Seeks a Grants Manager

About the Role

Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation (DBEDC) is seeking a Grants Manager to join our Development team and help advance the organization's mission through strategic institutional fundraising.

This is an opportunity for an experienced grants professional who wants to do more than write proposals. The Grants Manager will play a key role in shaping DBEDC's institutional fundraising strategy, developing competitive funding opportunities, managing a portfolio of grants, and building strong relationships with funders.

You will work across the organization with program leaders, Finance, and senior leadership to connect DBEDC's work to the priorities of foundations, corporations, and public agencies, and ensure that once funding is secured, we deliver on our commitments.

If you are a strong writer, strategic thinker, organized project manager, and collaborative partner who enjoys turning ideas and impact into compelling funding opportunities, we'd love to hear from you.

What you can expect to do in the role:

Build and Drive the Institutional Funding Pipeline

You will help DBEDC think strategically about where our next dollars will come from.

• Develop and manage a multi-year pipeline of foundation, corporate, and public funding opportunities.
• Research and identify prospective funders whose priorities align with DBEDC's programs and strategic goals.
• Assess opportunities based on strategic fit, potential funding, organizational capacity, and likelihood of success.
• Partner with the Chief Development & Communications Officer to cultivate funder relationships and strengthen our institutional fundraising strategy.
• Monitor pipeline activity, upcoming opportunities, renewal risks, and funding gaps and provide recommendations to leadership.

Tell DBEDC's Story Through Compelling Proposals

You will turn the organization's work, impact, and data into stories that resonate with funders.

• Lead the development of grant proposals, letters of inquiry, applications, and other funding requests.
• Work with program and Finance staff to develop strong narratives, outcomes, and budgets.
• Coordinate information and feedback from multiple departments and keep proposal development moving toward deadlines.
• Ensure proposals are accurate, competitive, strategically aligned, and responsive to funder requirements.
• Help program teams translate their work into clear, measurable, funder-ready outcomes.

Own the Grant Lifecycle

Winning the grant is only the beginning. You will serve as the primary internal steward for an assigned portfolio of institutional grants.

• Manage grants from award through reporting, renewal, and close-out.
• Maintain grant calendars, deadlines, deliverables, and reporting requirements.
• Coordinate narrative and financial reporting with program and Finance teams.
• Monitor grant health and identify potential compliance, operational, or performance concerns early.
• Ensure DBEDC fulfills its commitments to funders and maintains strong post-award practices.
• Support funder stewardship and renewal efforts through thoughtful, timely communication and follow-up.
• Maintain strong institutional knowledge of funder priorities, relationships, requirements, and funding history.

Drive Cross-Organizational Grant Development

The Grants Manager will bring people, information, and priorities together to ensure funding opportunities are well-developed and successfully managed from concept through close-out.

• Coordinate cross-functional input to develop proposals that accurately reflect organizational priorities, program activities, outcomes, and funding needs.
• Facilitate conversations to assess whether prospective funding opportunities are strategically aligned and operationally feasible before commitments are made.
• Translate funder requirements into clear expectations, timelines, deliverables, and action items for internal partners.
• Help teams develop clear, measurable outcomes and compelling narratives that demonstrate the impact of DBEDC's work.
• Coordinate the development and review of grant budgets, deliverables, and reporting requirements to ensure consistency between proposed and funded activities.
• Support teams in addressing grant-related challenges, resolving gaps, and making adjustments when circumstances change.

Qualifications - What Success Requires

Mission Alignment

• Commitment to DBEDC's mission and racial equity in community development.
• Ownership mindset with focus on high-quality results and team impact.
• Willingness to learn, explore new approaches, and implement improvements.
• Comfort navigating change and proposing innovative solutions.
• Ability to understand how institutional funding can advance the organization's strategic priorities and community impact.

Technical Expertise

• 5+ years of relevant experience in institutional fundraising, grant management, development, or a related field.
• Demonstrated success securing foundation, corporate, and/or public funding.
• Strong grant writing, project management, budgeting, and compliance skills.
• Ability to strategically assess funding opportunities and manage grants from proposal development through close-out.
• Ability to translate program data, outcomes, and budgets into clear, compelling narratives.
• Strategic thinker who can contribute beyond execution and connect day-to-day grant activity to broader organizational goals.
• Advanced proficiency with spreadsheets, CRM systems, Microsoft Office Suite, and other relevant technologies.

Collaboration & Execution

• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to convey complex information clearly and persuasively.
• Strong relationship-building and listening skills, with the ability to build trust across teams and with external partners.
• Ability to coordinate diverse perspectives and information into cohesive, funder-ready proposals and grant deliverables.
• Comfortable giving and receiving constructive feedback and navigating differing priorities.
• Strong judgment, discretion, and professionalism in managing sensitive information and relationships.

Communication Skills & Leadership Approach

• Highly organized, proactive, and accountable, with strong attention to detail, follow-through, and deadline discipline.
• Ability to manage competing priorities, anticipate risks, and identify practical, solution-oriented approaches.
• Comfortable working through complexity, ambiguity, and organizational change.
• Demonstrated ability to take ownership, exercise sound judgment, and move work forward independently.
• Enterprise-level thinker who understands how individual grants and funding decisions affect broader organizational strategy, capacity, and sustainability.

Additional Requirements

• Ability to pass a background check.
• Availability for occasional evenings and weekends.

You'll stand out if you:

• Are bilingual in (Spanish, Cape Verdean Kriol, Haitian Kreyol).
• Have working knowledge of affordable housing and/or economic development.
• Have lived experience in our community.

Other important details:

• Salary range: $80,000 - $95,000.

The Selection Process

To apply for this opportunity, please click here. Please submit a cover letter detailing your interest and qualifications for this opportunity, along with a resume. No phone calls or letters please.