(Hybrid, Full-Time Position in Oakland, CA; Los Angeles, CA; or Washington, DC )
Who We Are
Impact Justice advances safety, justice, and opportunity through boundary-breaking work that honors and empowers people and is changing expectations about what we can accomplish together. We imagine, build, and scale innovations, leverage research and other knowledge to connect the desire for change with informed action, and work to shift the narrative so that decision-makers and the public understand what’s at stake and what’s possible.
Specifically, we work to reduce the number of people caught up in harmful legal systems by creating alternatives that are responsive, restorative, fair, and effective; to improve living conditions and life outcomes and safeguard fundamental human rights for the millions of people still subject to mass incarceration; and to expand opportunities for formerly incarcerated and other system-involved people to heal, fully participate in community life, and reach their potential. We operate from the understanding that the struggle for justice takes place in a context of historic, systemic, and pervasive racism.
We are a diverse and allied staff of reformers, transformers, abolitionists, and dreamers who bring a wide range of knowledge, skill, and life experience to the challenging work we undertake together. We’re committed to living our values and to creating the kinds of equitable and inclusive team environments internally that we fight to help create in our broader communities. This includes providing opportunities to all job applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, national origin, age, criminal history, disability, or genetics. The organization strongly encourages people of color, individuals who identify as part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer communities, and individuals impacted by the legal system to join the team. A majority of individuals on our current executive team identify as BIPOC and/or LGBTQ. We are committed to workplace diversity and providing equal employment opportunities.
Who You Are
You are a strong, fast writer who knows their way around a grants calendar. The opportunity to write about a wide range of innovative programs is exciting to you, and you know how to ask the right questions in order to craft compelling, clear proposal language. You can juggle multiple balls without any dropping and maximize efficiency without sacrificing quality. You can anticipate problems or decision-points and elevate those rather than waiting to be told or asked, and you aren’t comfortable letting even small errors slide. You’re comfortable working with multiple different leaders and are at ease being flexible and adaptable.
That said, we know there are great candidates who may not think they fit into what we’ve described above or who have important skills we haven’t thought of. If that is you, don’t hesitate to apply and tell us about yourself! And if you’re a formerly incarcerated individual, someone who has a family member who is or has been incarcerated, or otherwise have direct experience with the criminal legal or juvenile legal systems, we will be particularly excited to hear from you.
What You Will Do
The anticipated start date for this position is May 2023. You will report to the Senior Development Manager. Your core responsibilities will be:
- Proposal Writing – You will draft, edit, and submit grant proposals, letters of intent, and concept notes. This involves synthesizing past language, writing new content aligned with a funder’s goals, meeting with program leaders to gather information, and working through a review process to get the final language right.
- Grants Management – You will help manage our entire grants portfolio. This involves meticulous deadline tracking, collaboration with finance and program departments on deadlines and post-award grant compliance, and record keeping about funder relationships and next steps.
- Prospect Research – You will help identify and research potential funding sources, including public and private grant opportunities, contracting opportunities, prizes, competitions, and sponsorships. This involves online and database research and collaboration with our Development Associate to produce research memos and evaluate fit for potential prospects.
- Institutional Cultivation & Stewardship – You will establish and grow relationships with institutional funders. This involves outreach with program officers and other funding partners to answer questions or communicate updates about our work, grant reporting, drafting cultivation emails, and keeping records on funder cultivation.
- Institutional Strategy – You will play an important role in goal setting and strategy for our entire development team. This involves work on forecasting and grant calendar development, collaboration with finance staff to identify funding gaps, and efforts to rank potential opportunities based on fit and organizational priorities.
Required Qualifications
- 4 – 6 years of fundraising experience with at least two years in a grant writing role.
- Exceptional writing skills.
- Ability to synthesize program design, needs, and impact into clear, persuasive narrative.
- Excellent interpersonal skills; initiates and enjoys communication with funders and internal staff.
- Working knowledge of general grants management practices in a nonprofit environment.
- Strong research skills; ability to navigate online directories and databases with ease.
- Meticulous attention to detail.
- Positive, solutions-oriented approach to problem-solving.
- Effective project and people management skills – ability to work independently and across multiple program teams.
- Demonstrated time management skills, including the ability to work on multiple projects and prioritize deadlines
- Proficiency with standard office technology/software and web applications.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with program design and evaluation
- Experience with CRMs
- General understanding of criminal/social justice issues
Applying
The position will be paid $75,000 – $80,000, depending on experience. The benefits that come with working at Impact Justice include medical, dental, and FSA plans; significant vacation and wellness leave; and immediate vesting in our 401K with a generous match. This is a full-time, salaried position. We would prefer that the candidate be located in one of our office locations: Washington DC, Oakland, CA, or Los Angeles, CA office. The Senior Grant Writer will work under a hybrid schedule with two in-office days per week.
COVID-19 Vaccination is a condition of employment for all Impact Justice employees. We require employees to be fully vaccinated and up to date per the CDC guidance.
If this all sounds like a good fit for you, please send your resume and a cover letter explaining why you are particularly interested in the role and why we should be particularly interested in you! You can send this to SeniorGrantWriter@impactjustice.org. Please have the subject line of the email read “[Your Last Name], [Your First Name] Application for Senior Grant Writer.
We will be reaching out to those candidates we are prepared to interview within the month following the application deadline of March 20, 2023. The position will remain open until it has been filled.
Hiring Process
Elements of the Impact Justice hiring process may include phone screen interviews, candidate exercises (written or presentations), Zoom interviews, in-person interviews, and reference checks. Candidates are welcome to ask for alternative arrangements in the process if needed (for example, conducting an interview via phone rather than Zoom), Impact Justice will do our best to accommodate reasonable requests. Please communicate any alternative arrangements requested via the hiring email listed above.