Federal Grant Writer & Specialist

About the role

At Unleashing Leaders, we empower organizations to overcome barriers and achieve meaningful results through tailored leadership, strategy, operations, and change management solutions. The Grant Writer & Specialist researches federal funding opportunities, develops compelling and compliant grant proposals, and supports post-award grant activities. This role combines grant writing, business process improvement, research, data analysis, and cross-functional collaboration to translate complex requirements into actionable processes and improve the efficiency and quality of grant-related work.

Responsibilities

• Research and identify relevant federal grant opportunities aligned with client and organizational priorities.
• Monitor federal funding announcements, Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs), agency priorities, eligibility requirements, deadlines, and other applicable guidance.
• Analyze grant requirements and translate complex federal guidelines into clear, actionable requirements for internal teams and clients.
• Lead or support the development of federal grant proposals, including narratives, statements of need, project descriptions, goals and objectives, work plans, performance measures, evaluation plans, and other required components.
• Develop clear, persuasive, evidence-based grant narratives that align organizational priorities with federal funding objectives.
• Coordinate with subject matter experts, program leaders, finance teams, data analysts, and other stakeholders to gather information required for proposals.
• Develop and maintain grant writing templates, content libraries, proposal tools, and other resources to improve consistency and efficiency.
• Review proposals for completeness, accuracy, consistency, compliance, and alignment with solicitation requirements prior to submission.
• Support the administration and coordination of awarded federal grants, including tracking requirements, deliverables, milestones, reporting obligations, and deadlines.
• Maintain organized grant documentation and supporting materials to facilitate reporting, compliance, audits, and future grant development.
• Support the collection, compilation, and organization of program, financial, and performance data needed for grant applications and reporting.
• Track changes to federal grant requirements, policies, regulations, and reporting expectations and communicate relevant updates to stakeholders.
• Assist with monitoring grant performance against established goals, timelines, budgets, and performance measures.
• Support preparation of federal grant reports and other required submissions.
• Identify potential compliance, process, documentation, or performance gaps and work with stakeholders to develop solutions.
• Evaluate current grant development and administration processes to identify inefficiencies, redundancies, risks, and opportunities for improvement.
• Document current-state ("as-is") grant processes, workflows, roles, requirements, and pain points.
• Develop and recommend standardized processes, tools, templates, and procedures that improve grant development and management.
• Apply structured problem-solving and process improvement techniques to improve the quality, efficiency, and consistency of grant-related work.
• Gather and analyze qualitative and quantitative information through interviews, observation, document review, data collection, and other appropriate methods.
• Translate complex policies, grant requirements, and business needs into actionable operational processes and requirements.
• Develop process documentation, standard operating procedures, workflow diagrams, checklists, and other tools that support consistent execution.
• Monitor process outcomes and use data and stakeholder feedback to identify opportunities for continuous improvement.

Qualifications

Required:

• Bachelor's degree in English, communications, public administration, business, nonprofit management, public policy, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• 3–5 years of relevant experience in federal grant writing, grant management, proposal development, business process improvement, program management, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience researching and responding to federal grant opportunities, NOFOs, RFPs, or similar funding solicitations.
• Strong federal grant writing and editing skills with the ability to develop clear, persuasive, and compliant proposals.
• Ability to interpret complex requirements and translate them into clear, actionable processes and deliverables.
• Strong research, analytical, organizational, and critical-thinking skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to manage multiple deadlines simultaneously.
• Ability to work independently in a virtual environment while collaborating effectively with cross-functional teams.

Preferred:

• Experience with federal agencies, federal grants, or government-funded programs.
• Experience with post-award grant administration, compliance, performance reporting, or monitoring.
• Knowledge of federal grant regulations, policies, and grant lifecycle processes