Senior Director, Grants Management

The Senior Director of Grants Management provides strategic leadership and oversight of Catholic Social Services’ grants portfolio, ensuring alignment between funding, program strategy, and financial sustainability. This role leads the full grants lifecycle, including pre-award activities such as opportunity identification, funder research, budget preparation, and proposal development and submission. This role is also responsible for post-award including award setup, compliance monitoring, financial tracking, reporting, and closeout.

The Senior Director collaborates closely with program leadership and data teams to ensure grant-funded activities are well-designed, measurable, and fully compliant with funder requirements, and works in coordination with the development team to align grant strategy with broader fundraising priorities and organizational messaging.

This role is responsible for identifying, pursuing, and managing institutional funding opportunities from public and private grantors, while the development team leads individual, corporate, and philanthropic giving strategies. The Senior Director will build and maintain strong relationships with grant funders, oversee grant budgeting in partnership with finance, and ensure accurate and timely reporting across the grants portfolio. They will monitor performance and financial outcomes and provide regular reporting and analysis to leadership.

In addition, the role will strengthen internal grants management infrastructure, including policies, systems, and cross-functional processes, to ensure consistency, accountability, and long-term sustainability of funding that advances the mission and impact of CSS.

Support the development and execution of the organization’s grants strategy, ensuring alignment with program priorities, capacity, and financial sustainability. Identify funding risks and concentration across the portfolio and proactively plan for renewals, replacements, and transitions. Collaborate with senior leadership and the development team to assess funding opportunities and align grant pursuits with organizational goals and operational realities.

Lead pre-award activities, including funding opportunity identification, funder research, and pipeline development in coordination with program, development, and leadership teams. Oversee proposal development, including narrative development, budget preparation, and cross-functional coordination to ensure submissions are competitive, accurate, and aligned with program design and organizational strategy. Manage submission processes and timelines across multiple funders and platforms.

Oversee post-award grant management across a diverse portfolio, including federal, state, local, and private funding sources. Serve as the grants administrator for institutional funding secured by the development team, ensuring appropriate setup, tracking, compliance, and reporting. Ensure timely award setup, including budget alignment, documentation, and internal communication of grant requirements. Monitor grant performance, deliverables, and timelines to ensure compliance with funder expectations.

Coordinate reporting activities, including programmatic and financial reports, and support grant closeout processes.

Ensure compliance with all grant requirements, including Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200), allowable cost principles, and reporting standards. Maintain strong internal controls related to grant management, including documentation, approvals, and audit readiness. Support Single Audits, funder monitoring, and site visits by coordinating documentation and responses. Identify and mitigate compliance and financial risks across the grants portfolio.

Partner closely with finance to align grant budgets with actual expenditures, monitor burn rates and variances, and support revenue recognition and receivables tracking. Collaborate with program leadership to ensure staffing models, service delivery,…