Grants Officer at Justice Defenders

The Grants Officer serves as an essential member of the fundraising team by aligning the grant program with the organisation’s overarching fundraising plan. This position assists the executive team in developing strong funding proposals, manages grant writing projects, monitors progress, develops reports, and stewards relationships with grant funders. Key performance indicators include revenue growth through grant acquisition and grant renewals.  The successful candidate must embrace and embody the organisational values of bravery, humility and solidarity.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

• Conduct the full range of activities required to prepare, submit, and manage grant proposals and reports
• Cultivate new and existing grant donor relationships
• Assist programme team in identifying funding needs and developing proposal and evaluation tools
• Work with executive and finance team to develop budgets for grant applications
• Work with the Director of Growth and programme heads to gather information necessary to report to funders on current grant programmes.
• Work with the Communications and Content Lead and the local Communications Officers to plan and gather compelling impact stories to support upcoming reports and proposals
• Maintain grant records, track due dates for applications and reports; serve as point person for grant compliance, assessing if programmes are meeting expectations and timelines of grant awards
• Provide prompt responses to internal and external information inquiries of the organisation, via phone, email, or in person
• Perform prospect research and evaluate prospects for corporate and foundation grants
• Assist with other fundraising projects as requested

YOUR PROFILE

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, marketing, social sciences or related field preferred; may substitute six (6) years of work experience in grant writing and program management for degree
• Minimum of two (2) years of professional writing experience, with preference for foundation grant-related work
• Familiarity with donor relations preferred
• Ability to utilise a database to track both programme and fundraising data and generate reports
• Ability to organise workload, exercise independent judgment, and maintain self-motivated and self-directed schedule
• Capable of addressing multiple projects in time-sensitive manner, taking initiative and remaining flexible to ensure objectives are met accurately and timely
• Committed to maintaining the integrity of confidential communications and/or activities
• Professional, courteous, cooperative, positive and effective with a diversity of individuals and groups
• Able to handle multiple assignments and meet deadlines
• Strong contributor in team environments. Must be able to work and communicate with individuals at all levels of the organisation, across countries, cultures, and timezones
• Strong editing skills & attention to detail
• Experience working in deadline-driven environments