Job Listing: Grants and Operations Manager, Invest Appalachia

Grants and Operations Manager Position
Invest Appalachia

About Invest Appalachia

Invest Appalachia (IA) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit regional community investment organization, designed to accelerate and expand community investment across Central Appalachia. We build on our region’s existing strengths, working side-by-side with partners who are rooted in place and understand their community. IA’s approach prioritizes long-term climate resilience, equity, and community wealth. We connect community-centered projects and businesses to creative and flexible capital, addressing common obstacles that prevent investment-worthy projects from becoming investment-ready. We support economic diversification and market growth that is locally-rooted, inclusive, and sustainable, while increasing the region’s overall capacity and investability. Our goal? Helping to finance Appalachia’s transition to a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable economic future. 

As a regionally representative fund, IA leverages deep relationships and investments from our partners in philanthropy, community finance, and community economic development. Our investment strategy, pipeline, impact goals, and governance are guided and grounded by place-based community stakeholders. We are committed to a strategy that takes the best of impact investing and makes it work for Appalachia – putting impact first. We are committed to a process and structure that is rooted in our founding values: participatory engagement, democratic governance, and transparency, with a focus on increasing racial, gender, & socioeconomic equity, economic self-sufficiency, and local wealth-building. Invest Appalachia works across the Appalachian counties of Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina and Tennessee, aiming to make our region’s collective potential greater than the sum of its parts. 

Position Summary 

The Grants and Operations Manager (or similar title) will be responsible for creating and maintaining the systems to manage IA’s grant operations and impact tracking, and will lead or support activities including “funds in” (grant writing, grant management and reporting to funders), “funds out” (grant paperwork, financial tracking, and grantee reporting), and impact tracking and management for the organization. Invest Appalachia is a young organization, and the person hired for this position will play a critical role in the development of the organization, its capacity, strategies, and operations during this pivotal growth stage. The Grants and Operations Manager is directly accountable to the Invest Appalachia Chief Executive Officer and, by extension, the Invest Appalachia Board of Directors. 

IA is a regional intermediary that both fundraises (“funds in”) and deploys (“funds out”) philanthropic dollars for community investment projects in the form of various flexible Catalytic Capital tools. This role would manage the administrative processes for both “funds in” and “funds out”, supporting IA’s financial development and management systems. Overall, the Grants and Operations Manager will work closely with the CEO and Director of Community Impact to accomplish the organization’s goals. 

Responsibilities: 

Fundraising & Development (“Funds In” – 25% of time)

• Support IA’s fundraising efforts from federal and philanthropic funding sources in the form of grants, PRIs, and donations for IA’s catalytic capital pool, including leading grant writing and application development processes.
• Research and identify grant funding opportunities suitable for IA.
• Manage grant reporting responsibilities to IA’s funders, including reporting calendars, financial reporting, narrative reporting, compliance/audit, and other funder requirements.
• Facilitate coordination and communication on multi-partner grant projects to ensure that grants are processed and administered in a timely manner and according to grant requirements
• Manage financial tracking of deployed and available grant funds for Catalytic Capital, including reconciliation with IA’s organizational financials and preparation of appropriate reports for the Board and Finance Committee. 

Grants Administration (“Funds Out” – 20% of time) 

• Create the grants management system for both grants secured to IA and awarded/deployed to IA grantees. This may include the research, adoption, and migration of existing information to a central grants management system.
• Related to the bullet above, develop and maintain databases and systems for recording and tracking Catalytic Capital proposals, awards, and related trends and insights within the grantee pipeline; create and distribute dashboard and special reports, studies, summaries, and analyses, as required.
• Develop and implement administrative procedures and controls for IA’s grant application process; provide assistance in screening IA grant inquiries.
• Note: Position will not be responsible for making formal grant recommendations or decisions, but may inform or discuss recommendations with the CEO and Director of Community Impact.
• Manage all due diligence, grant agreement, and administrative activities for outgoing grants to ensure compliance for IA’s grant commitments.
• Track repayment expectations and actuals for catalytic Capital awards that include repayment terms.
• Work with the Director of Community Impact to maintain alignment of Catalytic Capital deployment with Community Advisory Council (CAC) priorities.
• Ensure compliance with Invest Appalachia policies and guidelines as well as all IRS and Federal guidelines related to the grantmaking process. 

