About the Contracts & Compliance Team
The Contracts & Compliance team partners closely with public funders to advance Cara Collective’s mission by ensuring all program benchmarks are met and participants are successfully progressing toward their goals. We are seeking an individual with strong administrative and interpersonal skills to support this work and help drive consistent, high-quality outcomes.
About the Role
The Senior Contracts and Compliance Specialist plays a critical role in managing the full lifecycle of public grant administration at Cara Collective. This includes monthly billing to public funders, timely and accurate grant reporting, and the preparation and processing of participant enrollment documentation, including oversight of online enrollment systems.
This role also supports annual grant budgeting, monitors compliance with grant requirements and performance targets, and ensures data integrity and accurate financial tracking. Working collaboratively across teams, the Specialist helps ensure all grantor requirements are met and contributes to the overall success and impact of Cara Collective’s programs.
Key Responsibilities
Grant Management (50%):
- Adhere to all administrative requirements for grants, including recruitment referrals, participant tracking, online enrollment, and reporting to state and city agencies (e.g., DHS, DFSS).
- Ensure smooth, accurate, and timely submission of all required monthly reports and grant deliverables.
- Participate in regular meetings with public funders and respond to questions, data requests, and reporting needs.
- Maintain strong, professional relationships with grant contacts and funding partners.
- Support coordination of site visits, audits, and internal reviews in partnership with leadership.
- Respond to inquiries from government and foundation representatives and participate in relevant meetings.
- Perform additional duties as needed related to grant compliance, billing, and financial analysis.
Data Integrity & Reporting (25%)
- Complete all required data entry in accordance with contract and reporting requirements.
- Oversee grant-related data tracking and maintain organized documentation for participant enrollment and compliance.
- Develop and enhance systems to track participant enrollment, performance metrics, and billing details across contracts.
- Regularly audit internal data to ensure accuracy and alignment with reporting requirements.
- Support and improve processes for employment placement and retention verification, including use of systems like The Work Number or internal tracking methods.
- Initiate and contribute to projects that improve reporting efficiency and data management processes.
Grants Allocation & Financial Tracking (15%):
- Assist with the monthly expense allocation process, ensuring accurate distribution of organizational expenses across grants.
- Manage and finalize Salesforce grant assignments and participant enrollment counts.
- Track grant lifecycles, including close-outs, and validate accuracy through reconciliation of reports.
- Oversee collection of time and cost allocation data, ensuring completeness and timely follow-up on missing information.
Grants Development & Budgeting Support (10%):
- Identify and support exploration of new public funding opportunities.
- Assist in annual budgeting for grant renewals and new applications.
- Collaborate with Finance and Development teams during proposal development and contract negotiations.
- Support grant writing and application processes as needed.
All other responsibilities, as assigned
Qualifications
The ideal candidate brings strong attention to detail and a deep commitment to accuracy, compliance, and data integrity. They have prior experience in public grants administration and a solid understanding of government funding requirements, reporting standards, and compliance frameworks. They excel at managing complex processes, balancing multiple priorities, and ensuring deadlines are consistently met.
With a collaborative and solutions-oriented mindset, they work effectively across teams to translate grant requirements into clear processes and actionable reporting. They are confident working with data, systems, and financial information, and take pride in supporting high-quality outcomes that advance Cara Collective’s mission and impact.
Requirements
- A minimum of 3+ years of professional experience in grants management, compliance, finance, data management, or a related field.
- Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines.
- High attention to detail with strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel.
- Experience working with data systems or CRM platforms; Salesforce experience preferred.
- Familiarity with government or grant reporting systems (e.g., iSupplier, ECM, STARS, ISETS) preferred.
- Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced environment.
- Strong communication skills and ability to build effective working relationships across teams and with external partners.
Workplace Type & Team Culture
Cara Collective has a strong team culture that values collaboration, communication, and camaraderie. We believe in the power of working together in person, which is why we expect our employees to be onsite at one of our Chicago-based locations multiple days each week. The exact number of onsite days per week may vary by role, employee tenure, and other factors. This commitment to in-person collaboration fosters a sense of belonging and teamwork among our employees, creating a supportive and dynamic work environment.
We consistently measure staff satisfaction through employee surveys and have found that year over year, the vast majority of staff agree that Cara Collective is a great place to work and grow. This high level of employee satisfaction reflects our dedication to creating a positive and fulfilling workplace for all members of our team.
Starting Pay Range
We take budget and starting salary very seriously. We market our roles and are using a salary analysis tool called Payscale and offer competitive, market-based compensation to all employees.
This position’s expected starting pay range is $55,000-60,000.