point of contact for program officers, managing daily communications and responding to inquiries with professionalism.
Oversee the reporting lifecycle for significant, multi-year grants, ensuring timely submission of high-quality deliverables.
Lead the writing of bimonthly, quarterly, and annual funder reports, translating complex data into clear narratives.
Anticipate funder questions and prepare leadership with necessary data and talking points for important meetings.
Maintain visibility into current and prospective strategic grants, forecasting reporting, proposal, and funding milestones for strategic planning.
Manage the grant application process for new opportunities, coordinating cross-functional input for submissions.
Operationalize cross-functional project management throughout the grant lifecycle to ensure internal teams meet commitments.
Drive transparency and accountability by tracking commitments, identifying risks, and ensuring internal teams have lead time to resolve blockers.
Establish and manage scalable operating infrastructure to streamline grant coordination and maintain high execution standards.
Collaborate with Finance to ensure accurate tracking of grant spending and budgets against funder requirements.
Develop and maintain a content library of standard narratives and data points to expedite reporting and proposal development.
Create and maintain a grants procedure manual and documentation system for efficiency and compliance.
Audit and maintain grant records in the CRM, ensuring all interactions, deadlines, and obligations are documented.
Effectively communicate how philanthropic support advances Zearn's strategic goals, ensuring funders understand progress and impact.
Build deep familiarity with Zearn's strategic goals and platform to ensure reporting reflects strategic intent.
Coordinate with cross-functional teams to gather data and provide strategic context for philanthropic partners.
Ensure all external communications reflect a strategic understanding of Zearn's mission.
Synthesize learnings from grants to identify opportunities for strategic narrative shifts that enhance Zearn's positioning with funders.