Grants Management Associate

The Opportunity 

The Grants Management team oversees the policies and procedures of grantmaking for the foundation. This includes legal compliance, review of grantee financials, management of grants budgeting, intake of grant requests, payments, and reporting. Grants Management also provides support to the foundation’s programs and senior management to aid in organizational planning and learning about its grantmaking portfolios.

The addition of a Grants Management Associate will make the Grants Management team a two-person team that creates systems and practices that support programs and grantees in service of Surdna’s mission, allowing for creativity, responsiveness, and learning. Grants Management works with the grants programs and senior management to maintain a team approach to grantmaking at Surdna, and support collaboration across the foundation’s three grantmaking areas.

The Grants Management Associate will report to the Director of Grants Management and will provide ongoing support and collaboration with the foundation’s grants programs. They will share responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the grantmaking process, from grant intake through payments, reporting, and grant closeout, and serve as an important resource to foundation staff and grant applicants.

Candidate Profile

We recognize that there is a spectrum of lived and professional experience that will set candidates up for success in this role. While no one candidate will have every experience outlined in the position description, ideal candidates will display the following professional and personal qualities, skills, and characteristics:

Administrative and Organizational Excellence 

  • Demonstrates precision and consistency in managing grant records, payments, agreements, and reports through systems like Fluxx, Egnyte, and Smartsheet, ensuring compliance and audit readiness.
  • Maintains organized and up-to-date grant documentation across multiple platforms, ensuring accuracy, accessibility, and adherence to internal policies and audit requirements.
  • Prioritizes multiple deadlines effectively while maintaining attention to detail and upholding the foundation’s standards of quality and integrity.

Communication and Relationship Management 

  • Communicates clearly, respectfully, and proactively with grantees, colleagues, and partners, tailoring messages to ensure understanding and alignment across stakeholders.
  • Provides exceptional service to grantees, balancing empathy and professionalism when addressing inquiries, resolving issues, or clarifying processes.
  • Builds and sustains collaborative relationships across departments, fostering trust, accessibility, and shared accountability in grantmaking operations. 

Adaptability and Time Management

  • Adjusts smoothly to shifting priorities, program needs, and grant cycles while maintaining focus on key deliverables and organizational goals.
  • Demonstrates flexibility and resilience in a dynamic grantmaking environment, adapting to new systems, evolving deadlines, and competing demands.
  • Organizes and structures daily, monthly, and annual responsibilities independently, ensuring timely completion of high-volume tasks without sacrificing quality.

Accountability and Initiative 

  • Takes ownership of assigned responsibilities and proactively identifies opportunities to improve grant systems, workflows, and team processes.
  • Anticipates potential challenges in the grant lifecycle and collaborates with the Director of Grants Management and program staff to develop practical solutions.
  • Upholds confidentiality, accuracy, and ethical integrity in all work, building credibility and trust with staff, grantees, and auditors alike.

More specifically, candidates should expect the role to center around the following goals:

Daily

  • Grantee and staff questions
    • Important to be on top of Inbox and Slack
  • Maintain Grants Info inbox: emails from grantees requesting help and respond to inquiries.
    • Voicemail requests regarding inquiries are also received through Zoom.
  • Confirmation emails for staff match grants – email to grantee when check is sent.
  • Grant System (Fluxx) maintenance and clean-up
  • Review and fill out audit requests from grantees
  • Payments
    • Send out payment instruction requests after report approvals
  • Amendments
  • Help with Board Discretionary grants and Staff Match grants 

Monthly/Quarterly

  • Help send out grant invites.
  • Help generate and send out grant agreements.
  • Help generate quarterly program reports.
  • Upload internal audit materials to Fluxx card: executed grant agreement and payment instruction forms.
  • Shared drive (Egnyte) Folder/Document Clean-up and maintenance.

