The client seeks a senior Grants Officer to lead and execute strategic grantmaking activities. This execution-oriented role combines independent oversight of grant portfolios with partnership management, applied research, and support for program strategy and design. The Grants Officer translates research-driven priorities into high-impact funding decisions, manages complex portfolios, and serves as a trusted thought partner to senior leadership while managing ambiguity with operational discipline.
Key responsibilities include managing assigned grant portfolios across the full grant lifecycle, including pipeline development, due diligence, recommendation, approval, contracting, monitoring, and close-out. The role evaluates grant proposals using research, data analysis, and judgment to assess strategic alignment, impact potential, and risk, and surfaces emerging trends, risks, and opportunities to inform funding strategy. The Grants Officer provides ongoing support to grantees through problem-solving and performance monitoring, and helps design and execute large-scale funding opportunities such as challenge grants and other strategic initiatives.
The Grants Officer will engage and manage external partners, vendors, evaluators, and intermediaries to support effective delivery of outcomes, maintaining accountability for deliverables, timelines, and results. The role also coordinates with internal teams to support grant operations, reporting, documentation, and preparation of materials for board or committee meetings, while maintaining high-quality records in grants management systems and contributing to workflow improvements, potentially using continuous-improvement approaches. The position typically requires a master’s degree (with a PhD preferred), 5–10+ years of relevant experience in philanthropy, research, project management, or business development, strong analytical and communication skills, the ability to independently manage complex workstreams, and a demonstrated ability to collaborate across disciplines and sectors.