Summary: The Grants Manager serves as the primary resource for all areas of the University in the efforts of researching funding opportunities and writing and editing letters of inquiry, formal proposals and reports for submission to corporate and private foundations as well as governmental funding agencies. An essential member of the Development Team, the Grants Manager works collaboratively with Development staff, with University faculty/staff and with University administration to strategize and conceptualize all grant-seeking opportunities, to submit grant applications and to appropriately steward grant funders.
Position Functions:
Research grant-making organizations and opportunities and analyze as to alignment with University priorities, as well as participate in strategy development for funder engagement. The Grants Manager provides proactive research and leads through the use of such resources as the Foundation Center at Marquette University, Foundation Directory Online and through relationship-building with selected funders and funding agencies.
Work with faculty and staff to initiate the grant seeking process for their program/project and gain necessary approvals to allocate University resources to the effort.
Research, write, and edit grant proposals and applications for submission to corporate and private foundations and governmental funding agencies, as well as understand the application process and specific requirements for each grant opportunity. Prepare appropriate accompanying letters and supporting documentation and develop budgets to accompany proposals and funding requests.
Act as the primary contact for grant-making organizations to answer questions, supply additional materials as requested, and coordinate site visits. Have a deep understanding of grant-making organizations, and be the liaison between those organizations and University administration and program directors.
Track all funded/declined, pending, and soon-to-be prepared proposals on a reporting grid and prepare monthly updates for University leadership, as well as maintain historical records for current, past and potential foundation donors through Jenzabar.
Support the Director of Corporation and Foundation Relations in the development of an annual plan for funding opportunities, submission goals and stewardship activity for corporate and private foundations.
Support the entire Development Team by gathering, maintaining and disseminating University statistics, data points and general information for the Team that would be beneficial to stewardship activities.
Represent the Development Team by participation in university events and activities, alumnae association events, community events, etc.
Other duties as assigned.
Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree
Strong written communication skills as well analytic thinking
Demonstrated success in grant writing
Strong interpersonal communication skills
Familiarity with Word and excel
Proficiency in preparing budgets / financials to accompany funding requests
Ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously
Experience in higher education preferred
Experience with Jenzabar or similar online donor database preferred
Strong organization skills and attention to detail
Federal grant experience strongly preferred
Ability to work independently and manage time effectively