Job Details
Nonprofit Grants Portfolio Manager-
Grantmaking, Foundation, Impact, Portfolio Management
Full Time- On Site in Ft. Lee, NJ (Local NJ/NY Candidates Encouraged To Apply)
Non Remote
$80K Salary
Day 1 Benefits Start
Nonprofit
Foundations
Grantmaking
Grant Portfolio Management
Grantee Communication
Grantee Compliance
Newsletter Creation
Diversity
Access
Equity
Youth Sports
Youth Programming
The Grants Portfolio Manager will play a pivotal role in advancing the mission of diversity, equity, access, and youth sports programming by managing grantmaking; cultivating partnerships with nonprofit organizations, communities, and external partners; and evaluating the impact of funded organizations and projects. The Grants Portfolio Manager will work closely with the Portfolio Team and contribute to the strategic development and implementation of portfolio initiatives while fostering trusting relationships with external partners in the philanthropic sector. The Grants Portfolio Manager will provide critical guidance across the portfolio areas as the organization continues to refine and refresh strategic directions and plans. This Grants Portfolio Manager is a highly organized, friendly, mission focused professional who will maintain ongoing relationships with a portfolio of grantee representatives.
- Review, investigate and analyze grant requests from local nonprofit organizations to ensure applications are aligned with their grantmaking strategy and comply with their policies and standards.
- Conduct appropriate due diligence and proposal analysis and compose summaries related to grant requests including specific recommendations for amounts and terms for grants.
- Prepare grant terms and goals, reporting requirements, and payment schedules and contingencies.
- Oversee reporting requirements, budgets, projections, methods of evaluation, and monitoring progress on grant goals.
- Partner with prospective and current grantees during all stages of the application, grant awarding, and reporting processes.
- Partner with grant seekers in preparing, developing and/or revising grant requests to meet established standards and ensure any investment assists the grantee in delivering on its mission and meeting agreed-to milestones
Grantee Communications and Relationships (30%)
Outcome: Communicate frequently with grantees, develop constructive relationships, and facilitate connections, collaboration, and capacity-building opportunities among grantees.
- Provide frequent and responsive communication to grantees during all stages of the application process and grant term, which may include requests for grant-related information and data and efforts to deepen understanding of the issues, root causes, and challenges that grantees are addressing.
- Support groups of grantees working on aligned issue areas by facilitating referrals and hosting meetings.
- Support grantees by offering strategic guidance, technical assistance, and connections to other resources, such as training or capacity building opportunities through access to their network.
Portfolio Strategy, Planning, and Reporting (10%)
Outcome: Provide leadership in reviewing and reporting on progress of grants in achieving portfolio goals, developing, and refining portfolio strategies, and engaging in regular planning and budgeting.
- Working with staff and community stakeholders, provide leadership, identify service gaps, and collaborate with partners to develop effective solutions.
- Prepare detailed and timely written updates on community engagement, emerging initiatives and community needs, and relevant information concerning current and potential grantees.
- Lead the periodic written and oral review with the organization's leadership of portfolio and grantee performance, alignment with the mission and goals, and planning and monitoring of the organization's Grantmaking budget.
COMPETENCIES NEEDED TO BE SUCCESSFUL
- Partnership orientation: Demonstrating partnership, collaboration, mentorship, and leadership with and among colleagues; ability to build strong, trusting relationships with colleagues across the organization and with nonprofit representatives and community members.
- Project management and analytical skills: Adept at developing and managing a range of projects and initiatives, emphasizing optimized work processes, work tracking, information sharing and elevating insights and analysis that inform an appropriate recommendation and course of action.
- Exceptional communication skills: Demonstrated experience in building issue-area expertise; thorough and responsive approach to communications with various internal and external stakeholders.
- Entrepreneurial approach: Willingness to think beyond traditional approaches to identifying needs and collaborating with partners to develop and implement effective solutions.
- Experience collaborating in diverse teams: Demonstrated commitment to valuing equity and diversity and contributing to an inclusive working and learning environment.
- Ability to hold complexity: Willingness to embrace complexity, nuance and ambiguity in shifting issue landscapes and emerging work areas; and maintaining a clear perspective between the overall picture and the details.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Collaborate with the team to develop and refine grantmaking strategies that align with the portfolio areas and funding priorities.
Research and identify areas of need and opportunity for impact within portfolio areas,
providing funding recommendations accordingly.
Manage the full lifecycle of grants, including conducting due diligence on prospective
opportunities, soliciting proposals, and reviewing grant applications.
Evaluate grant proposals based on portfolio goals and impact objectives.
Cultivate and maintain trusting relationships with communities, nonprofit organizations,
foundations, and other stakeholders to foster collaboration and partnership opportunities.
Serve as the primary point of contact for grantee partners, providing guidance and
support throughout the grant lifecycle.
Monitoring and Impact Assessment
Monitor grant-funded projects and initiatives, ensuring compliance with grant
agreements and reporting requirements.
Ensure grantee engagement and evaluation of impact aligns with foundation strategies
and grantee partner s theories of change.
Communicate the organization's grantmaking priorities, success, and grantee impact to
internal and external stakeholders through various channels.
IDEAL CANDIDATE AND QUALIFICATIONS
With the understanding that no person will offer every desired skill and characteristic outlined
below, compelling candidates will offer much of the following:
5+ years of relevant experience in philanthropy; national and regional nonprofits tackling
inequities; social service agencies; or other social impact organizations that align with
portfolio areas.
Proactive support and engagement with impacted communities; centering their ideas,
goals, and initiatives in funding or programmatic strategies and evaluation of impact.
Grantmaking, grants management, and philanthropy experience across a broad or
intersecting group of programmatic areas.
An understanding of the trends that support innovations in philanthropy and social
impact.
Interpersonal dexterity to successfully build and maintain equitable and trusting funding
relationships with community-based, state/regional, national organizations, and other
foundations.
Cross-sector collaboration and proven track record within complex, multi-stakeholder
projects/organizations.
A background using equity, inclusion, and access frameworks in strategies, evaluations,
relationships, and communications.
Excellence in written and verbal communication; skilled at synthesizing information and
distilling complex ideas into clear, concise, and actionable forms