Grants Administrator

This job posting was opened on 3/14/25. Please note that we will be prioritizing candidates who are current IRC (and recently employed by IRC) staff before other applicants. If necessary, we will extend the opportunity to external candidates.

Background: IRC opened an office in Seattle in 1976 and a second office in Spokane in 2022 and provides a continuum of services including intensive case management, employment and economic empowerment services, immigration assistance, health and wellness programming, and education support to refugee and immigrant families in Washington State. IRC Washington is committed to providing trauma-informed and accessible services and maintaining a supportive workplace.

Job Overview:In partnership with program, finance, and development teams in both Seattle and Spokane, the Grants Team at IRC Washington will work to leverage public and private funding opportunities through prospecting, proposal development, grants, and subaward contract management. IRC Washington's grant portfolio supports more than 10 program areas and includes over 100 active funding streams. Under the supervision of the Grants Manager, the Grants Administrator is responsible for conducting the full range of pre- and post-award administrative activities required to prepare and submit proposals and manage grants from public and private donors. Work is performed in collaboration and support of IRC Washington's programs teams, as well as IRC headquarters' awards and business development units.

Major Responsibilities:

Prospecting

• Research and assess funding opportunities for specific program areas and projects in accordance with IRC Washington's program needs, objectives, and strategic plan.
• Maintain and manage IRC Washington funding prospect and proposal calendar and track opportunities using Monday.com and IRC's internal grant management platform OTIS.
• Support prospecting by reviewing proposal solicitations and attending funder information sessions and communicating possible key go/no-go factors to Grants Manager and Program Lead for evaluation (such as match requirements, restrictions on spending/client eligibility, ICR allowability, expected reporting lift, etc)
• Support coordination of opportunity go/no-go decision process with Grants Manager and Program Managers to ensure equal opportunity across programs and objective, strategic decision-making process.

Proposal Development (Pre-Award)

• Maintain understanding of IRC policies and procedures for proposal preparation, review, and submission, including use of the IRC grants management database and opportunity tracking system.
• Maintain workflow calendar and processes that support proposal development and align with internal IRC and funder requirements and deadlines and ensure streamlined, organized workload management.
• Apply strong organization skills to proposal development process ensuring clear expectations and timelines, appropriate support, timely feedback, and compliance with IRC processes and requirements.
• Support concept note, proposal, and budget development as requested, including ensuring log frames, program design, and narrative meet high quality standards in coordination with Program Leads, Grants Manager, Finance Manager, and headquarters' Technical Assistance Unit and Resource Acquisition and Management (RAM) unit, and ensure all supporting documentation in application are up to date.
• Coordinate and schedule proposal planning meetings, take meeting notes, communicate timelines and task assignments, support and track proposal development, task assignments, checklists, and timeline.
• Provide administrative support to ensure partners (i.e. potential subawardees) are vetted and agreements are developed and signed according to IRC's Partnership Excellence for Equality and Results System (PEERS) pre-award protocols.
• Review proposal checklists and ensure required elements are present, up to date, and meet donor requirements.
• Utilize and maintain proposal tracking systems and ensure streamlined workflow and updates to relevant team members.

Grants Management (Post-Award)

• Maintain workflow calendar and processes that support post-award needs (e.g. amendments) and ensure streamlined, organized workload management.
• Organize and lead administrative processes related to post-award requirements ensuring timely, smooth, and streamlined processes and close monitoring of workflow.
• Work closely with RAM to ensure compliance with IRC post-award processes and smooth, timely execution of new funding agreements.
• Support administrative aspects of post-award PEERS process and ensure timely.
• Support grant opening meetings in partnership with relevant program lead.
• Initiate, track, and ensure completion of administrative processes to initiate spending under new funding streams; ensure communication with all relevant staff.
• Maintain grants management tracking and donor report tracking systems.
• Schedule, coordinate, and support regular program check-in meetings to ensure compliance and support for program implementation; capture meeting notes, action items, and ensure they are circulated.
• Manage and maintain grant reporting calendar for private funding streams and provide administrative support to program teams in preparing and submitting required grant report as needed.
• In collaboration with programs team provide support and review of donor reports as needed.

