Director of Grants

About McAllister & Quinn

McAllister & Quinn is a federal and foundation grants consulting and government relations firm headquartered in Washington, D.C. We offer our 200+ clients a unique blend of comprehensive grants and proposal development consulting, strategic advising, and government relations services. McAllister & Quinn operates several practice areas, including Higher Education. Our goal is to work collaboratively with clients to create and implement an annual grant seeking strategy focused on increasing and diversifying external funding that align with clients’ institutional strengths and priorities. McAllister & Quinn has secured hundreds of millions of dollars in competitive grant funding for healthcare, social services, higher education, and research.

We are committed to securing funds for our clients that are transformational for the organizations who are awarded them, the people who work at these organizations every day, and the communities that surround them. The social impact of our work drives us daily to succeed in securing funding for our clients and is a major component of why we do what we do. We know that our success leads to better outcomes, changed lives, and a more equitable society for generations to come.

Primary Duties & Responsibilities

The Director will support the execution of grant seeking strategies and proposal development projects for a growing university client base. The Director will interact directly with an assigned portfolio of clients to provide grant and proposal development guidance and be responsible for the delivery of grant proposal development services, with an emphasis on competitive grants for student support services, workforce development, and research and education. The Director will report to the Senior Managing Director, work independently and as part of a larger team of M&Q research development professionals and interact with leadership and staff across the firm as appropriate.

The Director will be expected to deliver quality results with strong attention to detail in a fast-paced environment with fixed deadlines. The Director will help maintain solid professional relationships with clients, with an emphasis on customer service. The Director is also expected to have a proactive problem-solving mentality, positive attitude, confident presentation skills, strong interpersonal skills, and excellent verbal and written communication skills. Responsibilities include:

Research Development, Strategic Consulting, and Project Management:

• Maintain extensive working knowledge of federal agencies and funding programs, including the DoED, DOJ, HRSA, NEH, and the NSF.
• Provide project management support for grant seeking activities, including:
• Active management of client during grant proposal development process, from initial concept to agency submission. Collaborate with client teams to plan grant proposals, evaluate institutional data and other information to assess competitiveness, and work to address identified issues.
• Recruitment of proposal development teams and active management of the proposal preparation services and process.
• Give guidance and feedback on proposals.
• Diligently monitor and disseminate client-relevant grant opportunities and other strategic intelligence products. This includes:
• Federal and foundation funding opportunity research, forecasting, and monitoring.
• Analysis of funding opportunity announcements to determine client eligibility and fit.
• Research prior grant awardees and client funding history.
• Assist in the planning and implementation of McAllister & Quinn workshops and webinars.

Client Management:

• Work directly with Senior Managing Director to research, develop, plan, and execute grant seeking strategies for a portfolio of assigned clients.
• o Assist with new client onboarding and contribute to development of annual work plans for grant-seeking and other engagements that support increasing an organization’s capture rate of federal funding. Define goals, milestones, deliverables, and mutually agreed upon success measures.
• Support the Senior Managing Director with client meeting preparation. This may include developing agendas and reports for regular leadership calls, preparing information and materials for annual funding strategy updates, proposal development project charters, and other client deliverables.
• Collaborate and communicate effectively with client organization leadership and staff. Collaborate and communicate effectively with M&Q team members to streamline and maintain workflow visibility.
• Participate in Higher Education and Research University Practice meetings. Contribute to development and adoption of tools and best practices for client engagement and project management.
• Travel on occasion for client-related business (<15%).
• Work requires multiple hours daily of phone or video communication with clients and teams (across time zones).

Requirements & Qualifications:

• Must have a four-year baccalaureate degree (or equivalent work experience). Advanced degree preferred.
• Special consideration will also be given to candidates with at least three years of research development or other grant writing or management experience in an academic setting. Direct experience with federal agency proposal development in a predominately undergraduate institution or emerging research institution is preferred.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills; including abilities to report and deliver information to diverse audiences, identify and communicate grant solicitation requirements, review content, and provide edits and feedback to strengthen messaging of written documents.
• Superior research skills, including critical thinking; problem solving; synthesizing; and attention to detail.
• Project management skills demonstrated through experience or certifications such as PMP, APMP, or others is a plus. Ability to simultaneously manage multiple projects with fixed deadlines.
• Strategic, creative, customer service oriented, and adaptive professional mindset. Demonstrated experience in problem solving and team collaboration.
• Familiarity with client services or consulting a plus.
• High proficiency in Microsoft 365 Office Suite, including relevant applications.

Compensation & Benefits:

• Normal work hours are 8:30 am through 5:30 pm Monday through Friday (Eastern).
• Hybrid work environment preferred (ideally two or three days in the Washington D.C. office) but will consider full time remote work schedule.
• Competitive benefits include: 401(k), defined-benefit pension plan, medical, vision and dental insurance plans, commuter benefits, healthcare HSA/FSA options, basic & voluntary life insurance, company-funded long-term disability insurance, and phone stipend.
• Salary consideration will be commensurate with experience. The salary range for this role is $70,000 - $90,000 annual base salary and bonus eligibility.
• Flexible vacation and leave policy.

At McAllister & Quinn, we’re challenging the status quo with the power of diversity, inclusion, and collaboration. When we connect different perspectives, we open ourselves to new possibilities, inspire innovation, and allow us to achieve the full potential of our people. We’re building an employee experience & engagement that includes appreciation, belonging, growth, and purpose for everyone in our team.