Posted on November 27, 2012

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Grant Writer

The Women's Refugee Commission works to ensure that displaced persons are safe, healthy and self-reliant by advocating for laws, policies and programs to improve the lives and protect the rights of refugee and displaced women, children and young people—bringing about lasting, measurable change.

The Women’s Refugee Commission is legally part of the International Rescue Committee, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The Women’s Refugee Commission receives no direct financial support from the IRC.

SCOPE OF WORK: The Grant Writer (GC) will play a key role in the Women’s Refugee Commission’s (WRC) fundraising operations ($5.4 million annual budget) as a member of a four-person team. Under the supervision of the Deputy Director, Foundation and Government Relations, the GC’s responsibilities are writing, editing and submission of proposals across all WRC program areas, including general operating support. The position is also responsible for submitting timely and accurate reports for all existing grant funded projects in partnership with finance and program staff.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

• Responsible for conducting the full range of activities required to prepare, submit, and manage grant proposals to foundation, government, unilateral and corporate sources;
• Perform prospect research on foundations, government, unilateral entities, and corporations to evaluate for matches with WRC initiatives;
• Work with finance to gather information necessary to report to funders on current grant programs;
• Comply with all grant reporting as required by donors;
• Support the Deputy Director, Foundation and Government Relations as well as program staff and senior staff in their stewardship to current donors;
• Understand WRC’s institutional history and programs;
• Make appointments for program staff with foundation officers and other prospects;
• Maintain current records in database (Raiser’s Edge) and in paper files, including grant tracking and reporting;
• Track statistics relevant to development and provide department with written materials necessary for donor stewardship (visitor number and diversity, level of participation and WRC engagement);
• Work with the Development team members and Communications team members to provide development input for all written institutional materials (including Annual Report and online updates);
• Assist with other fundraising projects as requested;
• Develop/maintain the information on all competitive proposals;
• Track all announcements for competitive proposals on a daily basis;
• Coordinate linkages/information exchange with other WRC staff;
• Generate reports as needed regarding competitive grants and contracts;
• Help track development unit budgets;
• Assist with the development and dissemination of proposal development tools;
• Lead or assist with online submission of proposals as necessary and provide necessary training to other staff using grants.gov;
• Support grant request review processes;
• Support staff in the preparation of grant agreements as needed;
• Support staff in the preparation and coordination of competitive bids as needed;
• Support the Deputy Director in preparing Strategic Opportunities Group (SOG) meetings and keeping the SOG briefed on competitive funding activities;
• Maintain electronic files of all relevant documentation;
• Support staff with administrative tasks such as photocopying, processing invoices, making travel arrangements, filing, and other duties as needed;
• Represent WRC and liaise with partners, as needed;
• Participate in special projects, as needed;
• Other responsibilities as assigned by the Director.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelors Degree. Advanced degree in related field preferred;
• Minimum 1-3 years of progressive work experience in fundraising environment and at least three years writing successful grant proposals to a range of donors;
• Working knowledge of Blackbaud fundraising products (e.g. Raiser’s Edge and NetCommunity);
• Must be technologically proficient with demonstrated excel and database management skills;
• Excellent writing and communication skills; proven ability to communicate and liaise effectively and diplomatically with colleagues across all levels of the organization, including exceptional interpersonal skills with the ability to successfully interact in a multicultural professional environment;
• Must possess a strong work ethic, have confidence, take initiative and be a self-motivated, enthusiastic team player as well as individual contributor;
• Demonstrated interest in international/humanitarian issues;
• Interest in a career in fundraising/development;
• Strong editing skills;
• Attention to detail;
• Ability to use sound judgment in maintaining confidentiality of sensitive information;
• Knowledge of fundraising information sources, e.g. Foundation Center online database and Guidestar;
• Experience with proposal writing and institutional donors;
• Knowledge and familiarity with research techniques for fundraising prospect research;
• Able to work well in a team environment, work effectively under pressure, handle multiple assignments and meet deadlines. Attention to detail without losing sight of the bigger picture;
• Able to monitor and meet income goals, with a metric-focused attitude and approach;
• Flexible work attitude with proven ability to work productively in a team environment & independently;
• Excellent organizational and analytical skills with proven ability to prioritize projects and follow through with attention to detail and high-level accuracy.

Application Instructions

Please apply online and submit three writing samples with your application: http://bit.ly/Q8cQJU .