SENIOR MANAGER, GRANTS AND CONTRACTS - Full-time

Common Ground is Seeking a Senior Manager, Grants and Contracts
For Immediate Hire - Full Time

About Common Ground

Common Ground is a center for environmental learning in New Haven, Connecticut. Farm meets forest meets city on Common Ground’s 20 acre campus at the base of West Rock Ridge. The site abuts the 1800 acre West Rock State Park, sharing hiking trails, wildlife, and diverse natural habitats with the surrounding forests. Common Ground’s urban farm produces sustainably grown food for programs and our community. Common Ground’s Charter High School uses the site as an organizing principle of its curriculum which is guided by an ecological framework highlighting the connection and interdependence of all living and nonliving things. Each year, more than 10,000 community members participate in festivals, field trips, after-school programs, and other educational opportunities on site. For more information visit www.commongroundct.org.

ABOUT THE POSITION:

Common Ground/New Haven Ecology Project’s programming and fundraising needs have grown significantly over the past 5 years. To support this growth, Common Ground is hiring a full-time Senior Manager, Grants and Contracts (who reports directly to the Director of Development and Communications) to join our growing team of experienced fundraising professionals. This position will provide grant writing, full project management of grant deliverables, and prospect research support. If persuasive writing comes naturally to you, you are a fast learner, a curious and persistent person, and you bring a strong background in project management, then this might be the perfect job for you.

TO APPLY:

Please submit a resume and a cover letter in PDF form outlining your interest in the role to Audrey Nefores: by January 15th. Please approach writing your cover letter to express your interest in the way that feels most authentic to you.

SENIOR MANAGER, GRANTS AND CONTRACTS RESPONSIBILITIES

• Manage + write proposal submissions to a wide array of government, state, city and private foundations, including filling out applications, preparing letters, uploading documents into sponsor proposals and interpreting guidelines for teammates.

• Review and approve grant expenditures and data and make adjustments as necessary.

• Prepare funding reports and progress reports. Project manage retrieving any necessary data from teammates across the organization directly involved in projects.

• Assist with the preparation of budgets, budget justifications, revisions, monitoring, identifying budget resources, and authorizing grants and contract accounting.

• Ensure compliance with terms and conditions of contracts relating to expenditures, etc.

• Provide and disseminate information on policy and procedure interpretation, new regulations, and new processes to faculty, staff, and external community partners.

• Keep an accurate up-to-date comprehensive Grants Calendar.

• Orient all relevant staff on grant opportunities and project manage their on-time and accurate completion of any grant-related responsibilities including data collection, etc.

OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Collaborate and strategize regularly with the Director of Development and Communications in order to improve and maximize fundraising strategies.

• Conduct in-depth research to identify and qualify individual, corporate, and foundation donors that will lead to a steady pipeline of new prospects.

• Manage research/identification of qualified prospects and viable new grant opportunities using foundation directories, IWave and corporate philanthropy resources.

• Produce profiles on prospective funders based through Neon, IWave, and research.

• Play a significant role in maintaining up-to-date templates (proposals, letters of inquiry, concept notes, reports) and other boilerplate content for specific grant opportunities.

• Build a caseload of mid-level funders (up to $10k) and steward those donor relationships through 1:1 outreach, solicitation, reporting and more.

*Provide additional back-up support to the team when needed (e.g. assist with submissions, copy editing and compiling supplemental materials).

*As needed, provide hands-on support for Common Ground’s signature fundraising events Feast from the Fields, Feast for Fams happening every September, and more.

QUALIFICATIONS and EXPERIENCE:

• Passion for CG’s mission – at the intersection of social and environmental justice with an educational focus; and, a desire to engage in ethical fundraising that uplifts the unique voices of our community of youth and adults.

