GRANTS MANAGER Reports to: Mollie Kazan, Director of Development Start date: Spring 2015 Location: New York City BLUE ENGINE Blue Engine is a New York based non-profit partnering with public high schools serving low-income communities to increase academic rigor and prepare greater numbers students for the rigors of higher education. Blue Engine recruits, trains, and supports Blue Engine Teaching Assistants (BETAs), recent college graduates who devote 12 years in high schools as an entry point into careers in teaching and social change leadership. Currently in our th 5 year of operations, Blue Engine has a $5.2MM operating budget, 20 staff, and 68 BETAs working across 6 public high schools to support 1,200 students in New York City. Blue Engine is backed by leading performancebased social impact funders including Robin Hood Foundation, Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, New Schools Venture Fund, Tiger Foundation, Heckscher Foundation for Children, Edna McConnell Clark Foundation’s PropelNext Initiative, Echoing Green, and Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation. Our team is dynamic, diverse, and deeply committed to increasing postsecondary achievement in the communities we serve. In pursuit of this mission, we hold our colleagues and ourselves accountable to high performance standards and clear, measurable results. We value perseverance, self-awareness, collaboration, the ability to connect and empathize, open and honest communication, creativity, and entrepreneurial thinking. Personal and professional development is a top organizational priority. POSITION OVERVIEW As the Grants Manager, you will join a rapidly growing three-member team at an ambitious and entrepreneurial startup preparing to scale. You will focus on strategic communications with foundations and corporations through grant writing and management. As the owner of 100% of new and existing grants, you’ll build powerhouse strategies and systems that will grow the organization’s largest revenue stream ($3MM from institutional funders this year) over time, in New York City and beyond. You will be the “go to” resource for key information and language about Blue Engine, working cross functionally to develop messaging about an evolving organization while developing into an internal expert on how to communicate about Blue Engine externally. You will write persuasive, exemplary grant proposals and support funder follow-up. The best part? You’ll be part of a dynamic, fun, hard-working team that will support your personal and professional growth the whole way. RESPONSIBILITIES The Grants Manager will support Blue Engine to meet its $5.8MM FY2015 revenue goal by: • • • • • • • Crafting persuasive grant proposals that speak authentically to our work and inspire partnership Coordinating between teams to collect time-sensitive and necessary information for funders Tracking the timelines of grants to ensure that deadlines are met with sufficient time for input Handling all relevant back and forth with funders and completing timely follow up requests Creating and maintaining a grants calendar and managing team towards all reporting requirements Designing the “funder experience process” and ensuring all new and existing funders experience consistent and compelling communication Owning special projects and autonomous assignments as required QUALIFICATIONS This is the ideal position for a powerful writer who is highly organized and efficient, taking pride in small details while keeping long-term goals in mind. • • • • You are an exceptional writer. You are a strategic communicator and inspiring storyteller with a strong command of the written word. You have a clear and structured writing style, engaging tone, and appreciation for the nuances of language. You are impeccably organized. You value and create systems that maximize efficiency. You balance and prioritize multiple projects at the same time. You demonstrate follow-through on each and every request – big and small. Others come to you for advice on how to organize complex processes, and you can clearly articulate your own systems. You are a skilled project manager. You are comfortable in the driver’s seat for big projects that require the coordinated efforts of your colleagues. You jump at the opportunity to work crossfunctionally, bringing together the right minds and setting clear expectations for their involvement. You can turn a long correspondence thread or a set of meeting notes into clear action items with follow-up. You are a team player. You are eager to join a small team with big ambitions. You are creative, collaborative, flexible, solutions-oriented, and always default to action. Your entrepreneurial spirit thrives on a nimble, fast-paced team, and you’re excited by growth. The sky is the limit. A successful candidate will also demonstrate or possess the following: • • • • • • • • B.A. or B.S. degree Proven track record of successful grant writing, with minimum of one year of dedicated experience Personal alignment with Blue Engine’s mission, vision, and core values, including a commitment to diversity and inclusion Superb interpersonal awareness and communication skills that are authentic, consistent, timely, and professional in all settings Strong work ethic, positive attitude, and a willingness to be flexible and do whatever it takes to get the job done in an environment with shifting priorities Sound judgment, maturity, and the ability to handle sensitive information with discretion and poise Attention to detail, from word choice to margin size, and eagerness to go the extra mile to ensure all work is A+ High level of proficiency in MS Office, PowerPoint, Excel and Adobe Acrobat COMPENSATION The Development Associate is a full-time, salaried position with benefits and a vacation package. Competitive salary commensurate with experience. Blue Engine is an equal opportunity employer. COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY At Blue Engine, we are committed to maximizing the diversity of our organization, striving to recruit a workforce that reflects the diverse communities in which we serve. We seek individuals of all backgrounds to join our team, embracing our differences, big, small, seen and unseen, as crucial to the success of our mission. TO APPLY Please submit a resume and thoughtful cover letter detailing why you are an ideal candidate for this role to Travis Ousley, Director of Talent Pipeline, at [email protected]. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Learn more about Blue Engine at www.blueengine.org.