DIRECTOR, GRANTS STRATEGY & OPERATIONS

Who We Are and What We Believe:

Founded in 1997, Bottom Line is a nationally recognized nonprofit organization with a mission to partner with degree-aspiring students from first-generation and low-income backgrounds as they get into college, graduate, and launch meaningful careers. For over two decades, Bottom Line has provided consistent, one-on-one support to help students navigate the challenges of accessing and succeeding in college.

Today, we proudly serve over 7,000 students through our three core programs—College Access, College Success, and Bluprint—across regional offices in Massachusetts, New York City, Chicago, Ohio, Detroit, and soon, Houston. Our vision is to create a far-reaching ripple effect, launched by the transformative power of a college degree and a mobilizing first career, that uplifts individuals, families, and entire communities.

When you join Bottom Line, you will become a part of a team that combines passion with expertise to advance equity and opportunity for degree-aspiring students. In our dynamic, results-driven environment, your contributions will help shape brighter futures and stronger communities.

About the Team:

The Development Operations (“DevOps”) team is a five-person national team launched in 2024 to support Bottom Line’s strategic growth. DevOps builds the systems, infrastructure, and operational capacity needed to achieve ambitious fundraising goals and sustain regional success. DevOps is part of the National Impact Team, which drives programmatic, operational, data, and fundraising excellence across the organization. Alongside four other verticals—Research, Analytics & Evaluation; Training & Learning; Program Operations; and Program Fidelity & Strategy—the Impact Team aligns systems, advances organizational learning, and supports consistent, high-quality implementation nationwide.

DevOps partners closely with regional development teams to strengthen fundraising strategy, support fundraiser learning and growth, manage systems and reporting, and centralize key functions such as gift processing. By streamlining workflows and providing actionable insights, DevOps enables fundraisers to spend more time with donors and build long-term relationships in support of Bottom Line’s mission. Within this structure, DevOps plays a critical role in advancing sustainable revenue growth and improving the fundraising experience across regions. Through strong systems and close collaboration, DevOps ensures fundraisers are equipped and supported to succeed in a growing national network.

What You Will Do:

The Director of Grants Strategy & Operations is a strategic leader on Bottom Line’s national Development Operations team, reporting to the Managing Director of Development Operations. The role leads the centralized grants management function, strengthening strategy, narrative, systems, and processes, that supports institutional fundraising across regions. Working behind the scenes rather than as a frontline fundraiser, the Director partners with regional teams to improve fundraising outcomes.

As the organization’s expert on grant writing, reporting, and narrative strategy, the Director collaborates closely with regional development teams - particularly institutional giving leads — to develop region-specific cases for support and write some of Bottom Line’s highest-value and most complex grants. The role ensures that grant narratives align with organizational vision, strategic priorities, and core messaging, contributing to a cohesive and consistent story across external audiences. The Director also oversees grants management systems and processes to ensure high-quality, accurate, and timely submissions, directly managing one Grants Manager. By centralizing these functions, the role enables frontline fundraisers to focus on donor engagement and relationship-building.

We seek a strategic, collaborative leader with exceptional writing skills, a strong systems mindset, and the ability to translate complex data into compelling narratives. Success requires agility, cross-functional partnership, and commitment to mission-driven work.

Narrative Strategy, Grant Writing & Reporting (50%)

• Ensure all grant narratives are tightly aligned with the organization’s strategic priorities and external messaging to maintain a unified, cohesive storytelling approach across the Bottom Line network.
• Contribute to strong organizational storytelling, translating impact data and program insights into compelling, cohesive narratives that align with broader messaging frameworks and reinforce Bottom Line’s brand – working in close collaboration with External Affairs and other teams.
• Maintain, refresh, and create a standard institutional case for support – tailored for each region and rooted in Bottom Line’s strategic vision, theory of change, model and outcomes.
• Serve as the lead grant writer and submitter for some of the highest-value and most complex proposals and reports, managing the end-to-end process for internal coordination on strategy and planning, facilitating reviews, and compiling final submissions.

Grants Management (30%)

• Effectively manage established systems and processes for the centralized grants function, ensuring compliance and consistency.
• Conduct regular reviews of the effectiveness of the grants system and identify refinements or adjustments as needed.
• Manage the framework and the assignment of grant deliverables on an ongoing basis, leveraging the Salesforce deliverables structure.
• Partner effectively with the Finance team to develop funder-friendly budgets and ensure accurate financial reporting and tracking for grants.
• Collaborate with the Research, Analytics & Evaluation team to set and maintain a standard set of metrics for use in grants.
• Manage and refresh a set of standard grant attachments.

Portfolio Oversight (10%)

• Serve as an organizational expert on institutional fundraising strategies and best practices to sustain and grow Bottom Line’s strength in institutional revenue in our regions.
• Provide strategic advising and thought partnership to Heads of Development on how to maximize institutional giving in their region.
• Assess progress toward goals and pipeline health of the institutional portfolio – identifying strengths and growth areas.
• Navigate institutional fundraising dynamics related to restricted and unrestricted funds, ensuring alignment with operating needs and strategic priorities.

Management and Coaching (10%)

• Manage one Grants Manager, who is primarily responsible for the excellent writing and timely submission of regional grants, ensuring quality & alignment with organizational standards.
• Provide coaching and thought partnership to regional development teams on compelling pitches to institutional funders and high-quality grant writing for their submissions.

Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without advanced notice.

Work Schedule:

9:00 am to 5:30 pm with additional hours as needed.

Direct Reports:

1 – Grants Manager

Expected Travel:

5%

Who Should Apply:

If you meet the qualifications below, you should apply.

Required:

• 7+ years of experience in institutional fundraising, grants strategy, or development leadership.
• Experience managing and developing staff, including coaching for quality, accountability, and growth
• Extensive experience managing the full lifecycle of institutional grants, including securing and stewarding large, complex, multi-year awards.
• Exceptional ability to craft compelling, funder-ready narratives that translate organizational priorities, outcomes, and financial models into persuasive proposals.
• Strong analytical skills with experience producing accurate, timely reports using complex programmatic and financial data
• Systems-oriented leader with a proven track record of designing and improving grant workflows, timelines, and compliance processes in complex organizations.
• Strategic and creative thinker who understands the philanthropic landscape and anticipates challenges while developing practical solutions.
• Proven ability to collaborate effectively across departments, teams and roles, building trust and alignment.
• Deep commitment to the organization’s mission and to integrating equity and inclusion principles into grants management and operations.
• Demonstrated commitment to Bottom Line’s Mission, Vision, and Core Values

Preferred:

• Experience in education, college access, or youth-serving organizations.
• Experience building or refreshing a national institutional case for support or theory-of-change-aligned narrative framework.
• Experience working in a federated, regional, or networked nonprofit model.
• Familiarity with Salesforce
• based grants management or comparable enterprise systems.
• Experience navigating organizational growth, restructuring, or integration.
• Track record of mentoring regional development leaders or building grant-writing capacity across teams.

Learn about our benefits here.