Grants & Operations Assistant

FWD.us•Washington, DC

4d•$60,000 - $65,000•Onsite

About The Position

FWD.us is a bipartisan political organization focused on advancing immigration and criminal justice reforms. Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, the Grants & Operations Assistant provides day-to-day administrative and data support for grant-funded work. The role works closely with the program and grants team, which leads proposal writing, funder narratives, and reporting strategy, by maintaining records, documentation, deadlines, and compliance paperwork. It also provides finance and operations support related to contracts, expenses, and annual audit preparation. This is an early-career opportunity for an organized, curious professional who is eager to learn how a mission-driven organization operates and help build effective systems. The successful candidate appreciates the role of operations and administration in advancing FWD.us’s mission, is comfortable solving problems in a fast-paced and dynamic environment, can manage multiple moving parts independently and collaboratively, and thrives in a bipartisan framework. The position is based in FWD.us’s Washington, D.C. headquarters office. The organization does not have educational requirements for its jobs and evaluates candidates based on relevant interpersonal, skill-based, technical, policy, lived, and work experience.

Requirements

Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, with a demonstrated commitment to accurate, high-quality work.
Ability to work independently and collaboratively as part of a team.
Effective communication skills for liaising with internal and external stakeholders.
Ability to learn new processes and systems quickly and provide input on improvements.
Proactive approach and intellectual curiosity about areas of growth.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with a CRM.
Familiarity with Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets.

Responsibilities

Complete and submit grant paperwork and compliance documentation, including forms, financial documents, organizational records, and due diligence questionnaires.
Register and maintain FWD.us profiles and credentials in funder portals and grant management systems, and track account ownership and access.
Record grant agreements, award letters, and funder-required certifications for review and signature.
Support proposal and reporting cycles by assembling and formatting attachments, budgets, and schedules; proofreading submissions; uploading materials to funder portals; and confirming receipt.
Maintain accurate, audit-ready grant files that trace awards from proposal through agreement, payment, and final report.
Serve as a primary steward of the central operations and funder database, ensuring proposals, awards, payments, contracts, and reporting obligations are recorded accurately, completely, and on time.
Upload and organize source documents and link them to the appropriate database records.
Apply and enforce consistent naming conventions, field definitions, and file structures across the database and shared drives.
Audit database records for missing fields, duplicates, stale statuses, and broken links, and correct identified issues.
Assist with routine financial processes, including scanning and depositing checks, recording receipts, entering data, and preparing processing documentation.
Gather grant agreements, award documentation, and supporting schedules for annual independent financial statement audits of FWD and affiliated entities.
Collect and file vendor paperwork and record and track it in the operations and funder database.
Assist with monthly financial reconciliations, including credit card management and vendor payments.
Maintain the finance and operations team calendar and assist with scheduling.
Gather, organize, and code expenses for monthly credit card reconciliation reports.
Provide general operations and administrative support and perform other duties as assigned.