Senior Grant Writer

Salary: $75,000 - 93,000 USD (depending on qualifications)

POSITION TITLE: Senior Grant Writer

LOCATION: USA (Remote or Washington, DC office)

PROGRAM: Development

SALARY RANGE: $75,000 - 93,000 USD (depending on qualifications)

SUPERVISOR: Vice President

DEADLINE: Rolling, with first review on January 16

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION:

The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) uses the power of law to protect the environment, promote human rights, and ensure a just and sustainable society. The Senior Grant Writer is a critical member of CIEL’s development team, which is accountable for ensuring CIEL has the resources to deliver high-impact campaigns that protect people and the planet. In support of this mission, the Senior Grant Writer will manage a robust (primarily foundation-based) portfolio throughout the entire grant life-cycle, including prospecting, designing and developing proposals, monitoring progress on grant awards, reporting, and renewals. The Senior Grant Writer will craft high quality, accurate, and persuasive proposals and reports and ensure all application, renewal, and reporting requirements are met, including compliance with all funder regulations, policies, and procedures, as well as those of CIEL.

This position will work closely with the Leadership and Management Teams and Program staff to develop and sharpen strategies and clearly and compellingly convey CIEL’s critical work and impact to secure and sustain grants. The successful Senior Grant Writer will contribute to the growth and retention of funding by collaborating with program staff to identify, cultivate, solicit, steward, and renew donations from foundations. They will be accountable for navigating an intricate workload, keeping many projects moving at once, and managing numerous priorities and emerging opportunities while meeting firm deadlines. This position will require excellent writing ability, strategic thinking, excellent organization, and deep commitment to CIEL’s mission, values, and goals. This Senior Grant Writer is a full-time, exempt position and reports to the Vice President (Director of Development).

RESPONSIBILITIES:
Grant Writing (70%)

• Develop and write compelling, substantive, outcomes-oriented, multi-year proposals and reports, collaborating across programs to develop project narratives, objectives and deliverables that are aligned with CIEL’s mission, strategic priorities, and capabilities. Additionally, work with the finance department to submit accurate accompanying budgets.
• Collaborate with relevant staff, soliciting, sharpening, and distilling relevant material for proposals and reports, coordinating the drafting processes and review loops, and delivering high-quality, timely final products to relevant entities.

Portfolio Management (25%)

• Oversee CIEL’s diverse and growing foundation portfolio (currently around 50 funders at $8 million annually) to ensure timely submission of proposal, renewal, and reporting requirements for current and potential grants (both project-based and general assistance)
• Contribute to and support processes and procedures that improve the efficiency of the development team and its interactions with the rest of the organization, including use of Asana for project management.
• Organize all grant files according to established protocols.
• Ensuring compliance with internal procedures and donor regulations. 
• Meet target timelines, prioritize tasks, and ensure high-quality work product. 

Administration (5%)

• Maintain timesheets and submit them on time.
• Meet periodically as requested, with supervisor and other team members.
• Participate in weekly staff and team meetings and other organizational activities, including an annual staff performance evaluation.

QUALIFICATIONS:
Minimum Qualifications:

• At least 5 years of professional experience in a fundraising/grants management role
• Proven experience securing multi-year proposals valued over US$250,000 and managing a portfolio of grants with competing deadlines
• Prior experience in a non-profit setting
• Excellent English writing skills; ability to write compellingly about technical subjects.
• Highly detail-oriented and organized, with the ability to follow detailed instructions and requirements provided by funders.
• Ability to prioritize projects with various deadlines and requirements and produce high-quality work.
• Familiarity with fundraising principles (i.e., theories of change, logic models).
• Ability to work and communicate effectively with people of different backgrounds, lived experiences, and communication styles. 
• Ability to identify a problem, investigate proactively to propose a solution, and know when to ask for help.
• Affinity for feedback, both in converting received feedback into constructive changes and opportunities for learning, and in providing feedback to strengthen work products and processes.

Desired Qualifications:

• Ability to understand grant budgets and organizational budgets.
• Experience in an international organization.
• Comfort leading meetings to discuss complex strategies and impact with managers across teams.
• Experience with Google Suite (including Docs and Sheets) and Asana project management software.
• Project management experience.

A successful candidate will demonstrate the following competencies: 

• Action-Oriented: Makes things happen. Takes on new opportunities and tough goals with a sense of curiosity, proactivity, and constructiveness.
• Nimble Learning: Approaches unfamiliar tasks proactively and with an open mind. Can quickly adapt to new situations and to draw on past successes and failures to solve current problems.  
• Effective Communication: Understands the value of effective communication. Can deliver messages in a clear, compelling, and concise manner. Actively listens, checks for understanding, and adjusts content and style to meet the needs of different stakeholders.  
• Collaborates: Brings people together to leverage their skills, talents, and knowledge to achieve a common purpose. Creates synergy resulting in a combined effort with greater results than what can be achieved by individuals.  
• Resourcefulness: Is able to make the best of limited resources and find a way to get things done even when the odds are against them.  Can look beyond the obvious for viable approaches to accomplish the goal. 

Location note: This position may be eligible to work from the following locations:

• Remotely from the US, provided your work schedule can align with US East Coast time. You must have obtained your own legal authorization to work and live in the US. Some jurisdictions may be excluded based on CIEL’s ability to hire in those jurisdictions.
• In our Washington, DC, USA office, provided you have obtained your own legal work authorization (CIEL cannot sponsor work visas). A moving stipend is available.

This is a full-time, exempt position. If you are selected for this position and elect to work remotely, you are expected to provide your own space from which to work. CIEL will contribute a one-time stipend of USD $750 for fully remote workers, with an additional USD $250 per year for the purposes of maintaining your remote work space.

CIEL offers a strong benefits package including employer-subsidized health, dental, and vision; paid vacation, sick, and parental leave; a 5% contribution of gross annual salary into a 403(b) retirement account; a relocation stipend; dedicated professional development funding; and paid sabbatical leave after 7 years. CIEL is a 501(c)3 nonprofit in the US, and full-time employees qualify for the US Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program

Application instructions: Applications will be considered on a rolling basis; the first application review will take place on January 16. Desired start date: As soon as able; no later than March 11. Please submit a cover letter, resume, and at least one relevant writing sample. Only applicants selected for interviews will be contacted. No telephone calls, please. Note that CIEL does not sponsor visas of any kind. You must have prior authorization to work in the United States in order to be considered for this position.

Anonymous Demographic Survey: Please complete this anonymous demographic survey as part of your application to CIEL. The survey will only be used to help us evaluate our efforts to recruit a diverse pool of candidates. Your answers will not in any way be linked to your application, and the answers to the survey will not be handled by anyone on the hiring committee for the role.

COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement: In accordance with CIEL’s duty to provide and maintain a workplace that is free of known hazards and our commitment to safeguard the health of our employees, clients, and communities, CIEL requires candidates to furnish proof of full COVID vaccination status in order to be hired for this position.

About CIEL: For 30 years, CIEL has used the power of law to protect the environment, promote human rights, and ensure a just and sustainable society. CIEL’s dynamic team of international attorneys and experts work together in a collaborative and supportive work environment to tackle some of the most interesting and challenging issues facing people and the planet. 

We are an equal opportunity employer, actively committed to the principles of multiculturalism and building an organization that is as diverse as the communities we serve around the world. We know that diversity and inclusion make us stronger, and we actively encourage qualified applicants with various backgrounds, identities, perspectives, and (dis)abilities to apply. If you need an accommodation or assistance with this application, please contact Human Resources at jobs[at]ciel.org. 

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