We are seeking an outstanding development or program evaluation professional to serve as our Manager of Grants and Strategic Evaluation (MGSE) for TFA’s Colorado region. The MGSE serves on the External Affairs team, which is responsible for mobilizing our community behind our organization’s vision through fundraising, marketing, and policy/advocacy. The MGSE reports to the Director, Strategic Gifts and Advocacy.
The MGSE is responsible for two major workstreams:
- Grants management, which includes writing proposals for unrestricted operating revenue and restricted projects, submitting timely and accurate reports for all existing grant funded projects, maintaining systems and processes that support stewardship of key institutional relationships, and identifying new funding prospects; and
- Program evaluation, which involves working cross-functionally with members of the Program Continuum team on research, evaluation and data analysis projects that measure and assess our organizational effectiveness.
The ideal candidate has a unique blend of strengths in analysis, organization, and communication. You are likely a great fit for this role if you are someone who loves to write (and is great at it); who is obsessed with quality, accuracy and timeliness; and who has a mind for analysis and who orients to playing with data to better understand a problem.
Grant Writing and Administration (45%)
- Prepare and submit high-quality grant proposals, letters of inquiry, and reports to foundation and corporate sources.
- Systematically manage all major grant deadlines and milestones, proactively engaging other team members as needed to provide excellent and timely donor stewardship.
- Accurately manage and track data relevant to grant proposals and programmatic priorities.
- Ensure compliance with all financial and programmatic reporting requirements expressed by foundation/corporate donors.
- Work with finance team to build programmatic budgets, produce accurate and timely financial reports, and ensure proper expense tracking against grant funds.
- Support Director, Strategic Gifts & Advocacy and leadership team in cultivating and stewarding key relationships, including tracking and scheduling meetings and tours with foundation officers and other prospects and creating written collateral for donor stewardship.
- Maintain accurate and current records in Salesforce database.
- Perform prospect research on foundations and corporations to evaluate prospects for corporate and foundation grants.
- Assist with other fundraising projects as requested.
Program Evaluation (45%)
- Collaborate with programs and external affairs team members to design research and evaluation initiatives that assess the efficacy of our various program activities and strategies and inform program design.
- Conduct internal and external research and evaluation report on organizational impact.
- Stay up-to-date on external research and best practices and integrate these into internal evaluation systems.
- Collate and analyze data and statistics to support the creation of institutional marketing materials, including donor lists, Annual Report, website, and other collateral.
- Work with programs team to ensure proper tracking of progress to goals, strategically inform goalsetting process, and communicate programmatic changes to EA team and funders as appropriate.
Fulfilling our Mission through Organizational and Regional Priorities (10%)
- Participate in our region’s corps member selection, matriculation, induction, and ongoing engagement initiatives.
- Attend regional retreats held throughout the year, monthly staff meetings, and occasional conferences and trainings.
- At least 1 year prior experience in research or evaluation.
- Experience with fundraising/CRM database systems preferred.
Work Demands
- Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends when necessary.
Skills
- Excellent written communication skills; ability to write clear, structured, articulate, and persuasive proposals.
- High level of attention to detail.
- Consistent ability to meet deadlines.
- Knowledge of basic fundraising techniques and strategies.
- Knowledge and familiarity with research techniques for fundraising prospect research.
- Strong team orientation – ability to work cross-functionally across diverse teams.
- Able to work with consistent excellence in a fast-paced, high-performing environment
- Travel: Minimal Travel required – less than 3-4 times per year.