Yearly

  • Conflicts of Interests (COI):
    • Collecting and reviewing
    • Uploading relevant COI info to org cards in Fluxx (Disclosures)
    • Uploading COIs in Egnyte
  • Requests from the finance team around audit help
    • Yearly letters to grantees that the auditors ask us to send
    • Provide grant and report information as requested
  • Candid report

In addition, strong candidates will offer:

  • A minimum of 3 years’ work experience in a relevant field, interest in the nonprofit sector, and working knowledge of the grantmaking process is highly preferred.
  • Previous nonprofit or foundation experience is a plus.
  • An understanding and commitment to social justice and building inclusive practices to effect structural change.
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office and general comfort with using or learning additional software tools such as Fluxx, Candid, Smartsheet, and Slack.
  • Excellent analytical thinking, writing, speaking, and editing skills.
  • A strong team player with a diplomatic approach to working with others.
  • Commitment to applying skills broadly within Surdna in support of the foundation’s mission.
Compensation and Benefits

The salary range for the Grants Management Associate is $85,000 – $110,000, commensurate with experience.

This position is a full-time position, and Surdna offers a leading and holistic total compensation package that includes salary and benefits. All full-time staff are eligible for Surdna’s generous benefits package including:

  • 100% employer-funded medical, dental, and vision coverage, life insurance, and long and short-term disability from the first day of employment for individuals and dependents
  • Through Maven Clinic, Surdna provides up to $100,000 lifetime coverage for family-building and reproductive health, including fertility treatments, adoption, and surrogacy
  • Retirement plan with an overall employer contribution of 12% per annum of gross salary, regardless of employee contribution
  • Flexible time off policy that empowers staff to take time as needed for rest, self-care, and personal responsibilities
  • 8 wellness days per year
  • 12 paid holidays, including four extended holiday breaks with foundation-wide closure to encourage restorative time off
  • All employees receive a Foundation-issued cell phone
  • Home office equipment allowance
  • Employer-funded transit contribution of $140/month
  • Access to professional development opportunities (capacity and financial support) and tuition reimbursement
  • Fully paid parent leave (maternal and paternal) during the new child’s first year (born into the family or adopted)
  • Financial relocation support
  • To encourage community giving, Surdna matches employee charitable contributions at a 5:1 ratio, with a minimum $100 donation eligible for matching
Contact 

DSG | Koya has been exclusively retained for this engagement, which is being led by Dina Tyler. Submit a compelling cover letter and resume by filling out our Talent Profile. All inquiries are strictly confidential.

DSG | Koya is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals living with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual living with a disability and need assistance expressing interest online, please email NonprofitSearchOps@divsearch.com. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.

The Surdna Foundation is an equal opportunity employer and considers all applications without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, disability, socio-economic status, marital or veteran status, pregnancy status, or sexual orientation.

About the Surdna Foundation

The Surdna Foundation was founded by John E. Andrus in 1917, and its mission is to advance social and racial justice in U.S. communities. The Foundation has assets of more than $1 billion, an annual grantmaking budget of over $60 million, and a staff of 27. It is governed by a Board of Directors that includes fifth-generation members of the Andrus family, as well as community members. The Foundation pursues its mission by providing grants in the areas of arts and culture, environmental justice, economic inclusion, and youth justice, as well as through its internal operations and investment practices. In addition, Surdna seeks to achieve three foundation-wide racial equity outcomes: wealth creation, democratic participation, and accountability of institutions.

The Foundation strives to exemplify its core values—justice, equity, inclusion, respect, and humility—in every aspect of its work. Surdna’s staff contribute to an organizational culture of collaboration, curiosity, and bold thinking.

Surdna is a hybrid workplace where 2-3 days per week are spent together collaboratively with other Foundation staff and partners.

Learn more about the Surdna Foundation at https://surdna.org/.

About DSG | Koya

DSG | Koya, a DSG Global company, is the nation’s premier search firm dedicated to mission-driven leadership. Since its founding in 2004, DSG | Koya has had an exclusive focus on mission-driven clients and was founded on the belief that the right leader can transform an organization and have a deep and measurable impact on our world. DSG | Koya works with nonprofits & NGOs, responsible businesses, and social enterprises in local communities and around the world.

DSG Global is consistently recognized by Forbes on its top 10 list of “America’s Best Executive Recruiting Firms” and is an industry leader in recruiting transformational leaders for a changing world. The firm is deliberately different in its approach, with best-in-class teams who have decades of experience in cultivating inclusive leaders, understanding the dimensions of diversity, and building equitable teams.

Learn more about DSG | Koya via the firm’s website.