Director, Proposal Development

Summary

Join Jobs for the Future (JFF) as their new Director, Proposal Development! This crucial role will be a strategic partner in coordinating all proposal development efforts, collaborating with colleagues across the organization. You will leverage your expertise in six and seven-figure proposals to significantly impact JFF's fundraising. This is a new position offering the chance to shape JFF's fundraising future, leading and supporting the development of various funding proposals. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in proposal development, ideally within the education/workforce development sector, and possess strong communication, project management, and collaborative skills. JFF offers a competitive salary, comprehensive benefits, and flexible work arrangements.

Requirements

• Bring a depth of experience leading and developing concepts and proposals to private and public funders in collaboration with project teams and subject matter experts, ideally within the workforce development and education ecosystem (New hires at the Director II level at JFF typically bring 12+ years of experience, through a combination of full time, part time, internship, and/or freelance positions)
• Have experience working on six- and seven-figure corporate and foundation proposals that have led to secured grants
• Prioritize professional development and other learning opportunities to stay current with advances in the field and to share relevant trends to inform your team’s work
• Be able to build new tools and systems, identify performance gaps, and implement improvement initiatives to increase effectiveness, innovation, and quality of proposal development
• Have excellent, audience-centered written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to synthesize and communicate complex issues to external audiences
• Have superb skills in both developing original content and editing others’ writing, with an outstanding attention to detail
• Be a strategic, creative, and critical thinker; Be able to develop, recognize, and support ideas and strategies to advance team or project goals
• Have demonstrated strong ability to manage up and laterally, work in teams, and build effective and collaborative work cultures, while making substantive contributions to the work and meeting specified performance goals and outcomes
• Possess high energy and passion for JFF’s mission and North Star, and the ability to apply JFF’s core values to all areas of your work
• Be energized by stewarding JFF’s inclusion, belonging and well-being values and practices within your day-to-day work
• Value building positive and collaborative relationships with others, including people whose identities and backgrounds differ from your own

Responsibilities

• Deliver impactful results through effective proposal development, project management and relationship building
• Lead and support on assigned proposal processes, including the writing, editing, submission, and oversight of all proposal documentation and compliance with submission requirements, ensuring high-quality proposals
• Collaborate closely with Business Unit leaders on proposal design and development and leverage your field knowledge and expertise to help shape narratives that compellingly present JFF’s approach and impact, and that align with funder priorities
• Manage proposal processes in response to funder requests or competitive RFPs from project kickoff through submission
• Monitor proposal outcomes to identify effective strategies and to improve JFF’s proposal development process
• Identify opportunities to improve processes and systems needed to effectively manage the proposal life cycle
• Implement best practices in proposal writing and development and build the capacity of colleagues across the organization as needed
• Contribute to the Development Team’s boilerplate library with pertinent information from proposal submissions
• Support relationships with prospects and funders throughout the proposal development process as well as support the ongoing identification of new grant and contract opportunities
• Build and maintain close working relationships with Business Unit leaders, Business Partners, and others, for the purposes of developing high quality proposals
• Identify, convene, and manage internal proposal teams comprised of Program, Finance, Development Team staff members, and others, to ensure appropriate engagement and collaboration in the development of high-quality, compelling submissions

Benefits

• Gratifying work experience
• Competitive salaries
• Comprehensive benefits program
• Flexibility and choice as core values in order to support people wherever they are in their lives and careers
• JFF has offices in Boston, Oakland, and Washington, DC; employees are welcome to use JFF office space to work in-person or hybrid, or completely remote
• Annual home office stipend to all regular full-time and part-time employees
• New employees receive office equipment as needed