Sr. Grant & Contracts Manager

Since 1968, Brooklyn A has provided free legal services for low-income residents of Brooklyn, pursuing neighborhood-based mission of justice, empowerment and community development. For over half a century, we have utilized an array of legal and advocacy strategies—community organizing, affirmative civil rights litigation, and eviction defense to defend the rights of individuals and families. Collaboration with the city, state, and federal officials to enforce housing laws and develop legislative solutions is also an integral part of our strategy. Brooklyn A has three core programs—Preserving Affordable Housing (PAH) Program, Consumer & Economic Advocacy (CEA) Program, and Community & Economic Development (CED) Program—each of which has unique initiatives and plays a vital community role to ensure basic needs are met and fundamental rights affirmed.

The Sr. Grants & Contracts Manager is responsible for effectively managing Brooklyn A's institutional funders portfolio for government grants and contracts and providing support to the organization’s foundation and corporate fundraising. With an annual budget of approx. $17M the Sr. Grants & Contracts Manager will be the lead writer on proposals and reports and responsible for ensuring compliance and that grants and contracts are correctly administered. Additionally, this person will collaborate with the rest of the development team on reviewing government grant RFPs and programs to identify potential funding opportunities, developing proposal content and project ideas, drafting compelling language for proposals and reports, and ensure that grant objectives are met, including all reporting and communications with institutional funders.

Primary Focus:

• Manage Brooklyn A's portfolio of grants and contracts, including the whole grants life cycle, from grant design, selection, start-up, implementation through to grant closure, ensuring compliance with internal procedures and donor regulations;
• In coordination with the Director of Development & Communications, maintain and grow Brooklyn A’s government funding through strategic selection of prospective funds that align with Brooklyn A’s mission and community need;
• Develop and lead initial drafting of persuasive letters of inquiries, grant proposals/applications, and other related materials, collaborating across the organization to develop narratives aligned with mission, priorities, and capabilities and ensure accurate accompanying budgets;
• Communicate regularly and coordinate closely with program staff and management to ensure all application and reporting materials are ready when needed and resolve open issues relating to monitoring grants, deliverables, reports, and proactively identifying performance issues.
• Maintain the grant administration process utilizing Bonterra and other appropriate systems to manage and track current grants, proposals, budgets, and timely and accurate report submissions;
• Monitor all government channels (e.g., grants.gov, New York Statewide Financial System, PassPort) and all online rating agencies (e.g., GuideStar) to ensure our records are always up-to-date);
• Support general fundraising activities, as needed, and provide support for the development of materials that demonstrate organizational/program accomplishments and impact, including the annual report;
• Maintain calendar and establish project plans for grants and manage timelines and deliverables to meet deadlines for grant submissions and reporting requirements; keep relevant staff informed about upcoming deadlines and deliverables, thereby ensuring smooth completion of work responsibilities; and
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Education, Skills & Experience:

• At least six (6) + years of professional, institutional fundraising experience OR any equivalent combination of education, training, and experience, that demonstrates the ability to perform the duties of the position (required); and communications, marketing, public relations, nonprofit management (preferred);
• Extensive experience conceiving, developing, writing, and managing major institutional funding projects from multiple sources, including governmental agencies at the federal (e.g., IRS and DOJ), state, and city (e.g., HRA, SBS) levels (required); experience with fundraising from major foundations and corporate funders (preferred);
• Fast, engaging writer who can write for different audiences and funding opportunities and can take broad direction;
• Excellent writing, editing, and verbal communication and presentation skills;
• Passion for storytelling with the ability to transform technical and legal issues into broadly engaging, emotionally rooted, and informative narratives;
• Demonstrated ability to manage a portfolio of funders and achieve financial results; knowledge of foundation and corporate giving is a must;
• Initiative and independence, combined with the ability to work as part of a team;
• Detail-oriented, with proven experience managing multiple projects simultaneously and delivering assignments within stringent deadlines.
• Technologically savvy, with proficiency in donor CRMs (Bonterra a plus), research systems, MS Office software, Adobe Publisher, Google products, and social media outlets. Knowledge of LegalServer a plus;
• A creative and mission-driven individual committed the work of BKA and to realizing the potential of a bold and innovative strategic vision; and
• Commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging principles and demonstrated ability to interact with people of different races, ethnicities, ages, gender identities and sexual orientations in a multicultural environment.

 Compensation & Benefits

Annual salary $90,000-110,000, dependent on years of experience. Benefits highlights - employer paid health insurance; 27 days annual vacation, employer contribution to 401(k); and paid parental leave.

To Apply

If you are interested in this position, you must submit your resume and a cover letter telling us why your experiences would make you a good fit for this role. This position is hybrid in-office/remote work position.

Brooklyn A is a diverse team that is committed to recruiting, supporting, retaining, and promoting a talented staff with diverse backgrounds and experiences that share the organization's commitment to racial, economic and social justice. At Brooklyn A, diversity encompasses a variety of characteristics, lifestyles, and perspectives, including race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, education, disability, socio-economic status, and family status. We firmly believe that a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment is essential to both the quality of our client services and the personal satisfaction of our staff. 

We encourage applicants of diverse backgrounds to apply, including women, people of color, immigrants, people with disabilities, LGBTQ people, people from low-income backgrounds, and with lived experiences in the communities we serve.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, age, physical disability, or length of time spent unemployed.