Grant Specialist

Light of Life Rescue Mission; Pittsburgh (Allegheny County); On-site; USD 50,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

Dental benefits

Vision benefits

Retirement plan with match

Job summary

Light of Life Rescue Mission in Pittsburgh seeks a Grant Specialist to manage foundation, corporate, government, and community grants from proposal through closeout. The role serves as the central point of grant administration, ensuring compliance, documentation, reporting, data management, and cross‑department collaboration.

Responsibilities include maintaining grant records in Virtuous and other systems, coordinating reporting, budgeting oversight with Finance, and supporting proposal

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required in a relevant field.
• 2-5 years of grant administration or related nonprofit experience.
• Experience managing deadlines and multiple projects with databases/CRM.
• Experience with grant management systems and documentation, preferably Virtuous.
• Cross-departmental collaboration and reporting experience.
• Strong organizational and communication skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and database systems.

Responsibilities

• Manage and maintain accurate grant records in Virtuous and other organizational systems including opportunities, applications, awards, reporting requirements, funding amounts, grant periods, restrictions, and supporting documentation.
• Monitor grant timeliness and status from opportunity identification and application through award, reporting, and closeout, maintain grant calendars and ensuring deadlines are met.
• Coordinate grant award setup, including preparing Grant Information Sheets, facilitating grant code creation, coordinating financial system setup, and ensuring all required agreements and documentation are complete.
• Coordinate grant reporting and compliance, including collecting financial and programmatic information, preparing and submitting reports, monitoring funder requirements, and maintaining documentation for audits and reviews.
• Monitor grant finances and expenditures in collaboration with Finance and department leaders, including reviewing grant balances, tracking spending, and identifying potential budget or compliance concerns.
• Ensure grant activities and expenditures comply with approved budgets, funding restrictions, grant agreements, and applicable funder requirements.
• Support grant proposal development and submission by researching funding opportunities, coordinating proposal timelines and approvals, and gathering required organizational, financial, and programmatic information.
• Coordinate grant-related communication across Finance, Programs, Operations, leadership, and other departments to ensure timely notification of grant awards, requirements, reporting obligations, and compliance matters.
• Administer grant data systems and reporting tools, including maintaining Virtuous records, dashboards, reports, workflows, and other grant management resources.
• Develop and improve grant management processes, including standard operating procedures, training materials, documentation, and organizational best practices to improve efficiency, accountability, and compliance.

Skills

Grant administration

Grant writing

Project management

Communication skills

Attention to detail

Education

Bachelor's degree in Nonprofit Management, Public Administration, Business Administration, Communications, English, or related field

Tools

CRM systems

Microsoft Office

Job description

Since 1952, Light of Life Rescue Mission has been a safe refuge for homeless and hurting people in the Pittsburgh area.

The organization is currently seeking a Grant Specialist is responsible for coordinating and managing the full lifecycle of foundation, corporate, government, and community grants from application through closeout. This position serves as the central point of accountability for grant administration, compliance, documentation, reporting coordination, data management, and interdepartmental communication.

Primary Responsibilities

• Manage and maintain accurate grant records in Virtuous and other organizational systems including opportunities, applications, awards, reporting requirements, funding amounts, grant periods, restrictions, and supporting documentation.
• Monitor grant timeliness and status from opportunity identification and application through award, reporting, and closeout, maintain grant calendars and ensuring deadlines are met.
• Coordinate grant award setup, including preparing Grant Information Sheets, facilitating grant code creation, coordinating financial system setup, and ensuring all required agreements and documentation are complete.
• Coordinate grant reporting and compliance, including collecting financial and programmatic information, preparing and submitting reports, monitoring funder requirements, and maintaining documentation for audits and reviews.
• Monitor grant finances and expenditures in collaboration with Finance and department leaders, including reviewing grant balances, tracking spending, and identifying potential budget or compliance concerns.
• Ensure grant activities and expenditures comply with approved budgets, funding restrictions, grant agreements, and applicable funder requirements.
• Support grant proposal development and submission by researching funding opportunities, coordinating proposal timelines and approvals, and gathering required organizational, financial, and programmatic information.
• Coordinate grant-related communication across Finance, Programs, Operations, leadership, and other departments to ensure timely notification of grant awards, requirements, reporting obligations, and compliance matters.
• Administer grant data systems and reporting tools, including maintaining Virtuous records, dashboards, reports, workflows, and other grant management resources.
• Develop and improve grant management processes, including standard operating procedures, training materials, documentation, and organizational best practices to improve efficiency, accountability, and compliance.

Due to the interface with clients, all jobs at Light of Life require employees to:

• Walk alongside clients as a disciple of Christ and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them through actions and words.
• Establish mutual trust and create a safe, authentic environment so that the clients continue to mature in Christ.
• Serve the clients in a Christ-like manner and practice a self‑evaluative lifestyle.
• Resolve all issues in ways that promote the principles of Light of Life while following the processes described in the LOL staff manual.
• Exhibit love for Jesus Christ, the staff, and the clients.
• Study the Christian Bible and apply the knowledge received/revealed to job duties and clients' specific issues.
• Help the clients make choices that are justifiably in their eternal best interest.
• Practice Christ Like stewardship of all resources.
• Model personal responsibility, accountability, timely reporting, and a self‑evaluative lifestyle.

Required Education, Experience, And Skills

• Bachelor's degree in Nonprofit Management, Public Administration, Business Administration, Communications, English, or related field required.
• 2-5 years of grant administration, grant writing, nonprofit management, fundraising, or related experience.
• Experience managing deadlines and multiple projects simultaneously. Experience working with databases or CRM system.
• Experience with grant management systems and grant administration, including Virtuous or comparable donor/grant databases, and experience managing foundation, corporate, and government agents preferred.
• Experience with grant reporting, compliance documentation, and cross-departmental collaboration preferred.
• Strong organizational, project management, and attention-to-detail skills.
• Excellent written, verbal, analytical, and interpersonal communication skills
• Proficiency in Microsoft office and database systems.

Light of Life Ministries Inc offers a comprehensive benefits package including:

Medical, Dental, Vision and other valuable benefits, which begin the first of the month following employment. Light of Life also offers a retirement plan with match program after 6 months of employment.

Light of Life is committed to maintaining a drug‑free community. Due to the nature of our ministry serving some who struggle with issues of addiction or drug abuse, our staff may not use or consume controlled substances like marijuana, even when prescribed by a physician.