Grants Manager

Valley of the Sun United Way; Phoenix (AZ); On-site; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Valley of the Sun United Way is seeking a Grants Strategy & Operations Manager to lead the full grant lifecycle—from prospecting through proposal development, award management, and closeout. The role coordinates across departments to maintain strong systems, accountability, and visibility into funding opportunities.

You will manage a strategic funding portfolio, analyze data to strengthen funding requests, and ensure compliance reporting and stewardship for corporate, foundation, and government

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent directly relevant experience.
• Minimum five years of progressively responsible experience in grant development, institutional fundraising, grant administration, proposal development, or related nonprofit revenue functions.
• Experience with CRM systems, project management tools, budgeting, reporting, and Microsoft 365.

Responsibilities

• Lead management of grants portfolio including prospects, applications, awards, reports, renewals, and stewardship opportunities.
• Coordinate cross-functional proposal development and quality review.
• Develop and maintain funder profiles, including funding history, giving priorities, decision-makers, relationships, and engagement strategies.
• Monitor funding trends and identify opportunities aligned with organizational priorities.
• Oversee post-award administration, reporting schedules, compliance requirements, and grant closeout.

Skills

Grant writing

Fundraising

Proposal development

Stakeholder management

Data analysis

Project management

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

CRM systems

Microsoft 365

Job description

Description

Summary/Objective

The Grants Strategy & Operations Manager provides leadership and coordination for Valley of the Sun United Way's institutional funding portfolio, including corporate, foundation, and government grants. This position manages the full grant lifecycle from prospect identification through proposal development, award management, compliance reporting, stewardship, renewal planning, and closeout. The role serves as the central coordinator of grant-related activities across departments and ensures strong systems, accountability, and visibility into funding opportunities and obligations.

Essential Functions

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Grants Strategy & Portfolio Management

• Manage a strategic funding portfolio including prospects, applications, awards, reports, renewals, and stewardship opportunities.
• Conduct proactive prospect research to identify new corporate, foundation, and government funding opportunities.
• Develop and maintain funder profiles, including funding history, giving priorities, decision-makers, relationships, and engagement strategies.
• Monitor philanthropic, corporate, and government funding trends and recommend new opportunities aligned with organizational priorities.
• Evaluate opportunities based on strategic fit, revenue potential, competitiveness, and organizational capacity.
• Support annual revenue planning and forecasting.

Proposal Development & Submission

• Lead development of grant proposals, LOIs, concept papers, reports, and applications.
• Coordinate cross-functional proposal development and quality review.
• Research and analyze data to strengthen funding requests.

Grant Administration & Compliance

• Manage post-award administration, reporting schedules, compliance requirements, and grant closeout.
• Coordinate narrative, financial, and outcome reporting.
• Identify and mitigate compliance and reporting risks.

Cross-Functional Coordination

• Serve as primary internal coordinator for grant activity.
• Develop work plans, timelines, reviews, and approval workflows.
• Maintain productive relationships with funders and stakeholders.

Operations & Continuous Improvement

• Maintain grants calendar, pipeline tracking, CRM records, and reporting systems.
• Maintain institutional donor intelligence within CRM systems, including funder profiles, relationship mapping, and engagement history.
• Produce prospect research briefs and funding landscape analyses to support cultivation and solicitation strategies.
• Build templates, SOPs, content libraries, and workflow tools.
• Produce portfolio reports, dashboards, and leadership updates.

Other Duties

This job description is not designed to cover every activity, duty, or responsibility required of the employee. Responsibilities may change as organizational needs evolve.

Requirements

Required Education & Experience

A combination of education or relevant experience may be considered in lieu of degree requirements.

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent directly relevant experience.
• Minimum five years of progressively responsible experience in grant development, institutional fundraising, grant administration, proposal development, or related nonprofit revenue functions.
• Experience with CRM systems, project management tools, budgeting, reporting, and Microsoft 365.