Senior Grants Manager
About The Position
The Senior Grants Manager is responsible for managing the end-to-end grantmaking process in support of and collaboration with the Program Strategy and other grantmaking functions. This role supports both the processing and compliance aspects of grant portfolios and brings deep expertise in grant administration, regulatory requirements, and operational excellence. This role requires a strong understanding of legal and compliance issues-both in the U.S. and globally-impacting grantmaking within complex, multi-entity philanthropic ecosystems. This individual applies creative problem-solving skills to identify solutions within established grantmaking tools and approaches. This position provides guidance and appropriate escalation to the Director, Grants Management and legal counsel, and partners closely with the Senior Specialist, Grants Management and the Finance team to coordinate and manage payments. Success in this role requires deep expertise in philanthropic grants management, including the legal and operational complexities of working across multiple entities and regulatory frameworks. This individual brings a collaborative, inclusive, and equity-centered approach to problem-solving, and is prepared to lead through periods of transformation.
Requirements
- Minimum 10-12 years of experience in grants administration support in the philanthropic sector or an equivalent combination of advanced training and experience.
- Understanding of the process and compliance considerations for making grants from private foundations to public charities, or from a similar philanthropic entity.
- Experience with client relationship management.
- Proficiency using Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and SharePoint).
- Fluency in use of systems necessary to role (e.g., Salesforce, Workday).
Nice To Haves
- Commitment to working with or in a foundation or not-for-profit organization, or experience in a role that demonstrates commitment to social impact, particularly in or closely connected to Legal teams.
- Experience supporting organizations through times of significant growth and/or change.
- Experience in a philanthropic ecosystem with multiple types of entities.
Responsibilities
- Support end-to-end grant execution-from idea to closeout-by collaborating with strategy teams to align on goals, anticipate challenges, and manage the grants pipeline.
- Foster strong cross-functional partnerships to advance shared grantmaking goals.
- Facilitate regular coordination meetings with strategy leads to track pipeline, align on approaches and timing, and ensure grant review and closeout processes run smoothly.
- Provide grantee portal support as needed to ensure ease of use and compliance.
- Support onboarding and training for new grant makers and maintenance of internal guidance tools.
- Apply compliance screening to all grants, identifying and analyzing business, legal, strategic, and reputational risks, engaging necessary stakeholders and decision-makers, while meeting internal requirements.
- Identify when to involve counsel, Finance, or other business partners, serving as interlocutor between recommenders and counsel such that all understand the factors shaping legal advice (accumulating knowledge over time).
- Track grant reporting deadlines, review deliverables for compliance, and ensure timely disbursements.
- Oversee delegated grants management work, ensuring quality and alignment with standards.
- Cultivate relationships with grantees and funders through site visits, strategic communications, and partnership-building.
- Manage grants data in Salesforce and other systems, partnering with Finance and Grants Management teams to ensure data integrity.
- Analyze grant data and develop dashboards to inform decision-making and process improvement.
- Maintain deep knowledge of grant types and tools to provide flexible, creative solutions.
- Stay current on U.S. and international grantmaking regulations (e.g., IRS), applying knowledge across work and explaining reasoning to stakeholders.
- Scan for emerging grantmaking practices and surface promising approaches for consideration and testing.
- Support the Director, Grants Management and collaborate across teams to enhance and align grantmaking processes and systems with organizational needs and priorities.
- Contribute to enhancing grant technology systems by supporting the design, testing, training and implementation.
- Develop and deliver clear, accessible learning resources for grant makers.
- Lead onboarding of new hires engaged in grantmaking, ensuring clarity on systems and processes.
- Participate constructively in project teams, working groups, and other cross-team and cross-organization efforts.
- Perform other job-related duties as assigned.
Benefits
- Benefits for full-time employees currently include medical, dental, vision, life, disability, and long-term care insurance, fertility benefit, caregiving support, 144 hours of vacation, 96 hours of sick leave, 401k, HSA, FSA, an opportunity to earn a discretionary annual target performance bonus and more.
- Eligibility for and the amount of benefits provided are governed by the terms of the applicable plan documents.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
Industry
Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities
Education Level
No Education Listed
Number of Employees
11-50 employees
