Grants Specialist - 2024255

ORGANIZATION SUMMARY:World Relief is a global Christian humanitarian organization that is fighting for change that lasts, right here in the U.S. and across the globe. We bring sustainable solutions to the world’s greatest problems – disasters, extreme poverty, violence, oppression, and mass displacement. The organization is approximately 75 years old and has worked in over 100 countries around the world since its founding.  In the United States, we come alongside local churches, community organizations and hundreds of individual volunteers to support newly arriving refugee and other immigrant families. Today, we are proud to partner with over 6,000 local churches, and 95,000 volunteers globally to bring hope, healing and transformation to the most vulnerable.
POSITION SUMMARY:Are you a person of compassion? An advocate for justice? Someone who stands up for the rights of the vulnerable and speaks out for the marginalized, the exploited and the forgotten?  Do you believe in our calling as Christians to welcome the least of these and love our neighbor?
If you answered ‘yes’, to any of the above, World Relief, and millions of people around the world need you.
World Relief seeks a Grants Specialist. World Relief partners with federal, state, and local governments to serve refugees and immigrants throughout Chicagoland. Join World Relief as a Grants Specialist to foster pathways of refugee and immigrant self-sufficiency and integration with our funding partners. The Grants Specialist position will support the coordination and administration of competitive federal, state, and/or local government grants. Reporting to the Director of Grants Management and working with the Grants and Finance Teams in Chicagoland, this position will be responsible for grant-related activities during the grant management cycle, including grant research, proposal development, reporting, compliance, and grant monitoring. A successful candidate must communicate effectively, work well independently and collaboratively within a team, have strong attention to detail, take initiative and be self-directed, and thrive in a fast-paced environment with strict deadlines.

Role & Responsibilities

• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Proposals and Grant Writing
• Research federal, state, and local public funding opportunities that align with World Relief Chicagoland’s funding priorities and programming
• Coordinate proposal development in collaboration with program managers, adhering to best practices in project management
• Assist in developing logic models and writing letters of intent, template letters of support, and other supporting documents needed for the proposal or proposal process; Research literature and publications to support funding proposals as needed
• Write, edit, and submit compelling grant proposals, site profiles, and workplans as needed

Reporting and Grants Coordination
• Coordinate with program managers to obtain necessary information for the writing and submission of quarterly and semi-annual narrative grant reports
• Ensure data submitted to grantors is on time and accurate (monthly, quarterly, trimester, or final reports)
• Compare, review, and enter grant data into grantor software systems; review data for accuracy and work with program leads to address inaccurate or missing data.
• In collaboration with the Data and Reporting Specialist and World Relief’s national office, update and maintain program performance data against established grant outcomes on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis
• Work collaboratively with program managers and staff to provide technical assistance for grant implementation; Advise program managers and train staff at least annually on new grant guidelines

Grant Compliance
• Collaborate with Program Directors to ensure that grant program services are delivered in compliance with grant guidelines and meet the stated outcomes; flag grant underperformance and compliance issues to program managers and the program director • Assist in preparations for external monitoring visits, reviews, and audits, and cross-site evaluations and participate as appropriate for grants in portfolio
• Spot-check electronic and hard copy files for assigned grant-funded projects to ensure grant program compliance with federal regulations and/or funder requirements.

Other duties
• Assist in reporting for grant programs outside of assigned portfolio when needed
• Participate in team, office, grant-specific, and strategy meetings
• Engage in updating standard operating procedures as needed
• Lead and/or support special projects to further the goals of the organization or grants management team

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

• Excellent oral and written abilities; e