Impact Tracking and Management (30% of time)

• Play a central role (working with the Director of Community Impact) in the implementation and management of an impact measurement and data collection system that is directly informed by IA’s existing impact evaluation framework.
• Design and manage data collection and measurement tools
• Collect, compile, analyze, and present impact data for internal and external audiences, including to inform organizational learning and external reporting/annual impact report.
• Work with the Director of Community Impact and the Community Advisory Council to design and carry out targeted priority area evaluations.
• Work with the Director of Community Impact to ensure IA’s impacts and outcome measurements are in alignment with the expectations of the Community Advisory Council and the Board of Directors 

Internal Operations and Other Possible Activities (25% of time)

• Support internal administrative activities related to IA’s contractors, including contracting, ensuring scope of work requirements are met, processing invoices, and similar management functions.
• Participate in the planning and facilitation of Board and CAC meetings and retreats, including logistical coordination of in-person meetings and meeting notes support.
• Support communications activities, including periodic newsletters, social media, storytelling, and other external functions.
• Support pipeline intake and project screening in alignment with the expectations of the Community Advisory Council and the Board of Directors. 

Position Qualifications: 

The ideal candidate will have the following qualities and qualifications: 

• Experience: 
  • At least 5 years of experience in a related field or role(s) 
  • Substantial programmatic planning, project management, and budgetary responsibilities including fundraising, re-granting and/or contract management 
  • Familiarity with grantmaking operations and community-based philanthropy best practices 
  • Related advanced degree preferred but not required 
• Knowledge:
  • Deep understanding of broader regional context, challenges, and opportunities, with big picture vision that aligns with IA 
  • Strong understanding of the grant life cycle process including grant seeking, grant writing, grant coordination, compliance, and financial management of grant funded organizations 
  • Solid grasp of concepts such as trust-based philanthropy, community finance, and impact investing
  • A systems-level thinker with proven ability to understand how complex, integrated systems work and how to make change within them from multiple angles
  • Knowledge of federal, state and/or community funding sources and mechanisms
  • Knowledge of budgeting and fiscal management principles and procedures 
  • Knowledge of current developments/trends in philanthropy and community development
• Skills:
  • Strong analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills
  • Tech savvy, proficient in MS Office and Google Workspace, advanced computer skills
  • Experience in grants management systems and software (e.g., Foundant, Sales Force, and others)
  • Ability to determine informational needs, to collect and analyze information, and to devise and develop statistical analyses and reports
  • Ability to analyze and interpret financial data and prepare financial reports, statements and/or projections
  • Ability to self‐direct, multi‐task, and direct and coordinate efforts by others
• Values:
  • Deep understanding of and commitment to IA’s cross-cutting goals of Equity, Community Wealth-Building, and Sustainability
  • Must be committed to the region we serve. The preferred candidate will live in Central Appalachia, but will have the ability to work remotely
  • Must be highly motivated, trustworthy, hard‐working, positive, a team‐player and dedicated to the mission of IA 

Position Terms: 

• Job title, role, and responsibilities may shift based on candidate experience, capacity, and performance.
• This is a fully remote, full-time (40 hr/week), salaried position. The ideal candidate will reside in the Central Appalachian region.
• Compensation will be determined based on candidate experience and qualifications, and comparable to manager-level positions at non-profits in the Appalachian region ($60,000 minimum).
• Benefits include employer-provided health insurance with vision and dental, 10 holidays per year, 20 days of vacation/paid leave per year, and additional benefits.
• Technology and home/remote office stipend.
• Approximately 15% travel, primarily in-region, will be required (expenses covered).
• Remote work (from home and/or office space) is acceptable, ensuring basic professional standards are consistently met. IA currently has 2 small satellite offices in Asheville, NC and Hazard, KY. Regular overnight travel required within the region (5-10% of time). 

To Apply: 

To apply, send a resume, cover letter and 3 references to info@investappalachia.org with the subject line “Grants and Operations Manager.” For best consideration, apply by October 6, 2023. 

Candidates are assured that their applications will be handled with complete confidentiality and will only be viewed by members of the IA hiring committee, who will pledge confidentiality throughout the process. References will not be contacted until the candidate is in the final interview stage, and candidates will be notified prior to contacting references. 

The resume should be no more than two pages. The cover letter should be no more than two pages and should address the candidate’s experience and qualifications related to this position as well as their understanding of the role of the position in Invest Appalachia’s overall approach. The documents must be combined into a single PDF. 

Invest Appalachia works to foster a more just, inclusive, and equitable future in our organization, region, and beyond. Invest Appalachia is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Invest Appalachia does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, national origin, veteran status or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment and personnel decisions are made on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need.