ABOUT UNITED WAYUnited Way of Massachusetts Bay exists to build more equitable communities, together. With over 85 years of local impact in eastern Massachusetts, we work with and for our communities to build economic prosperity, and enable everyone-across races and ethnicities-to share in the knowledge, wealth and resources available. We believe that the key to unlocking opportunity is uniting people, and we bring together individuals, community leaders, corporate partners, legislators and organizations to build a powerful engine of change.THE OPPORTUNITYThe United Way of Massachusetts (UWMB) Bay is seeking a Vice President, Foundation and Grant Relations who will embrace the work of the UWMB Development team becoming a more diverse and inclusive department through the practice of community-centric fundraising principles. We are a Development team comprising passionate, committed, and justice-minded individuals that support United Way to be the partner of choice for people who are passionate about thriving in community. Our partners are an inspired, growing, and diverse collective of champions who unite in their commitment to build more equitable communities where access to financial opportunity is universal, and prosperity is shared across race and ethnicity, and understand that the ability to make our region a better place to live rests with every one of us.The Development department's charge is to unite, grow, and strengthen United Way's public and private partnerships, and leverage those partnerships to generate significant resources -- financial, talent, time, and connections -- with an emphasis on unrestricted support, to enable everyone across races and ethnicities to share in the wealth, knowledge, and resources available in our region.POSITION OVERVIEWThe Vice President, Foundation and Grant Relations will partner with the Senior Vice President, Strategic Partnerships & Foundation Relations to help nurture and grow investments in United Way's work and increase its impact in the region. This is an outstanding career opportunity for an experienced professional to manage a growing portfolio of public and private funders and to help build our impact strategy around an equity-driven vision to advance economic justice across race and ethnicity.The successful candidate must be skilled at developing and cultivating local and national relationships to build a pipeline of grant opportunities, as well as internal relationships across all departments in the organization. They will collaborate on the development and execution of a grant funding strategic plan and milestones; steward and cultivate existing and prospective funders; and co-create proposal concepts with funders and United Way staff. The Vice President must possess or be able to develop broad content expertise in the UWMB's five pillars of focus - Safe and Stable Housing, Economic Inclusion and Wealth Building, Early Education and Out-Of-School Time, Pathways for Young Adults and Community-centered Crisis Response. Individuals committed to service, driven by social justice, and who embrace community-centric principles and practices are strongly encouraged to apply. Hybrid work arrangement with great benefits and opportunities for advancement.RESPONSIBILITIESKey Responsibilities include but are not limited to:1. Develop and execute grant funding plan to sufficiently resource community impact work.Collaborate with Senior VP Strategic Partnerships & Foundation Relations to develop and execute annual and multi-year grant funding plan. Manage multiple proposals and projects, advance priority projects, and strengthen the proposal pipeline to increase foundation and public grant revenue. Be accountable for progress against goals for a portfolio of public and private entities, including family and corporate foundations. Build close partnerships with Community Impact, Development, and Grants Finance Team members to help implement the grants process.2. Proposal CreationProvide guidance to Community Impact staff and other writers across the organization as to the focus for a particular grant opportunity. In cases where existing "boiler plate" does not exist (new program or new aspect of a program), proposal writing may be a shared responsibility between this role and other colleagues. Have or be prepared to develop broad content expertise in the areas of UWMB's five pillars of focus - Safe and Stable Housing, Economic Inclusion and Wealth Building, Early Education and Out-Of-School Time, Pathways for Young Adults, and Community-centered Crisis Response, as well as the ability to create and co-create new concepts for funding. Must have excellent writing skills and the ability to provide constructive editorial feedback on grant content created by other members of the team.3. Funder StewardshipSteward existing donors to retain grant funding relationships and acquire new grant funding relationships in order to meet revenue goals. Be responsible for providing relationship management and stewardship for a portfolio of grant funders with a goal of maintaining and potentially growing these relationships. Have and be able to build a network of relationships in the funder community - locally and nationally that can lead to grant submission opportunities along with those