Education Grants and Budget Manager

ORGANIZATION BACKGROUND

The mission of The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk is to ignite a connection to Long Island Sound and the ocean to enrich the lives of all people and inspire action to protect our blue planet. For more than 35 years, the Aquarium has played a significant role in shaping the landscape of Norwalk and the region. The second largest family attraction in Connecticut, and 50 miles from New York City, the Aquarium historically hosts nearly 500,000 guests annually. Its primary exhibits take guests on a voyage from the shallow salt marshes and estuaries to the depths of the Long Island Sound and the ocean beyond, culminating with habitats for sharks and harbor seals. Altogether, the Aquarium is home to over 8,000 animals and 285 species in 75 exhibits. A new 4D Theater offers a unique sensory film experience for guests. Its education programs introduce nearly 54,000 students, campers and scouts to marine and STEM education. The Aquarium is recognized as a top aquarium in the nation and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. It is an active participant in the local and regional community. The strength of the Aquarium is its 60 full-time staff, and part-time and seasonal staff, in addition to volunteers who contribute over 19,000 hours annually.

POSITION OVERVIEW:

This position has two main areas of responsibility:

1) Management of the Education Department’s grant portfolio, including tracking of expenses and revenues, staff time and reporting requirements. Grants management will also include participation in the development and writing of proposals and writing and production of interim and final reports and award applications.

2) Management of the Education Department’s budget, including creation of the annual budget and tracking of expenses and revenues on a monthly basis and analysis of trends throughout the year.

Responsibilities:

Grants Management

• Assist with development of grant application budgets and supporting documents and submission of grant proposals
• Manage awarded grants (financial management, compliance, preparation of sub-award agreements, reporting) and maintain calendar of grant proposal and reporting deadlines
• Review grant opportunities monthly and make recommendations for application
• Partner with the Development Team, specifically the Award Manager, and the Finance Team on proposal submission and grant tracking and reporting
• Track grant-funded staff time
• Support Education Department senior staff on overall program implementation as needed
• Develop familiarity with Education Department programs and services to provide insight on grant opportunities, proposals and reports
• Other duties as assigned.

Budget Management

• Participate in creation of Education Department annual budget
• Tracking and creating reports on departmental expenses and revenues, as well as related data, such as program and audience numbers, financial assistance awards to schools, etc.
• Create monthly reports on program and audience numbers
• Work with administrative staff to ensure departmental adherence to relevant institutional/state/federal rules and procedures
• Stay current with industry trends, particularly those related to program pricing and audience engagement; identify and implement efficiencies related to budget management
• Provide reconciliation of expenses across both grant-funded and not grant-funded accounts, as well as documentation of grant-required matching funds
• Monitor and facilitate processing of departmental expenses, purchase orders and invoices
• Other duties as

Required Qualifications:

• The ideal candidate will be able to organize and analyze data and reports and be adept at MS Excel and MS Word. The typical work schedule will be Monday through Friday from 9am – 5pm. The position is expected to be comprised of ~50% grants management, and ~50% budget management.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Accounting, Finance, Data Science, or related field or equivalent experience (specific field of study is less important than skill set for this role)
• Good writing skills, suitable for writing drafts of proposals and reports
• Detail-oriented; excellent organizational skills and math skills
• Must be able to work collaboratively, work independently, and multi-task
• Must be able to appropriately handle confidential information
• The ability to manage workload and work under deadlines and stay organized
• Demonstrated ability to be flexible and adapt within a dynamic work setting

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience managing budgets
• Experience with grant proposals and reporting
• Experience in project management: managing data, timelines, and deliverables to both internal and external parties
• Experience working in a formal (i.e. school) or informal (e.g. museum, science center, zoo, aquarium) education settings
• Familiarity with a general ledger and financial reporting

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.