Staff Grants Training Support

• Identify areas of support, skill development, and training needed to cultivate proposal development skills of relevant program staff.
• Support Grants Manager to facilitate workshops on program design, proposal development, opportunity evaluation, and other relevant topics for Program Leads and other staff.
• Support creation of grant proposal toolkits relevant to different program areas and across all program areas.
• Maintain a library of high-quality data, language, and research on a variety of relevant topics for use in proposal development, concept notes, and other fundraising.

Systems & Accountability

• Support Grants Manager to establish and continuously update Standards of Practice (SOP) for the Grants team in coordination with Finance team, Program Leads, and RAM.
• Leverage regular communications with Finance team, RAM, and Program Leads to improve SOP and workflow.
• Support the development and use of organizational processes and tools that allow for streamlined management of proposal and grant management processes at the local level.
• Support continuous improvement of the utilization of process management tools to track opportunity pipelines, award management, and reporting in coordination with senior management, finance, and program staff.
• Maintain proposal calendar, pipelines, grants tracking.
• Participate in team meetings, staff meetings, skill building trainings, and communities of practice.
• Comply with all policies, procedures, and protocols of the agency.
• Other duties as assigned.

Key Working Relationships:

• Position Reports to:Grants Manager
• Position Supervises:N/A
• Indirect Reporting:Executive Director, Senior Management Team
  Other Internal and/or External Contacts:
  • Internal:Program Leads across all IRC Washington program departments, Finance Manager, Deputy Finance Manager and Finance team, Development Manager and team, Resource Acquisition and Management team (HQ), Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Manager
  • External: Public funders at city, county, state, and federal levels; local/state partners and stakeholders; community service partners; corporate and foundation partners

Job Requirements:

• Highly developed organizational skills and systematic process management ability
• Exceptional attention to detail demonstrated through professional experience
• Experience in non-profit business development, proposal development, grant writing, grant management, or relevant areas
• Experience supporting administration of non-profit grant portfolio including proposal development, grant writing, grant management, funder compliance, reporting, and related areas of responsibility
• Experience providing administrative support to experienced leaders; ability to move processes forward in a collaborative setting
• Ability to develop and maintain organized and streamlined systems for managing processes and tracking status
• Certification or continuing education in project management, proposal development, grant writing, and/or fundraising a plus
• Excellent writing, research, and organizational skills
• Familiarity with grants process of government funding agency(ies) (federal, state, and county/city level)
• Understanding and comfort working with budgets and finance departments
• Ability to work autonomously in scheduling and prioritizing within tight deadlines and focus on high quality work product
• Self-directed but with strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work well within a team
• Ability to collaborate well and provide direction, partnership, and support
• Competence working in various global environments and contexts with people from different backgrounds and levels of experience
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications: Word, Excel, Outlook, and project management tools
• Comfort with web-based databases and platforms; ability to learn new systems quickly
• Excellence in written and spoken English
• Lived experience as a refugee or immigrant is preferred
• In lieu of lived experience, experience working with refugees and/or immigrants; or overseas experience accepted
• Commitment to anti-racism and ongoing learning

Working Environment:

• Flexible hybrid office environment (remote and in-office)
• Occasional travel to Spokane or Seattle (depending on home location) required

Compensation: Posted pay ranges apply to US-based candidates. Ranges are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget. Exact offers are calibrated by work location, individual candidate experience and skills relative to the defined job requirements.

Equal Opportunity Employer: IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

US Benefits: We offer a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. In the US, these include: 10 sick days, 10 US holidays, 20-25 paid time off days depending on role and tenure, medical insurance starting at $143 per month, dental starting at $6.50 per month, and vision starting at $5 per month, FSA for healthcare and commuter costs, a 403b retirement savings plans with immediately vested matching, disability & life insurance, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support counseling and care in times of crisis and mental health struggles.
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