Grants Partnerships Manager

SCORE

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Job Summary

ABOUT SCORE

Tennessee has been making significant progress in advancing a bold education reform plan over the last decade and is now a leader in the nation in dramatically improving student achievement. Tennessee is among the fastest improving states for student achievement according to the Nation’s Report Card.
While Tennessee has made significant gains, there is still much to do – in K-12 education, in college and career readiness, and in postsecondary completion. The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) plays a critical role in advancing student achievement, aligning K-12 and postsecondary, and ensuring that all students can achieve career and life success. We work to monitor statewide progress in support of a prioritized agenda that drives collaboration on policy while generating proof points and providing targeted support for implementation across the state.

SCORE is an independent, nonprofit, and nonpartisan organization founded by former US Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and is dedicated to the goal that all students can achieve success in college, career, and life. SCORE supports student success in public schools across Tennessee by ensuring all schools and systems meet high expectations; preparing, recruiting, supporting, and retaining excellent teachers and leaders; and aligning K-12 and college with career and life success.

SCORE is based at Vanderbilt University’s John Seigenthaler Center. For more information on SCORE, please visit www.tnscore.org.

OVERVIEW OF THE POSITION

The Grant Partnerships Manager plays a critical role in tracking how SCORE’s work is advancing the organization’s mission to catalyze transformative change in Tennessee education so that all students can achieve success in college, career, and life. This individual is responsible for leading the day-to-day management of SCORE’s grants as well as a portfolio of strategic investments, inclusive of both fiscal sponsorship projects and sub-grants, to support the work of mission-aligned external partners. The Grant Partnerships Manager maintains an understanding of SCORE’s grant commitments and can make connections to the organization’s strategic goals and programmatic initiatives. This team member develops grant proposals and reports, grant agreements, and vendor contracts and plays a leading role in communicating the impact of SCORE’s work for students.

The Grant Partnerships Manager reports to the Director of Impact and is part of SCORE’s finance and operations team. The Grant Partnerships Manager engages regularly with internal programmatic teams as well as external partners to monitor and effectively communicate progress on work across the organization’s strategy.

This role will be a good fit for someone who is energized by making connections across initiatives, thinking about how various initiatives work as a system to create change, attending to details, and ensuring the necessary infrastructure and resources are available to those who directly manage programs. The successful candidate will spend an average day capturing complex and abstract ideas in writing while at the same time executing thorough processes and meeting deadlines. To be successful in this role, the Grant Partnerships Manager will need to be able to press in and ask hard questions of their colleagues to gather necessary information and ensure adherence to funder guidelines. An interest in identifying and implementing process improvements will also be key to success. While it is not necessary that the successful candidate has experience in an education-related field, it is critical that they bring a learning mindset and a personal commitment to student-focused education policy and driving success for all students across Tennessee.

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

At SCORE, we are committed to creating a workplace where all team members bring their whole selves to work and thrive both personally and professionally. We deeply value collaboration, optimism, excellence, and innovation in our student-centered work and in how we work together and support each other as a team. We also believe that it is important for our team to reflect the rich diversity of students in Tennessee, and we strive to intentionally create space for diverse viewpoints to meaningfully contribute to our work.
SCORE is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants are considered for all roles without regard to race, color, religion, gender, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, or any other legally protected characteristic or status.

Job Responsibilities

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Grant Partnerships Manager is responsible for three interconnected sets of activities:

Strategic Writing (approximately 45%)
• Develop concept memos and grant proposals for funders in partnership with the Director of Impact.
• Lead grant reporting processes, including writing and/or advising consultants on grant reports.
• Lead the development of SCORE’s annual Impact Report.
• Develop regular updates on SCORE’s work and impact across programmatic initiatives for funders and the organization’s Board of Directors.

Process Development & Implementation (approximately 40%)
• Build and execute a process for tracking all grant deliverables and support the Director of Impact to ensure alignment between deliverables and SCORE’s strategy and initiatives.
• Build and execute a process for monitoring and complying with all grant terms and deadlines.
• Manage strong strategic investment procedures, including due diligence, proposals, reporting, and amendments for all fiscal sponsorship projects and sub-grants.
• Lead development and review of the organization’s vendor contracts, grant agreements, and sub-grant agreements.
• Monitor strategic investment budgets and review invoices in partnership with the Finance Manager.
• Develop and update policies, processes, workflows, and templates to streamline grant and strategic investment management.
• Maintain a database of all contract, grant, and strategic investment documents.

Internal & External Partnerships (approximately 15%)
• Serve as the primary point of contact for external strategic investment partners, responding to inquiries, providing guidance, vetting projects, and monitoring progress.
• Engage with programmatic team members to understand all the work being conducted across the organization and to track evidences of the impact of that work.
• Maintain an understanding of current and prospective funder priorities and identify real-time updates for specific funders based on their interests.
• Engage with programmatic team members and the Director of Impact to develop grant outputs and outcomes aligned with SCORE’s organizational goals.
• Support the Director of Impact to develop and monitor Key Performance Indicators aligned with SCORE’s strategy across all of the organization’s initiatives.

Qualifications

QUALIFICATIONS

SCORE is looking for a Grant Partnerships Manager who:

• Demonstrates commitment to SCORE’s mission and SCORE’s core values.
• Has a bachelor’s degree and demonstrated success in grant writing, grant and/or contract management, program evaluation, or a related field.
• Has expertise in strategic writing with the ability to synthesize information and convey complex concepts in compelling ways.
• Is a strategic thinker with a high tolerance for ambiguity.
• Has a high bar for excellence and a proven track record of being organized, detail-oriented, thorough, and following through in a timely manner.
• Understands grant cycles and effective donor engagement.
• Can navigate and understand contract language as well as financial documents.
• Is trustworthy, discerning, and committed to confidentiality.
• Fosters strong, collaborative relationships with others.
• Is dependable and has a demonstrated ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously and prioritize well in a fast-paced, rapid-growth, and high-intensity environment.
• Has demonstrated the ability to track down the information needed to problem solve in the moment, proactively consulting with other team members as appropriate.

Additional Information

Benefits

How to Apply

TO APPLY
To apply, send a resume and cover letter to hr@tnscore.org. If you have any questions, please contact SCORE’s hiring team at hr@tnscore.org.

Details

• Date Posted: November 13, 2020
• Type: Full-Time
• Job Function: Fundraising / Revenue Development
• Service Area: Education
• Start Date: 12/01/2020
• Working Hours: Office Hours are M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm