Government Grants Manager

BUILD, Inc. (Broader Urban Involvement and Leadership Development) is presently seeking a committed, self-motivated, and innovative individual to join our team. BUILD is a nationally respected gang intervention, violence prevention, and youth development organization based on Chicago’s West Side. Since 1969, BUILD has worked to save lives and mentor young people who live in the city’s most challenged neighborhoods. When you work at BUILD you make an important difference to the thousands of youth and families we serve.   

Our Core Values: Empathy, Passion, Persistence and Innovation. 

BUILD has grown dramatically over the past decade, more than tripling our staff to an all-time high of 200+, growing our budget from $2.6M in FY16 to $22.9M in FY26, and moving into a new 60,000-square-foot state-of-the-art youth and community center on its Austin campus. A key catalyst for this growth was the influx of federal, state, county, and city grant awards funded through the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), and while ARPA has sunsetted, government grant opportunities continue to be central to BUILD‘s fundraising portfolio. To help manage this increased government grant writing and post-award management workload, BUILD seeks a Government Grants Manager, who will oversee the agency‘s government grant portfolio, including prospecting, submission, tracking, and management, working closely with our Grant Compliance Strategist and BUILD's program, finance, and evaluation teams, including: 

Grants Management: 

• Managing all deadlines in the public grants calendar, and ensuring all parties in various departments adhere to timelines  
• Writing grant narratives and assembling required documents for proposals, including working with program teams for grant program details, finance team to assemble grant program budgets, and Impact team to obtain applicable outcome objectives/prior outcome data as needed 
• Reviewing all proposals before final submission to ensure compliance, quality, and accuracy  
• Handling logistics of submitting applications via mail or online, on time  
• Engaging in ongoing prospecting for public grant opportunities and presenting potential opportunities to program leadership at weekly Program-Development meeting 
• Attending required information sessions on major grant RFP’s 
• Providing overview of newly awarded public grants to program Directors 
• Responding to funder requests for information 
• Maintaining databases tracking public grants against fiscal year budget and that sharing essential grant information with finance team 
• Assisting with the annual organizational budgeting process, including forecasting government grant revenue based on knowledge of current grant amounts, grant periods, and potential renewal deadlines 
• Working with finance team to prepare for government funding agency site visits, required documents 

An ideal candidate will:  

• Possess strong written and verbal communication skills, with an ability to persuasively articulate BUILD’s mission and programs to various constituents.  
• Demonstrate strong interpersonal skills, including an engaging style that can cultivate collaborative relationships with funders, staff, and program participants.  
• Be detail-oriented with strong time and project management skills, especially the ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines simultaneously.  
• Have content knowledge in youth services, violence prevention, education, and/or community health and wellness fields and a passion for BUILD’s mission. Proficiency in data and social sciences research strongly preferred.  
• Proactively solve problems and seek ways to improve existing processes and portfolios. 
• Have an open mind, deep patience, flexibility, a sense of humor, and willingness to think outside the box.  
• Have specific knowledge or experience with Microsoft Office, with experience with donor database software preferred, as is experience with online government grant portals and templates. 
• Be comfortable maintaining professional and respectful relationships with all BUILD constituents demonstrating sensitivity to all ethnic, racial and economic backgrounds.  
• Be passionate about justice work, and strive to exemplify BUILD’s core values of innovation, passion, persistence and empathy—while empowering youth and community.  

 Other Required Qualifications:  

• Bachelor’s Degree  
• Minimum 1-2 years of experience working with grants and institutional funding  
• Highly organized with excellent time management skills 
• Operate professionally with a flexible time schedule, which can include the occasional evening or weekend texts/emails, when deadlines require off-hours coordination with program staff  
• Exceptional written and verbal communication, and strong interpersonal skills 
• Must successfully pass a background check 

 Benefits:

• 401(k) plan + 2% match 
• Medical, Dental and Vision 
• Life Insurance 
• Paid Vacation 
• Wellness Days 
• Flexible Spending Accounts 

BUILD, Inc., does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, citizenship, ethnic or national origin, age, disability, medical status, military status, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, ancestry, or any legally protected status. This policy applies to all employment practices within our organization, including hiring, recruiting, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, leave of absence, compensation, benefits and training. 

All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history. A conviction does not automatically prohibit employment. Rather, BUILD Inc. considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.

American with Disabilities Act (ADA) Statement: External and internal applicants, as well as position incumbents who become disabled, must be able to perform the essential job specific functions (listed within each job responsibility) either unaided or with the assistance of a reasonable accommodation to be determined by the organization on a case-by-case basis.  

This organization reserves the right to revise or change job duties and responsibilities as the need arises. This job description does not constitute a written or implied contract of employment