Grants Manager

For more than 50 years, Literacy Mid-South (LMS) has remained committed to one core belief: literacy changes lives. Founded in 1974 to help adults strengthen essential reading skills, LMS has expanded to serve learners of all ages across the Mid-South.

Our mission is to ensure that individuals and families have access to the literacy skills needed to thrive academically, economically, and personally. Through direct programming and regional collaboration, LMS works to break cycles of limited literacy and expand opportunity for generations to come.

At LMS, literacy is not simply an educational outcome—it is a pathway to empowerment and long-term community transformation. We are a passionate team of educators, advocates, partners, volunteers, and community leaders working together to create a future where everyone has abundant opportunities through the freedom literacy provides.

We are seeking a creative and results-oriented professional who combines strong grant-writing expertise with strategic thinking and relationship-building skills. The ideal candidate is an innovative problem-solver who can identify opportunities, manage complex projects, communicate compelling impact stories, and collaborate effectively across teams and community partners.

This individual thrives in a mission-driven environment, enjoys turning ideas into action, and is passionate about creating sustainable solutions that expand educational opportunities and strengthen communities.

• Research, identify, and pursue grant opportunities aligned with organizational priorities.
• Lead the development, writing, submission, and management of grant proposals and reports.
• Maintain grant calendars and ensure compliance with funder requirements and deadlines.
• Collaborate with program and finance teams to develop narratives, budgets, outcomes, and evaluation plans.
• Monitor grant performance and support departments in meeting reporting and deliverable requirements.
• Collaborate with program and finance teams to develop narratives, budgets, outcomes, and evaluation plans.

• Assess existing programs to identify strengths, gaps, opportunities, and areas for growth.
• Develop recommendations using data, stakeholder feedback, research, and best practices.
• Partner with staff and stakeholders to design new initiatives, pilot programs, and service expansion opportunities.
• Create project frameworks, implementation plans, logic models, and sustainability strategies.
• Ensure new initiatives align with organizational goals, community needs, and strategic priorities.

• Support data collection, analysis, and reporting across programs.
• Strengthen systems that improve data quality, consistency, and accessibility.
• Collaborate with leadership to enhance outcome measurement and impact reporting.
• Use data insights to inform funding proposals, strategic planning, and program improvements.

• Develop compelling narratives that communicate LMS's mission, impact, and outcomes.
• Gather success stories, testimonials, and performance data for funders and stakeholders.
• Support consistent messaging across grant proposals, reports, presentations, and external communications.
• Help strengthen LMS's organizational story and value proposition.

• Develop and manage partnership agreements and Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs).
• Support strategic partnerships that advance literacy outcomes and organizational goals.
• Collaborate with schools, nonprofits, businesses, and community stakeholders to identify opportunities for innovation and growth.

• Monitor trends in literacy, education, philanthropy, workforce development, and nonprofit innovation.
• Research emerging funding opportunities and evidence-based practices.
• Facilitate strategic conversations and innovation planning efforts.
• Maintain confidentiality of sensitive organizational information.
• Contribute to a culture of collaboration, accountability, creativity, and continuous improvement.

Bachelor's degree in nonprofit management, education, communications, public administration, business, or a related field.

Master's degree in a related field.

• Three (3) to five (5) years of experience in grant writing, fundraising,…