that may take longer to cultivate. This will require frequent meetings, phone calls and email correspondence, and might include travel.4. Prospect CultivationResearch prospects and actively review calls for proposals/RFPs to identify new opportunities to submit proposals. Along with other staff, identify and screen appropriate state, federal and private funding opportunities through which United Way may receive funds. Review "Requests for Proposals", newsletters and other periodicals and online sources for potential funding opportunities that align with our Development goals. Stay informed of significant trends in government, foundation and corporate funding for human service agencies. Requires creativity and strategic thinking to identify possible opportunities and determine strategic fit between these funders and our work.5. Establish and maintain ongoing and current knowledge of United Way impact areas, goals, and organization-wide strategies.Have solid understanding of United Way's Community Impact goals and programs, Development goals, organization-wide strategies and the work of partner agencies. Keep informed of new developments in United Way's operations. Attend internal team meetings as appropriate, coordinate efforts with content experts in Community Impact, as well as relationship managers in Development. Build and maintain authentic, strong working relationships across the organization.6. Work collaboratively with the Grant Finance, Development, and Community Impact program staff.Maintain an excellent working relationship with the Grant Finance, Development, and Community Impact program staff in order to build a strong pre- and post-award process. Facilitate or co-facilitate weekly grants team meetings with Grant Finance, Development, and Community Impact program staff.7. Manage outside vendors related to Grant development.The organization may, from time to time, contract with select vendors to provide specific expertise regarding grants development such as securing federal or national grants. This position will manage these relationships to ensure targets are met.8. Maintain file management systems for pre- and post-award process using grants management databaseUse United Way's Grants Management database, GrantNavigator and/or other similar Grants Management database system to ensure that all pre- and post-award tasks are organized and up to date. Ensure that grant proposals and reports are submitted on a timely basis and that internal procedures related to pre- and post-award grant management are followed.REQUIREMENTS
Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Community-Centric Fundraising principles, and to the vision of the United Way of Massachusetts Bay.
A minimum of 10 years of experience in grants development with knowledge of the mechanics of grant proposal submission, implementation, reporting and stewardship.
Demonstrated track record of securing and managing large multi-year grants (six-seven figure) and managing/building a multi-million-dollar grant portfolio. Experience securing and implementing state and/or federal government grants preferred.
Minimum of 5 years of experience managing a team required. Strong leadership and management skills that include the ability to motivate, influence, and hold staff accountable to high standards and goals; experience coaching and developing team members on a Development team.
Ability to operate and excel in a fast-paced environment and tackle multiple priorities at once is critical to this role.
Expertise in strategic and operational planning for both short- and long-term impact.
Creative and organized with exceptional project and time management, multi-tasking skills, and follow-up skills to ensure successful and timely completion of projects.
Proven ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams.
Excellent writing, editing, verbal, facilitation, and presentation skills, with an emphasis on the ability to persuade and influence others around ideas, decisions, and financial support
Thrives in a fast-paced environment and able to meet deadlines and work effectively under pressure while wisely prioritizing goals and daily tasks.
Excellent interpersonal skills and relationship-building skills; ability and willingness to work as part of a team and with staff at all levels.
Tech savvy with proficiency in Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook required; ability to facilitate use of technology for conference calls/meetings (e.g. Microsoft Teams and Zoom); experience with data management systems strongly preferred.
BENEFITS
Paid Time Off - 15 vacation days, 15 sick days, 11 paid Holidays, Floating Holidays; other PTO includes organization-wide summer hours and the full week off of Thanksgiving.
Health and Dental coverage - individual and family - premium cost share
Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
401(k) with match and an additional base contribution depending on years of service
Group Life and Long-term Disability
Optional employee-paid vision insurance
Serve United time off for volunteering
Hybrid work environment (minimum 1-day "in office" requirement)
United Way of Massachusetts Bay is committed to hiring individuals who reflect the diversity of our communities.Job Posted by ApplicantPro