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Job Description
Director of Grants Columbia College - 3.6 Columbia, MO Job Details Full-time $60,000 - $70,000 a year 1 day ago Qualifications Project team coordination Confidential information handling Customer service Faculty collaboration Content editing English Research Narrative writing for grant proposals Bachelor's degree Data management Project budget management Meeting facilitation Productivity software Fundraising prospect research Database software proficiency
Full Job Description Director of Grants Department:
Advancement Location:
Columbia, MO Type:
Full-time Pay:
$60,000 Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States; visa sponsorship is not available for this position
Job Summary:
The Grant Writer is responsible for identifying, developing, writing, and submitting competitive grant proposals in support of Columbia College's institutional priorities. This position works closely with the Vice President for Advancement, college leadership, faculty, staff, and external partners to secure funding from private foundations, corporations, government agencies, and other grant-making organizations. Experience with NSF and NIH grants is preferred. The Grant Writer will help translate Columbia College's strategic goals, academic programs, student success initiatives, capital needs, workforce development priorities, and community partnerships into compelling proposals that align with funder interests. This position is responsible for researching funding opportunities, coordinating proposal development, gathering institutional data, drafting narratives, developing supporting materials, tracking deadlines, assisting with grant budgets, and supporting reporting and stewardship requirements for awarded grants.
Essential Functions:
OVERALL Perform job duties in accordance with Columbia College's vision, mission, and values. Establish and maintain a collegiate, creative, and productive work environment. Support a culture of Advancement and institutional philanthropy. Foster strong working relationships with faculty, staff, administrators, community partners, and external funders. Partner with the Vice President for Advancement and other college leaders to identify grant opportunities that support Columbia College priorities. Represent the Advancement Division in a professional, collaborative, and service-oriented manner. Support the College's strategic goals through effective written communication, project coordination, and funder engagement.
GRANT WRITING AND PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT
Research and identify grant opportunities from private foundations, corporations, government agencies, and other funding sources that align with Columbia College's mission and strategic priorities including NSF and NIH grants. Develop, write, edit, and submit grant proposals, letters of inquiry, concept papers, applications, reports, and related funding materials. Coordinate the full proposal-development process, including gathering information from faculty, staff, program directors, finance staff, institutional research, and other campus partners. Translate programmatic needs, institutional priorities, student outcomes, and community impact into clear, persuasive, and fundable grant narratives. Prepare compelling cases for support for academic programs, student scholarships, capital projects, workforce development initiatives, student success programs, technology needs, community partnerships, and other college priorities. Work with campus partners to develop project goals, measurable objectives, timelines, outcomes, evaluation plans, sustainability plans, and implementation strategies. Assist with the development of grant budgets and budget narratives in partnership with Advancement, Finance, academic leadership, and project directors. Ensure proposals are complete, accurate, well-written, properly formatted, and submitted by deadlines. Maintain a grant calendar that tracks proposal opportunities, submission deadlines, award notifications, reporting deadlines, and stewardship requirements. Monitor grant-making trends in higher education, workforce development, healthcare, nursing, military-connected education, online learning, student success, community engagement, and other areas relevant to Columbia College. Build and maintain a library of commonly used institutional language, data points, proposal templates, program descriptions, boilerplate materials, letters of support, and funder profiles. Prepare briefing materials for college leaders involved in grant cultivation, proposal development, and funder meetings. Coordinate with faculty and staff to ensure grant proposals accurately reflect program goals, staffing needs, budget realities, and institutional capacity. Support the development of multi-partner proposals involving community organizations, school districts, healthcare providers, employers, government entities, and other external partners. Assist in preparing presentations, talking points, and written materials for funder visits, site visits, and grant-related meetings.
GRANT MANAGEMENT, REPORTING, AND STEWARDSHIP
Maintain accurate records of submitted proposals, pending requests, awarded grants, declined proposals, reporting requirements, and funder communications. Work with Advancement Services to ensure grant-related activity is properly documented in the College's database system. Coordinate with project directors and Finance staff to support timely grant reports, updates, expenditure documentation, and outcome summaries. Assist with post-award stewardship by preparing impact reports, acknowledgment language, success stories, and updates for grant funders. Track grant deliverables and reporting deadlines to support institutional compliance with funder requirements. Help ensure that grant-funded projects are implemented in a manner consistent with proposal commitments, approved budgets, funder guidelines, and college policies. Support internal communication regarding grant awards, project expectations, and reporting responsibilities. Maintain confidentiality and accuracy when working with institutional data, student information, financial information, and donor/funder records. Adhere to the highest ethical standards in all grant-seeking, proposal-writing, reporting, and stewardship activities.
