Program Assistant

The Chesapeake Bay Trust (the Trust) seeks qualified candidates to serve as Program Assistants. We are currently hiring for a position on the Outreach and Education team as well as one on the Restoration team. These positions will assist the Trust with grant review, grant management, and grant tracking. These hires will be key members of a 35+ person staff. These positions are full-time salaried positions (40 hours per week). Within the first 6 months, these positions will be expected to be in the Trust offices in Annapolis, Maryland, at least 2 days per week, with remote work possible for the remainder of the week. After the 6-month probation period, there will be an opportunity to reassess the number of in-office and remote work days. 

About the Trust

The Chesapeake Bay Trust seeks to engage and empower a diverse range of groups to take actions that enrich the natural resources and local communities of the Chesapeake Bay region. The Trust is a non-profit grant-making organization established by state government in 1985. The Trust currently makes 400+ grants and other awards per year ranging from $100 to ~$400,000 for projects in the capacity building, community engagement, conservation, environmental education, restoration, and science realms. In the past 15 years, the Trust has significantly increased its grant-making through various revenue streams under the purview of four Trust departments, with annual grant-making of approximately ~$30 million.

Position Responsibilities

The Program Assistants will spend approximately 80% of their time assisting their program team in advancing its mission, and approximately 20% of their time supporting the Trust in other avenues of work. Specific duties include:

• Assist in the management of grants that advance the Trust’s stewardship and restoration goals, including the steps of proposal review (programmatic and budgetary aspects), status and expense report review, award revision requests, and final report/close-out, for a subset of the Trust’s award portfolio. Some management activities may require site visits.
• Serve as the lead on grantee correspondence for their program team.
• Prepare grant reports and meeting preparation material for staff and review committees.
• Prepare queries of grant data as needed for a variety of purposes, such as funding partner requests, reports to the Board of Trustees, legislature, the Trust’s website, and more.
• Provide support to a subset of not-for-profit organizations in the preparation of grant proposals and in the management of grant awards.
• Support their program team with grant program advertisements.
• Develop and post grant-related website content to describe project/program success.
• Assist the program team with event logistics (e.g., compiling registration list(s), presentation slides, meeting materials such as an agenda for a team meeting, taking meeting notes), including review committee days and external events such as grantee workshops, press events, and/or symposia.
• Support internal and external meeting logistics including hosting meetings on virtual platforms such as Zoom and/or Microsoft Teams.
• Assist the program team with special projects, such as grantee newsletters, social media posts, blogs, and/or annual reports.
• Serve, with the other Program Assistants, as a Trust lead of the online grants system and database software with tasks to include development and refinement of grant application forms, reviewer forms, data fields, award and decline letters/notifications, and any updates needed to improve efficiency.
• Support several administrative functions, such as tracking and recording grants, reviewing award financial back-up documentation to submit for payment, and supporting quarterly reporting to our funding partners.
• Other projects and duties as assigned.

Skills and Qualifications

• High level of proficiency in the Microsoft Office suite of programs (especially Excel, Word, and PowerPoint) (required).
• Ability to tackle multiple tasks in a timely and effective manner (required).
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail (required). The successful candidates must be exceptionally thorough and detail-orientated.
• Ability to work independently and in team settings (required).
• Excellent written and oral communication skills (required).
• Experience with at least one database that illustrates the ability to learn (preferred).
• Bachelor’s degree (preferred)
• An interest in environmental and community health issues (preferred).
• Personal vehicle or access to a vehicle/transportation and valid driver’s license or access to transportation options necessary to facilitate site visit travel and travel to the office (required).

Position Salary and Benefits

$40,000 (for candidates with no prior experience) to $45,000 (for candidates with 2+ years of demonstrated experience) with an excellent benefits package and opportunities for professional development through workshops, training programs, and conferences.

How to Apply

The positions will remain open until filled. Please submit a resume and cover letter.  The cover letter must address how your skills and experience are specifically relevant to the job description and duties of this specific opportunity, rather than serving simply as description of your previous positions or experience.  Please explain why you are interested in this position specifically and what makes you a good candidate.

The Chesapeake Bay Trust provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age or disability in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws. We encourage applications from people of color.  Applicants must have a residential address in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, or Washington, D.C and must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. The Trust does not participate in programs that require sponsorship for work visas.