Manager, Grant Development

An established leader in the Northeast Ohio civic landscape, College Now has been changing the lives of students in our region since 1967. We do this by providing college and career access advising, financial aid counseling, and scholarship and retention services to students from middle school through adulthood. An individual filling this position can expect to have an impact on Northeast Ohio students and families.

When you work for College Now, you are part of an innovative and visionary team, committed to College Now's mission, vision, and values as we are committed to creating a collaborative workplace for team members. Offering superior benefits, ample opportunities for professional growth and development, and the chance to make an impact on the community, College Now is where careers are made and grown.

Position Title: Manager, Grant Development
Status: Full-time; Non-Exempt
Standard Hours: Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
Location: Hybrid – 3 days in office/2 days remote
Reports To: Senior Director, Grant Development
Starting Salary: Between $54,000 - $62,000, commensurate with relevant experience
Assigned To: Development

Position Summary:
The Grant Manager plays an integral role in College Now’s Development Department, responsible for writing and editing competitive grant proposals and reports and for administering grant-related processes and submission calendar. This position prepares applications to local, regional, and national funders, including foundations, corporations, other organizations, and government agencies. For federal opportunities, the role takes the lead on organizing and managing the technical submission process and contributes key section writing, editing, and application preparation. Working closely with the Senior Director, Grant Development, as well as finance and program leadership and staff, the Grant Manager helps secure and steward funding that advances College Now’s mission. The role is primarily internally facing, with limited direct funder relationship management. 

Essential Functions:

Initiation, Planning:

• Administer College Now’s grant-related processes and maintain the grants submission calendar for proposals and reports.
• Support and conduct grant prospect research to identify opportunities aligned with organizational priorities.
• Develop compelling and innovative messaging that effectively communicates College Now’s programs, services, and mission to funders and stakeholders as the organization evolves to meet new opportunities and strategic priorities.
• Develop, maintain and update documented grant-related processes, procedures, and workflows in the department procedures manual.
• Serve as project lead for federal grant submissions, coordinating the effort end to end. This includes assigning and tracking tasks across contributors, keeping writers, finance, program, and evaluation staff on timeline, assembling all required components, and managing the technical submission process.

Execution/Operations, Management, and Monitoring:

• Write and edit competitive grant proposals, letters of inquiry, concept papers, and reports, translating program activities, outcomes, and community need into compelling, well-structured narratives aligned with funder guidelines.
• Contribute key section writing, editing, and application preparation for federal grant applications, ensuring all written materials adhere to RFP guidelines and requirements.
• Leverage emerging technologies and productivity tools to support grant research, proposal development, editing, and information management while maintaining accuracy, quality and compliance with organizational standards.
• Collaborate with finance, program, and evaluation departments to gather and update narrative content and supporting documentation for proposals and reports.
• Ensure all proposals and reports are accurate, complete, and submitted on or ahead of deadline.
• Manage grant-related documents, including inquiries, proposals, applications, reports, budgets, deadlines, and other pertinent award information in the donor database (Raiser’s Edge), SharePoint, and other systems, ensuring accuracy and completeness of all data.
• Maintain information management and communication systems to track grant deadlines, deliverables, reporting requirements, and awards.
• Utilize non-federal funder application and reporting systems to prepare, submit and track non-federal grant applications and reports, and manage all login credentials for funder sites.
• Utilize federal application systems to prepare, submit, and track applications, and manage login credentials.

Budgeting:

• Collaborate with finance and program departments to compile and maintain accurate program and project budgets and supporting financial documentation for proposals and reports.

Business Development Support:

• Partner with finance, program, and leadership staff to align grant opportunities with broader fundraising and organizational strategies.
• Provide limited support for stewardship communications with institutional funders as directed.

Leadership and Development of Staff:

• Lead grant writing and reporting activities, setting direction and quality standards and guiding contributors to produce well-aligned, funder-ready submissions.
• Manage grant-related processes and serve as a resource to staff who contribute to proposals and reports, sharing best practices and supporting their effective participation.

Research and Program Evaluation/Compliance:

• Research data and trends from multiple sources, including federal and state data, national associations, and academic articles to establish and maintain a compendium of key community statistics and information that demonstrate need for support.
• Gather and organize program and services outcomes and impact data to strengthen future proposals and reports.
• Monitor reporting deadlines, and compliance requirements, and grant deliverables to ensure timely submissions and adherence to funder guidelines and award conditions

Additional Responsibilities:

• Other duties as assigned.

Must-Have Skills:

• Strong analytical and creative problem-solving skills, intellectual curiosity and the ability to contextualize, synthesize, and manage complex information.
• Exceptional written and oral communication, editing, and storytelling skills.
• Exceptional attention to detail and superior organizational and project management skills.
• Ability to manage and prioritize multiple competing deadlines and to work independently, proactively, and strategically.
• Ability to contribute as part of a team and collaborate with finance, program, and leadership staff.

Must-Have Technical Skills:

• Experience using emerging technology and tools to support writing, research, and productivity.
• Skilled with Microsoft 365, including facility with Teams and SharePoint.
• Raiser’s Edge or comparable donor/grants management database experience required.

Previous Work Experience:

• Minimum of three years of nonprofit grant writing and grants management experience preferred.
• Experience writing and managing federal grants, including compliance, reporting and award management strongly preferred, preferably U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Labor, and/or Corporation for National and Community Service programs.
• Demonstrated success preparing competitive grant proposals, including research, proposal development, editing, and submission.

Education Requirement:

• Bachelor’s degree required; degree in English, communications, journalism, nonprofit management, public administration, or a related field preferred.
• Membership in a professional grants association (such as the Grant Professionals Association) and/or a grant credential (such as the Grant Professional Certified, or GPC, designation) a plus.  

Disclaimer: "Nothing in this position description restricts management’s right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time."