ADVANCEMENT AND CAMPUS PARTNERSHIP
Work closely with the Vice President for Advancement to prioritize grant opportunities based on institutional need, funder alignment, potential impact, and likelihood of success. Collaborate with academic affairs, student affairs, finance, institutional research, athletics, marketing, and other departments as needed to develop strong grant proposals. Support Advancement's broader fundraising goals by identifying grant opportunities that complement individual, corporate, foundation, and planned giving strategies. Participate in prospect strategy discussions involving foundations, corporations, and institutional funders. Help prepare college leaders, faculty, and staff for funder conversations, site visits, and proposal presentations. Maintain professional relationships with foundation contacts, corporate giving officers, public grant administrators, and other funding representatives as appropriate. Support a campus-wide understanding of grant opportunities, proposal timelines, and funder expectations. OTHER Follow established division-wide standard operating procedures, including review and approval processes before submission or distribution of external materials. Submit timely and accurate reports, project updates, and expense reports as required. Support the College's fundraising and stewardship goals in day-to-day work and communication efforts. Work in partnership with the Vice President for Advancement to manage grant-related priorities within the Advancement Division's annual budget. Perform other duties as assigned. Required Skills, Core Competencies, and Professional Experience Ability to fluently read, write, and understand the English language. Exceptional writing, editing, proofreading, and storytelling skills. Ability to develop clear, persuasive, and well-organized grant proposals for a variety of funders. Strong research skills and ability to identify funding opportunities aligned with institutional priorities. Ability to synthesize complex information from multiple sources into compelling written materials. Strong project-management skills, including the ability to manage multiple deadlines, proposals, and reporting requirements at the same time. Excellent attention to detail and accuracy in preparing proposals, budgets, reports, and supporting documents. Ability to work collaboratively with faculty, staff, administrators, finance personnel, institutional research staff, and external partners. Ability to gather, interpret, and present institutional data, program outcomes, community needs, and student impact information. Understanding of grant proposal development, funder research, grant calendars, reporting requirements, and stewardship practices. Ability to work independently and exercise sound judgment with limited supervision. Excellent communication, interpersonal, customer service, and organizational skills with all constituents. Proficiency in Microsoft Office products, database systems, web-based grant portals, and related technology. Ability to use online funder databases, government grant portals, and other research tools. Ability to prepare for, lead, and effectively follow up on meetings. Ability to maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive institutional, financial, donor, and student information with discretion. Ability to work under deadline pressure while maintaining a high level of quality and professionalism. Ability to negotiate agreeable solutions while maintaining positive working relationships. Strategic, polished, and professional communication style. Decorum and respect for authority, protocol, and institutional review processes.
PREFERRED EXPERIENCE
Experience writing grants in a higher education, nonprofit, healthcare, workforce development, public agency, or foundation-related setting. Experience developing proposals for private foundations, corporations, state agencies, federal agencies, or public-private partnerships. Experience working with faculty, academic leaders, finance staff, and program directors on grant proposals. Experience preparing grant budgets, logic models, evaluation plans, or outcome reports. Familiarity with advancement, sponsored programs, institutional research, or grant compliance functions in higher education.
Occasional evening or weekend work may be required. Occasional travel may be required for funder meetings, conferences, site visits, or grant-related events.
Physical Requirements:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit for long periods of time, and talk or hear. The employee is regularly required to use hands and fingers to handle or feel; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; and stoop, kneel, or crawl. The employee must lift, carry and move a minimum of pounds on an occasional basis. Must be able to type on a computer keyboard and use a computer monitor on a frequent and regular basis.
Work Conditions:
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is rarely exposed to outside weather conditions; however, possible exposure to hazards and physical risks to personal safety may occur while operating certain equipment. The noise level in the work environment is usually mild. This job description is not meant to be all-inclusive of every duty and responsibility required by the employee in the position. The offer of employment and assignment to duties is contingent upon a satisfactory criminal background check. The information may include, but is not limited to, academic, residential, achievement, performance, attendance, disciplinary, employment history, credit history, driving history, and criminal history of public record. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Columbia College is an equal opportunity employer. Columbia College is committed to creating an inclusive employee experience for all regardless of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age or disability. The college maintains a safe place for open discourse and overall, fosters a sense of community that welcomes everyone. In compliance with the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) and the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act (Clery Act), the Department of Campus Safety for Columbia College has provided the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report and crime statistics for the main campus and venues nationwide. Columbia College is required to distribute this information to all current and prospective employees and students. Please follow the link below for the full report or contact Human Resources at 573-875-7495 for a printed copy.
