Grant Writer

The Opportunity

SecondMuse champions and supports the growth of future economies by designing and leading programs that involve workshops, events, mentorship networks, curriculum, and other efforts to build and grow community ecosystems. At the core of our community-sourced approach is a dedication to creating and fostering cohesive narratives and deep relationships throughout the ecosystem. We have organized innovation programs in over 100 countries and 250 cities, sourcing solutions from every corner of the world. Each program has challenged our teams to develop targeted approaches to find, and then support, visionary leaders with a diverse range of experiences, motivations and cultures. We invite you to help build with us--leverage our proven strategies to build strong communities and influence local, regional and global networks, and add your own contribution to our growing team and portfolio of programs.

SecondMuse is seeking a creative, proactive, and detail-oriented Grant Writer to join its Global Growth team. The Grant Writer is responsible for supporting the organization’s proposal development process to secure resources to grow and advance the company’s innovative programs. The ideal candidate will have explicit experience writing grants and successfully securing funding from a wide range of funders, including corporations, foundations, governments, and bilateral and multilateral agencies.

In this role, you will work closely with the Senior Grant Writer and global program teams to craft clear and compelling proposal narratives, and support a smooth and effective proposal development process. You’ll join a highly collaborative, cross-functional team committed to learning how to be better professionals, as well as better humans, while building initiatives that systemically address social and environmental injustices.

If you are interested in utilizing your writing skills to achieve social impact; if you love distilling complex concepts into compelling narrative; if you are people-oriented and highly collaborative: this could be the perfect opportunity for you. This role may also be a great fit for you if you have experience advancing economic development, innovation, cleantech, circularity, and/or gender and racial equity.

Essential Functions

• Work with the Sr. Grant Writer, opportunity leads and program leadership to write compelling and clear proposal narratives
• Collaborate and follow through with internal organizational stakeholders such as the Program and Finance teams to gather necessary details on program structure , budget details, and funding priorities.
• Manage the details of the proposal development process to help ensure all components are vetted, completed, and reviewed prior to submission
• Copy-edit grant proposals for grammar, syntax, and SecondMuse tone
• Create clean, well-composed documents and presentations using SecondMuse templates and brand guidelines

Key Competencies/Skills

• The ability (and passion for!) distilling complex concepts into cohesive, compelling narratives. You also know how to ask for the information you need to ensure proposals are clear and complete.
• Extensive understanding of how to utilize grammar and syntax in powerful ways — i.e. how to construct sentences and paragraphs that persuade funders to invest in initiatives focused on social and environmental impact.
• Knowledge of the proposal development process
• Ability to align and manage workflows virtually and with a globally-distributed team, often spanning several time zones
• People-oriented and able to easily establish and follow up with new relationships
• Highly communicative and collaborative; strong team player and enjoys working with colleagues
• Impact-driven and action / solution-oriented
• Disciplined in working independently

Requirements

• Minimum of 3 years of professional experience in grant writing, preferably for economic development and/or community development organizations.
• Experience in facilitating cross-functional proposal development processes to successfully secure 6- and 7-figure grants.
• An understanding of innovation methodologies such as hackathons, business accelerators, collaborative design, and innovation challenges, as well as knowledge of economic and/or community development theories, principles, and approaches.
• Familiarity in the application of systems thinking and design thinking (especially human-centered design principles).
• Highly proficient with the Google and Microsoft suites
• Preferred candidates will have experience writing grant proposals for U.S. government entities (Economic Development Administration, Department of Energy, Department of State, and/or USAID); international government aid agencies (Global Affairs Canada, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, UK’S Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office, and Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation); and major U.S. foundations and global corporations.

Benefits

• Starting at $70,000 annual salary
• Medical, dental and vision insurance with employer contribution
• 401(k) with employer 3% guaranteed contribution
• Employer monthly mobile phone contribution
• Flexible work options
• Generous paid time off program, including paid holidays
• Generous paid parental leave programs for all new parents
• Short-term disability insurance
• Employee Assistance Program
• Paid time to participate in volunteer activities that enhance and serve our communities

SecondMuse provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.