Grants Administrator

The Open Space Institute (OSI) is a national leader in land protection and creating connections to nature and the outdoors for all people. Over the past five decades, OSI has protected more than 2.3 million at-risk, irreplaceable acres of forests, wetlands, and shorelines across the North American Eastern Seaboard.

Expanding in both scope and size, OSI employs entrepreneurial spirit, determination, and expertise to protect the land that matters most – to preserve clean drinking water; improve the public’s access to parks, public trails, and greenways; save at-risk wildlife habitat;  strengthen communities;  and to combat climate change and mitigate its effects.  OSI has an operating budget of $45 million, of which $32 million is derived through philanthropy, and is engaged in several multi-year campaigns and initiatives to support its mission. 

Position Overview 

Under the supervision of OSI’s Director, Institutional Giving, the Grants Administrator will play a critical role in advancing the organization’s fundraising strategies and goals, with a focus on institutional funding. The Administrator will serve as liaison between the development, program, finance, and legal staff to assist in the management of a $30mm+ grant portfolio, overseeing record-keeping, tracking grant deadlines and deliverables, assembling deliverables for funder applications and reports, and conducting institutional prospect research, as needed.  

Primary Roles and Responsibilities 

• Serve as the administrative point of contact for staff and donors regarding grants and institutional fundraising (agreements, deadlines, financial requests and reports, etc.); 
• Serve as the primary administrator for OSI’s grant management tracking systems – Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge; ensure the accuracy and integrity of all data input and output;   
• Maintain submissions in calendar and in CRM (Raiser’s Edge); 
• Maintain donor records in Raiser’s Edge; 
• Track grant deliverables and timetables and communicate deliverables to staff;  
• Assist in compiling and drafting proposals and reports;  
• Coordinate with Finance Department to help monitor and document expenditures made with restricted giving funds;  
• Compile regular reconciliation reports and other reports, as necessary; 
• Help ensure grant agreements are reviewed by Legal staff, as needed; 
• Copyediting;  
• Submitting proposals, reports and compliance needs in portals; 
• Gather relevant program information to assist Director of Institutional Giving in preparation for meetings and in the creation of proposals and reports; 
• Assist in government grant compliance, including maintaining pre-qualification on New York State Grants Gateway and Grants.gov; 
• Maintain all portals and files of standard attachments; and, 
• Complete other administrative tasks, as needed, including organization of digital and hard copy records, filing, copying, sorting, mailing, etc. 

• Develop strategies for maximizing the capabilities of current databases and best practices for information management.  
• Develop strategies to optimize the grant administration process; recommend and implement process improvements.  
• Provide support and training for other staff members on the systems. 

Qualifications and Requirements 

• Bachelor’s degree and/or equivalent experience in related field and 2+ years related experience.
• Minimum 2 years of experience in fundraising/development role in non-profit sector
• Undergraduate degree 

Technical Skills and Abilities: 

• Proven track record in philanthropic record keeping and complex database management. 
• Knowledge of Raiser’s Edge or equivalent CRM/donor/grants management database. 
• Familiarity with contracts and agreements. 
• Experience with budget development and monitoring. 
• Experience with prospect research. 
• Experience with government grants – especially with the NYS Grants Gateway – a plus.   

General Skills and Abilities: 

• Outstanding attention to detail, organization, diligence and commitment to excellence. 
• Ability to think and problem-solve creatively.  
• Strong project management and time management skills, with the ability to prioritize numerous ongoing projects. 
• Highly organized. 
• Ability to meet deadlines. 
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills. 
• Ability to work on complex assignments. 
• Highly collegial working style and ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously. 
• Familiarity with environmental and/or land conservation issues is desirable  
• Ability to maintain the confidentiality of privileged information 

Location & Physical Requirements 

• The position is based in OSI’s New York City office. 
• Some evening and weekend hours may be required occasionally for donor events  
• Frequently sits for long periods of time 
• Frequently speaks, reads, writes and uses a computer keyboard 
• May require occasional standing, walking, lifting, stooping, and bending