Grant Manager

Apply on OBR's website: https://operationbbqrelief.org/careers/

Job Title: Grant Manager
Position Status: Full-Time
FLSA Status: Exempt
Department: Growth & Development
Reports To: Senior Head of Growth & Development
Supervises: Up to three staff (as assigned)
Prepared Date: February 2026

Work Location: Remote – Must live in, or be willing to locate to, one of the following states: MO, KS, IN, NJ, VA, PA, TN, GA, MS, TX or FL.

Work Schedule: The typical work week is forty (40) hours. During periods e.g., OBR deployments and events), this role may require evenings and weekend work. This position includes limited travel, estimated at fifteen percent (15%) of the time, and travel is an essential function of the role.

Position Summary: The Grant Manager advances Operation BBQ Relief's financial sustainability by managing the full lifecycle of institutional funding from public, private, and corporate sources. The role combines prospect research, cultivation, proposal development, and post-award management to ensure funding aligns with organizational priorities and compliance requirements. The Grant Manager serves as a key link between Growth & Development, Finance, and Program teams so that grant-funded activities are planned, implemented, tracked, and reconciled in line with organizational goals and funder expectations.
Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Model and promote the OBR Way in daily work and team culture.
• Provide leadership, coaching, and mentoring to assigned staff and contractors.
• Potentially supervise up to three (3) personnel, including grant writers, coordinators, or contractors.
• Recruit, interview, hire, and onboard staff as authorized.
• Set clear expectations and provide timely, constructive performance feedback and formal evaluations.
• Address performance issues and, when necessary, implement corrective action or termination per OBR policy and applicable law.

Essential Functions:

Strategic Grant Planning and Pipeline Development

• Develop and annually update a multi-year institutional funding strategy aligned with OBR's strategic plan and revenue goals.
• Build and support a diversified pipeline of opportunities from federal, state, and local agencies, private foundations, and corporate partners.
• Monitor funding trends and assess organizational readiness for larger or multi-year opportunities.
• Work with leadership to prioritize prospects based on mission fit, capacity, competitiveness, and projected return.

Prospect Research, Cultivation, and Relationship Management

• Conduct targeted research to identify high-potential institutional and corporate prospects.
• Serve as primary contact for assigned institutional donors, corporate partners, and program officers.
• Develop and implement cultivation and stewardship plans, including briefings, updates, site visits, and engagement during deployments and events.
• Support senior leaders in high-level funder meetings and presentations.
• Capture relationship history, touchpoints, and key intelligence in CRM to support renewals and upgrades.

Proposal Development and Case for Support

• Assist in the development, maintenance, and periodic refresh of OBR's master Case for Support and core narrative materials.
• Write, edit, and project-manage federal, state, and other public grant applications to ensure accuracy, competitiveness, and compliance with all instructions.
• Prepare tailored proposals, letters of inquiry, and corporate submissions that integrate program data, outcomes, and stories from the field.
• Coordinate input from program, finance, operations, and communications to produce complete and consistent submissions.
• Manage internal timelines and ensure all submissions are on time and fully compliant with funder requirements.

Grant Tracking, Reporting, and Post-Award Compliance

• Maintain a master calendar of proposal, reporting, and renewal deadlines for institutional funding.
• Establish and use systems to track grant terms, deliverables, and performance metrics.
• Partner with Program leads to ensure timely collection of outputs, outcomes, and other data required for reporting.
• Prepare and submit narrative and quantitative reports that align with approved proposals, budgets, and funder expectations.
• Monitor grant agreements for compliance with all conditions, including use of funds, branding, and recognition.
• Identify emerging risks or variances and collaborate with internal stakeholders to resolve them.

Financial Planning, Budgeting, and Reconciliation

• Collaborate with Finance to develop grant and project budgets that reflect true costs and comply with funder guidelines.
• Monitor grant budgets during the award period to ensure spending is on pace and aligned with approved uses.
• Support accurate coding of grant revenue and expenses; participate in regular grant reconciliations.
• Confirm that all costs are allowable, properly documented, and consistent with applicable regulations and donor requirements.
• Assist with audit preparation by providing grant-related schedules and documentation as requested.

Systems, Data, and Process Improvement

• Use the organization's CRM (e.g., Salesforce, Raiser's Edge, or similar) and grant management tools to maintain accurate records of proposals, awards, and reports.
• Develop and refine templates, checklists, and standard operating procedures to streamline grant processes.
• Produce periodic summaries and dashboards of pipeline, submission status, and grant revenue for leadership.
• Collaborate with operations/IT to support effective data flow among CRM, finance, and program systems.

Core Competencies and Skills:

• Strategic and Analytical Thinking: Ability to align grant work with organizational strategy, assess opportunity fit and risk, and use data to inform decisions.
• Grant Writing and Narrative Design: Skilled in crafting clear, persuasive, and compliant proposals across public, foundation, and corporate audiences.
• Fiscal Stewardship and Compliance: Proficient in grant budgeting, reading financial reports, and reconciling expenditures; working knowledge of Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200) for federal awards and GAAP principles for private grants.
• Relationship Management: Strong ability to build trust and maintain productive relationships with funders, partners, and internal stakeholders.
• Project and Time Management: Demonstrated success managing multiple deadlines with high accuracy and diligence.
• Ethics and Integrity: Consistent commitment to donor intent, transparency, confidentiality, and responsible management of restricted funds.
• Communication and Collaboration: Clear written and verbal communicator; effective at leading cross-functional work and managing when needed.
• Technical Proficiency: Comfortable with CRM platforms, online grant portals, and productivity tools; advanced Excel skills for analysis and reconciliation.

Required Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, Finance, Public Administration, Nonprofit Management, or a related field; or a comparable combination of education and relevant experience.
• At least five (5) years of professional grant management experience.
• Proven record of securing and managing multiple six- or seven-figure and/or multi-year awards.
• Experience designing and implementing institutional funding strategies that support organizational growth.
• Proficiency with CRM systems and advanced Excel for reporting and reconciliation.

Preferred Education and Experience:

• Professional grant management experience with responsibility for public (federal/state) submissions.
• GPC (Grant Professional Certified) and/or CFRE (Certified Fund-Raising Executive).
• Experience with federal and state grant systems (e.g., Grants.gov, SAM.gov, JustGrants, or similar platforms).
• Background in disaster relief, emergency response, or other fast-paced, field-based nonprofit environments.
• Experience supervising or mentoring other grant professionals or contractors.

Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those required to perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these functions. While performing the duties of this role, the employee will regularly sit at a desk and work on a computer for extended periods. The role is primarily sedentary; some standing, walking, lifting (up to twenty-five pounds), and onsite activity may be required during events or deployments.

Work Environment
This position operates primarily in a remote, home-office environment and routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, and filing systems. During deployments or events, the employee may work in non-traditional, outdoor, or higher-noise environments. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

Other Duties
This job description is not intended to list every duty or responsibility of the position. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may be revised at any time, with or without notice, to meet organizational needs.

At-Will Employment
Operation BBQ Relief is an at-will employer. Either the employee or Operation BBQ Relief may terminate the employment relationship at any time, with or without cause and with or without notice, subject to applicable law. This job description does not constitute an employment contract, express or implied.

Job Type: Full Time

Salary Range: $50,000 - 74,999,$75,000 - 99,999