Institutional Grants Officer

Position Summary

Reporting to the Chief of Development and Communications, the Institutional Grants Officer is responsible for the full lifecycle of institutional fundraising — prospect research, proposal development, submission, compliance, and stewardship — across foundation, corporate, and government funding sources. This role manages a portfolio of active grants, cultivates new institutional relationships, and works cross-functionally with programs and finance to ensure funded projects are well-designed, well-reported, and renewable. The ideal candidate combines excellent writing skills with rigorous project management and a genuine interest in the organization's mission and program outcomes.

This is a high-impact individual contributor role reporting into the development team, with significant visibility and collaboration with the CEO and Executive Director.

Key Responsibilities

Grant Strategy & Prospect Development (20%)

• • Research, identify, and qualify new foundation, corporate, and government funding prospects aligned with organizational priorities and funding gaps.
  • Maintain and continually refine a 12–18 month grants calendar and pipeline, in partnership with the Director of Development.
  • Track sector trends, funder priorities, and RFP announcements relevant to the organization's program areas.

Proposal & Report Writing (40%)

• • Draft, edit, and submit compelling letters of inquiry, full proposals, budgets, and renewal requests to foundation, corporate, and government funders.
  • Write clear, accurate, and timely interim and final grant reports, coordinating data and narrative input from Program and Finance staff.
  • Translate complex program models and outcomes data into persuasive, funder-ready narratives.
  • Ensure all submissions reflect current organizational priorities, budgets, and messaging, and are reviewed by appropriate internal stakeholders prior to submission.

Grants Management & Compliance (25%)

• • Own the grants tracking system (e.g., Salesforce, Fluxx, or similar CRM), maintaining accurate records of deadlines, deliverables, restrictions, and reporting requirements.
  • Monitor grant budgets and spend-down in partnership with Finance to ensure compliance with funder restrictions and timely, accurate financial reporting.
  • Manage the full grants compliance calendar, ensuring zero missed deadlines for reports, renewals, or compliance filings.
  • Support audit and 990 preparation as it relates to restricted grant funding.

Relationship Management & Stewardship (15%)

• • Serve as a primary point of contact for a portfolio of current institutional funders, ensuring responsive, professional communication.
  • Coordinate site visits, funder briefings, and stewardship touchpoints (updates, invitations, recognition).
  • Partner with the Chief of Development and Communications and Executive Director on cultivation strategy for principal-level institutional prospects.

Qualifications

Required

• • 3–5+ years of professional grant writing and/or institutional fundraising experience, ideally within a nonprofit of comparable or larger budget size.
  • Demonstrated track record of securing five- and six-figure grants from foundation, corporate, and/or government sources.
  • Excellent, tight, persuasive writing skills; ability to synthesize complex information into clear narrative under deadline pressure.
  • Strong project management skills; comfortable juggling multiple concurrent deadlines and stakeholders without dropping details.
  • Experience building and managing budgets in partnership with finance staff.
  • Proficiency with donor/grants databases (Salesforce, Raiser's Edge, Fluxx, or similar) and standard office software.

Preferred

• • Experience with government grants (federal, state, or local) including compliance requirements (e.g., 2 CFR 200 / Uniform Guidance) is a strong plus.
  • Familiarity with health, development, LMIC funding landscape.
  • Experience working directly with program staff to develop logic models, theories of change, or outcomes frameworks.
  • Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience; CFRE or grant-writing certification a plus but not required.