Interim Grants Administrator (Contractor; Immediate Need)

About the Alliance for Early Success:

The Alliance for Early Success has been a grant-making intermediary since 2005.  In the current grant year, approximately $13 million will be re-granted to more than 100 organizations, including early childhood advocacy grantees in every state and the District of Columbia, and more than two dozen national technical experts who provide “responsive support” to state grantees in their advocacy.

The Alliance uses Submittable as its grants management system.

Why We’re Hiring:

The Alliance for Early Success continually examines our proposal process to ensure that it is not burdensome for grantees, allowing them to focus on the work, not make the case for the work. We are seeking an experienced contractor to run—and improve—our grants operations. The ideal candidate will act as the grants administrator, keeping current grants on track with care and precision while strengthening the application through completion (or final reporting) so that it is faster, clearer, more secure, and easier for grantees and staff to navigate.

This contractor will report to the Deputy Director of Staff, Equity, and Culture and work closely with our Advocacy and Impact team, who partners directly with grantees. You’ll also coordinate regularly with our external finance team, who processes grant payments.

What You’ll Do:

In this fractional grants administrator role, you will run the day-to-day grantmaking operations so our program leads can focus on strategy, relationships, and content.

Key responsibilities include:

• Keep current grants on track: keep trackers accurate, manage deadlines, complete required documentation, coordinate progress reports, and support clean closeouts.
• Run a smooth grant cycle: partner with program leads to set a clear timeline (steps + owners), configure the application and review process, and document decisions and approvals consistently.
• Strengthen budgeting + funding tracking: track what’s committed and paid, which funding sources support which grants, and keep records aligned with our external finance team so program and finance views stay in sync and easy to access.
• Right-size due diligence and fraud prevention: implement early verification steps (eligibility, entity validation, payment setup) that protect the Alliance without creating unnecessary burden for applicants.
• Improve the applicant and grantee experience: look for ways to make the process easier and clearer—fewer steps, plain-language guidance, and predictable updates—paired with responsive, relational support so grantees experience the Alliance as organized, transparent, and supportive throughout the lifecycle.
• Support fast, secure payments: prepare and process grant agreements, and coordinate with our external finance team to distribute funds quickly and reliably.
• Build reporting we can rely on: working with the Advocacy and Impact team, create progress reporting that supports learning and impact storytelling while meeting compliance needs; keep grant files audit-ready with consistent naming and documentation. Prepare the grant docket for Board approval in June and September.
• Manage the grants platform: maintain and improve our online grants system (currently Submittable), including forms, permissions, automated steps, and message templates.

What Success Looks Like:

Within the first 30–60 days, you’ve strengthened operational clarity and consistency: active grants have clear status, pay outs are up to date, deadlines are met, and communications and records are easy to find and trust. Within 90–120 days, we are ready to run the next cycle with a clean, repeatable process: a clear timeline, configured workflows, consistent templates, and reporting/compliance mechanics established early, creating steady follow-through all cycle long.

Ideal Background:

We’re looking for someone who has run grants operations inside a grantmaking organization and can step in quickly to add immediate value. You listen closely, track details accurately, and keep many moving pieces organized—especially when there are multiple grants, deadlines, and programs in play.

You like clear steps, you write things down, and you make it easy for others to follow the process. Just as important, you can work smoothly across a small organization—keeping people aligned, clarifying owners and deadlines, and driving follow-through. You’re comfortable with volume and complexity, and you build trust through clear communication, timely updates, and respectful, responsive support as a point of contact for staff, grantees, and external partners across our network.

This opportunity might be a good fit for you if you have:

• Demonstrated experience running grantmaking operations end-to-end in a fund/regranting context
• A track record of managing multi-program grant portfolio—keeping timelines, payments, documentation, and communications consistent and accurate across the full grant lifecycle
• Reliable prioritization and sound judgment to sort what needs attention first, manage trade-offs, and keep work moving.
• Solid budget tracking and documentation habits, coordinate closely with finance, and keep trackers clean, current, and easy to follow.
• Experience building or improving end-to-end grant cycles (application → review → award → payment → reporting → closeout)
• Clear writing skills and can translate requirements into plain-language guidance and simple step-by-step instructions for grantees and staff.
• Strong fluency in grant management platforms (Submittable is a plus), and proficient in Office 365
• Comfort working with multiple internal stakeholders in a small, remote team

Engagement Details:

• Type: Contractor (interim / fractional)
• Start Date: Immediate start preferred
• Hours: 10 hours/week guaranteed; may scale up during the first 30 days and peak windows, not to exceed 25 hours/week.
• Duration: 6 months, with potential to extend
• Location: Remote (U.S. time zones)

How to Apply:

Please submit:

1. Your Response Document: a short note describing (1) your relevant experience, with a focus on any role(s) you played improving grant systems, if available; (2) grantmaking systems/tools you’ve used (Submittable strongly preferred; comparable systems welcome); and (3) your availability and service rate.
2. Your Resume
3. Optional but welcome: a redacted sample of a grants workflow, tracker, playbook, or grantee-facing guidance you created

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis with a final deadline of February 19.