Grants and Development Operations Manager

Read Better Be Better is a nonprofit organization based in Phoenix, Arizona, founded in 2014 as a response to the state's literacy crisis. Our mission is to equip youth with the skills to read and lead. Our vision is a world in which empowered communities demand equitable access to foundational skills. Our values are simple – Be Excellent, Be Kind!

About the role

Read Better Be Better is seeking a highly organized, mission-driven Development Manager to support fundraising, grant management, funder communications, and Development operations. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys creating structure, managing complex projects, tracking deadlines, improving systems, and moving important work forward across teams.

The Development Manager will manage an assigned fundraising portfolio while also serving as a key operational lead for grants, funding pipelines, reporting workflows, and cross-functional coordination. This role is both mission-centered and operations-heavy. The right candidate is deeply committed to literacy, education equity, and community impact, and enjoys the systems, tracking, writing, coordination, and follow-through that make fundraising work successful.

Responsibilities

• Manage an assigned portfolio of foundation, institutional, corporate, individual, multi-year, and other funding opportunities
• Own and maintain the grants calendar and funding pipeline, ensuring deadlines, reporting requirements, renewal opportunities, assigned owners, and follow-up actions are accurately tracked
• Coordinate grant and proposal workflows across the full grant lifecycle, including opportunity review, submission, compliance monitoring, reporting, stewardship, and renewal
• Write, edit, and project-manage grant proposals, sponsorship requests, renewal materials, donor communications, funder reports, and other Development-related materials
• Track portfolio performance, funding progress, proposal status, reporting deadlines, and revenue risks; prepare timely updates, summaries, and reports
• Coordinate with Development team members, grant-writing support, and cross-functional partners to support shared fundraising priorities, deadlines, and funder outcomes
• Research and identify prospective funding opportunities aligned with organizational priorities

The Development Manager will help keep Development work organized, timely, and moving forward. This includes managing deadlines, maintaining funding pipeline visibility, coordinating information from internal teams, supporting donor and funder communications, improving Development systems, and ensuring grants, reports, renewals, and follow-up items are completed accurately and on time.

Requirements

• Experience in nonprofit fundraising, grant writing, development operations, donor relations, project management, or a related field
• Experience managing complex projects, workflows, deadlines, or cross-functional processes with strong ownership and follow-through
• Experience writing, editing, coordinating, or supporting grants, proposals, reports, sponsorship requests, donor communications, or similar external-facing materials
• Experience using CRM systems, donor databases, project trackers, spreadsheets, or similar tools to manage records, deadlines, and activity tracking
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Strong organization, process management, attention to detail, and follow-through skills
• Ability to build and maintain professional relationships with donors, funders, partners, clients, volunteers, or other external stakeholders
• Commitment to Read Better Be Better's mission, vision, values, and equity-driven culture
• Valid Arizona driver's license, or ability to obtain prior to start
• Valid IVP fingerprint clearance card, or ability to obtain prior to start, and successful completion of a Department of Child Safety Central Registry check

Qualifications

Preferred:

• Five or more years of experience in nonprofit development, fundraising, grant writing, or a related field
• Experience managing a fundraising, grant, donor, sponsorship, sales, business development, or relationship-management portfolio
• Experience using Salesforce
• Experience with grant budgets, funder reporting, fundraising metrics, revenue tracking, or impact reporting
• Experience in nonprofit, education, youth-serving, or community-based organizations

Schedule

• Full-time position
• In-person at Read Better Be Better's Phoenix office
• Some work may take place at external events or community locations
• Occasional evening or weekend work may be required for fundraising activities, events, deadlines, or organizational priorities
• Work-from-Home Fridays

Pay

Salary Range: $57,500–$80,500/year

Benefits

• Generous Paid-Time Off and Paid Holidays
• Health, Dental, and Vision insurance with HSA plans available
• Short-Term Disability, Accident Plan and Life Insurance
• Professional Development
• Casual Dress Code at the office
• Sabbatical Benefit Policy

See The Full-Time Employee Benefits One-Page Summary