Grants Operations Specialist

Background:

Bloomberg Philanthropies works to create catalytic change across five areas of focus: arts and culture, education, the environment, government innovation, and public health. Our mission is to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. Our approach is rooted in Mike Bloomberg's unique experience and success across the field of business, government, and philanthropy.  

Our Grants Management function ensures that every philanthropic dollar committed by Bloomberg Philanthropies is being used lawfully, efficiently, and effectively. The team partners with our leaders and Program teams to supports our partners efficiently and compliantly, as well as reporting on our giving accurately and consistently through strategic planning, programmatic grant making, systems and reporting and operational excellence.    

The position:

Sitting within our Grants Management team, the Grants Operations Specialist will play a critical role in strengthening how the team functions. The role will combine day-to-day operational ownership with process improvement, project management, and the development of clear, scalable ways of working. 

This role is designed for someone who is energized by creating structure, simplifying complexity, and improving how work gets done. The coordinator will own key operational processes, identify opportunities to streamline workflows, build and maintain practical tools and documentation, and work across teams to turn evolving needs into clear and effective processes. 

Essential duties and responsibilities:

Process Excellence & Continuous Improvement 

• Review existing workflows, identify pain points and inefficiencies, and help design simpler, more scalable processes.


• Translate ambiguous or evolving needs into practical workflows, tools, documentation, and clear ownership. 


• Support implementation of process improvements, including tracking adoption, surfacing issues, and iterating based on feedback and data. 

Operational & Project Management 

• Own and coordinate recurring, business-critical operational deliverables, managing timelines, inputs, dependencies, and follow-through. 


• Use project management tools such as Asana to structure work, track progress, identify risks, and escalate issues in a timely way. 

Systems, Data & Documentation 

• Maintain and improve team process guides, controls, trackers, and information hubs so that resources are accurate, intuitive, and easy to use. 


• Use data and operational insights to understand how processes are performing, identify trends or bottlenecks, and support decision-making and continuous improvement. 

Cross-Team Partnership & Problem Solving 

• Partner across Grants Management and with key internal stakeholders to improve handoffs, clarify roles, and strengthen end-to-end workflows. 


• Take ownership of emerging operational problems and ad hoc projects, bringing a practical, resourceful approach and creating structure where a clear path does not yet exist. 

Qualifications:

• 6+ years of professional experience in operations, process improvement, project management, PMO, or a related field; experience in mission-driven or regulated environments is helpful but not required. 


• Demonstrated ability to assess how work gets done, identify opportunities for improvement, and translate ideas into practical, repeatable workflows. 


• Strong project management fundamentals, including the ability to independently organize multiple workstreams, manage dependencies and deadlines, and drive work through to completion. 


• Comfort operating in ambiguity: able to seek context, propose solutions, make progress with limited direction, and know when to escalate or align with others. 


• Proactive and resourceful problem-solver who is comfortable building tools, improving processes, and taking ownership rather than waiting for a fully defined path. 


• Systems- and data-minded, with comfort working in Excel and other business tools; able to use data, budgets, or operational metrics to understand performance and tell a clear story. 


• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to adapt to different audiences, build trust across teams, and explain processes or changes clearly. 


• Strong judgment, attention to detail, and discretion, with an interest in building a long-term career in operations and process excellence. 

Accommodation

Bloomberg Philanthropies provides reasonable adjustment/accommodation to individuals with disabilities. Please let us know if you require a reasonable adjustment/accommodation to apply for a job. Examples of reasonable adjustment/accommodation include but are not limited to making a change to the application process or work procedures, providing documents in an alternate format, using a sign language interpreter, or using specialized equipment. To request an adjustment/accommodation to apply for a job, please email [email protected].

Equal Opportunity

Bloomberg Philanthropies is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination in employment. It is Bloomberg Philanthropies' policy to provide equal opportunity and access for all persons, and the Organization is committed to attracting, retaining, developing, and promoting the most qualified individuals without regard to age, ancestry, color, gender identity or expression, genetic predisposition or carrier status, marital status, national or ethnic origin, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, sexual and other reproductive health decisions, parental or caring status, physical or mental disability, pregnancy or maternity/parental leave, protected veteran status, status as a victim of domestic violence, or any other classification protected by applicable law (each, a “Protected Characteristic”). Bloomberg Philanthropies prohibits treating applicants or employees less favorably in connection with the terms and conditions of employment, in all phases of the employment process, because of one or more Protected Characteristics.