• 3+ years of grant writing or prospect research experience; OR BA degree in related field with excellent writing skills;

• Ability to research grant opportunities and write grant applications;

• Ability to research, organize, and evaluate a prospect’s financial status, ability and readiness to give, and alignment with the mission of Common Ground;

• Ability to digest lots of information quickly and think critically about what information is needed to craft compelling cases for support;

• Proficiency with research and CRM databases;

• Ability to analyze and communicate data in a clear and concise manner;

• Excellent attention to detail, project management, follow-through, and time management skills to work in a deadline driven environment;

• Operates with high standards for accountability and confidentiality and demonstrates understanding of the sensitive nature of donor information;

• Learns quickly, problem solves, and adapts to new situations well;

• Experience with social justice work, in New Haven or in another community;

• Comfortable engaging in a thoughtful debrief process for all projects;

• Comfortable leading workload without direct supervision;

• Comfort working with diverse populations, including staff, stakeholders and guests with a variety of backgrounds and lived experiences;

WORK SCHEDULE AND COMPENSATION:

The starting salary for this position is $60,000-$ 70,000. Precise salary within that range will be determined by a combination of demonstrated skill and prior experience.

Common Ground’s Business Office hours are Monday through Friday from 8am-4pm. The Development and Communications team has a hybrid schedule, and generally works on site three days a week. Some nights and weekends are required of this position, with comp time provided, due to hard deadlines for grant submissions. Work hours will be scheduled in agreement with the Development and Communications Director. Common Ground offers full time employees a competitive benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision and life insurance, 25 days of Paid Time off Per Year and 13 paid holidays.

This position is not represented by Common Ground’s Collective Bargaining Agreement with UAW Local 2110. The person in this position is a confidential employee of New Haven Ecology Project (Common Ground).

Equal Opportunity Employer

Common Ground is particularly eager for candidates who can help us to fulfill our commitment to building a racially and culturally diverse faculty and staff. Common Ground has a commitment to examining the intersection of social, environmental, and food justice issues; how systems of oppression, including white privilege, impact the organization’s work; and how resistance to those systems can offer windows into a more sustainable society.

Common Ground is committed to the recruitment and retention of staff that is reflective of the communities we work with. We strongly encourage applicants from people of color, immigrants, women, people with disabilities, members of the LGBTQ community, people whose native language is something other than English, and other underrepresented and historically marginalized groups.

It has been the policy and will continue to be the strong commitment of the Common Ground and all contractors and subcontractors who do business with Common Ground to provide equal opportunities in employment to all qualified persons solely on the basis of job-related skills, ability and merit. Common Ground will continue to take Affirmative Action to ensure that applicants are employed and that employees are treated during employment without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, mental disorder (present or past history thereof) age, physical disability (but not limited to blindness), marital status, intellectual disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and criminal record. Such action includes, but is not limited to, employment, promotion, demotion or transfer; recruitment or recruitment advertising; layoff or termination; rates of pay or other forms of compensation, and selection for training, professional development, attendance at conferences or other opportunities for advancement. Common Ground, its contractors and subcontractors will continue to make good faith efforts to comply with all federal and state laws and policies which speak to equal employment opportunity. The principles of Affirmative Action are addressed in the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments of the United States Constitution, Civil Rights Act of 1866, 1870, 1871, Equal Pay Act of 1963, Title VI and VII of the 1964 United States Civil Rights Act, Presidential Executive Order 11246, amended by 11375, (Non-discrimination under federal contracts)< Act 1, Section 1 and 20 of the Connecticut Constitution, Governor Grasso’s Executive Order Number 11, Governor O’Neill’s Executive Order 9, the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Law (Sec. 46a-60-69) of the Connecticut General Statutes, Connecticut Code of Fair Practices (46a-7081), Deprivation of Civil Rights (46a-58(a)(d)), Public Accommodations Law (46a-63-64),

Discrimination against Criminal Offenders (46a-80), definition of Blind (46a-51(1)), definition of Physically Disabled (46a-51(15)), definition of Intellectual Disability (46a51(13)), cooperation with the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (46a-77), Sexual Harassment (46a-60(a)-8), Connecticut Credit Discrimination Law (360436 through 439), Title I of the State and Local Fiscal Assistance Act of 1972. This Affirmative Action Policy Statement re-affirms Common Ground’s commitment to equity in the workplace and the principles of Equal Employment Opportunity