Executive Director of Federal and State Grants and Programs

Summary

The purpose of the Executive Director of Federal & State Grants, Foundation Grants and Sponsored Programs position is the executive lead for Jackson College’s enterprise strategy to secure new and emerging federal, state and other grant opportunities that advance the College’s Strategic Agenda and strengthen institutional capacity. The Executive Director serves as the College’s central authority for grant intelligence, grant pipeline development, proposal leadership, grant development, proposal quality control, and disciplined handoff to post‑award functions to protect compliance and results.

This position provides strategic leadership, proposal development, and institutional oversight for grant pursuits and outcomes.

A critical function of this role is early detection and rapid mobilization around competitive public funding opportunities, including but not limited to U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of Education (including FIPSE and other discretionary programs), U.S. Department of Agriculture, NSF, DOJ, HHS, and State of Michigan grant programs relevant to community colleges and workforce/transfer priorities, and other programs.

This role also leads the development of Legislative Directed Spending (LDS) and Congressional Designated Spending (CDS) requests at the direction of the President.

• Federal and state grants intelligence and early‑warning system
• Build and maintain a disciplined, always‑current federal and state grants pipeline that emphasizes new and emerging opportunities, including forecasting likely NOFO/FOA releases and preparing the College in advance.
• Monitor Federal and State sources daily/weekly (agency sites, grants.gov, state portals, listservs, and funder communications) for new and revised opportunities and amendments; translate opportunities into clear internal “decision briefs.”
• Maintain an enterprise grants calendar with anticipated release dates, technical‑assistance events, deadlines, internal milestones, and required registrations.
• Establish an internal grants‑alert system that routes opportunities to the right leaders quickly and ensures executive awareness of “high‑value” opportunities (e.g., major capacity‑building and sector pathway grants).
• Track major federal programs relevant to community colleges and workforce/transfer priorities (including DOL community college capacity programs such as Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grants) and keep a running readiness checklist (partnerships, evidence base, program model, evaluation, budget framework).
• Track and interpret state‑level grant opportunities (Michigan and regional) with the same discipline, especially those tied to economic development, workforce training, public utilities, infrastructure, and post‑secondary attainment.
• Enterprise grant strategy and governance
• Lead the College‑wide strategy for pursuing Federal and State grant funding, as well as private foundation grants, aligned to Jackson College priorities and capacity.
• Establish and manage a consistent go/no‑go process that evaluates alignment, impact, staffing capacity, risk, match requirements, facilities/technology needs, procurement constraints, and sustainability after the grant ends.
• Prepare regular pipeline dashboards for Executive Council summarizing: active opportunities, likely submissions, staffing requirements, match/indirect implications, competitive posture, and award outcomes.
• Serve as the College clearinghouse for federal/state grant pursuits to avoid duplication, manage reputational risk, and ensure that what is pursued is what the College can deliver.
• Proposal leadership and writing excellence
• Serve as lead writer and content strategist for complex, high‑value federal and state proposals. Provide direction and final quality control for all submissions. Convene and direct cross‑functional proposal teams (academic leaders, workforce leaders, finance, institutional effectiveness, student services, IT, facilities, legal/procurement, marketing) to produce timely, complete, high‑quality submissions.
• Partner with finance to develop compliant budgets, match commitments, indirect costs, staffing plans,…