Senior Grants Manager, Health Equity & Impact

Rush University Medical Center; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 47,000 - 79,000; Full time

Job summary

Equal Hope, a Chicago-based nonprofit, seeks a senior grant writer to lead strategy, development, and management of a $3.5M grants portfolio within its Breast Cancer Taskforce and broader mission. You will translate health equity concepts into compelling funder narratives and coordinate cross-functional teams to deliver high-quality proposals.

The role emphasizes pre- and post-award activities, strong collaboration with finance, and proactive funder stewardship to sustain and grow funding across

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in public health, health policy, social sciences, English, journalism, or a closely related field; master’s degree strongly preferred.
• Minimum 8 years of professional experience in grant writing and grants management, development, or closely related roles, with a significant portion in healthcare, health equity, or public health environments.
• Demonstrated track record of securing and managing six- and seven-figure grants from government agencies, health systems, foundations, and/or large institutional funders.
• Exceptional writing, editing, and storytelling skills; ability to synthesize complex data, research, and program models into clear, compelling narratives for diverse audiences.
• Strong understanding of healthcare policy and systems (e.g., Medicaid, health insurance, safety net providers, value-based care), community health programming, and social determinants of health.
• Proven experience managing the full grants lifecycle, including pre-award, compliance, reporting, and closeout.
• High level of comfort with budgets, financial reports, and collaborating closely with finance/operations teams.
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and experience with grants management or CRM systems (e.g., Virtuous, foundation Connect, Fluxx, or similar).
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple complex projects and deadlines simultaneously and work both independently and collaboratively.

Responsibilities

• Grant Strategy, Calendar, and Portfolio Management (30%): Lead development and execution of Equal Hope’s annual grants strategy to sustain and grow a $3.5M portfolio.
• Grant Writing and Proposal Development (40%): Serve as lead writer and project manager for all major grant submissions, from concept through submission, including LOIs, full proposals, renewals, and multi-partner collaborations.
• Pre- and Post-Award Grants Management (20%): Ensure all grant awards are set up correctly with budgets, deliverables, reporting schedules, and compliance requirements.
• Funder Relations and External Positioning (5–10%): Cultivate relationships with current and prospective funders and prepare materials for meetings.
• Grant Research, Intelligence, and Internal Capacity Building (5–10%): Scan for new funding opportunities, maintain prospect lists, and coach staff on grant-friendly design.

Skills

Grant writing

Grants management

Healthcare policy

Storytelling/writing

Budgets

CRM systems

MS Office

Project management

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree (public health/health policy/English/journalism)

Master’s degree preferred

Tools

Virtuous

Foundation Connect

Fluxx

Job description

Equal Hope, a Chicago-based nonprofit, seeks a senior grant writer to lead strategy, development, and management of a $3.5M grants portfolio within its Breast Cancer Taskforce and broader mission. You will translate health equity concepts into compelling funder narratives and coordinate cross-functional teams to deliver high-quality proposals.

The role emphasizes pre- and post-award activities, strong collaboration with finance, and proactive funder stewardship to sustain and grow funding across