GRANTS MANAGER

 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
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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:
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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.
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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:
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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.