Grants Manager

The Heising-Simons Foundation is a family foundation based in Los Altos and San Francisco, California. The Foundation works with its many partners to advance sustainable solutions in climate and clean energy, enable groundbreaking science research, enhance the education of our youngest learners, and support human rights for all people. 

With the establishment of sister organization Heising-Simons Action Fund (Action Fund), the family and staff see increased capacity to leverage politically what the organization seeks to achieve philanthropically. Ultimately, both organizations are dedicated to ensuring that all people, especially people who have been historically marginalized, have access to urgent human needs: childcare, knowledge, a livable earth, and whole, safe, dignified lives.

The Foundation’s Board and staff feel incredibly fortunate to work with and support great leaders and organizations in vital endeavors. Since its first grant in 2007, the Foundation has awarded more than $1 billion across over 3,800 grants.

The Grants Management team ensures scalable, effective, and efficient grantmaking systems and processes and works closely with all departments across the organization, especially grantmaking program teams, legal, IT, finance, and the executive staff. In 2022, the Grants Management team processed over $170M in over 600 transactions. It is anticipated that the volume and award amount will remain steady for 2024. 

Position Summary

The Grants Manager plays a key role on the Foundation’s Grants Management team. The Grants Manager is responsible for administering grant agreements and project managing data integrity, training, and process improvements. This position provides an opportunity to build upon existing knowledge of the field of philanthropy, grant compliance, and tools like Salesforce and DocuSign. Candidates are not expected to have experience in all areas listed in the job description.

The Grants Manager will report to the Director of Grants Management and work alongside three Grants Officers. This full-time (37.5 hours per week), exempt (salaried) position is based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Currently, the Foundation has a flexible hybrid approach to work allowing staff to work from home or from one of the Foundation’s two offices while maintaining a regular in person cadence for community building, learning, collaboration, and direction-setting. The Foundation has offices in San Francisco and Los Altos, California.  

Primary Responsibilities

Duties may include, but are not limited to:

Grant Agreement Administration

• Generate and send award letters, grant agreements, amendments, and cancelation letters to grantees.
• Monitor outstanding grant agreements and follow up with grantees, as needed.
• Ensure proper receipt and logging of signed grant agreements, amendment letters, and request cancelations.
• Work closely with the Legal team to manage grant agreement negotiations and maintain documentation of negotiated language.
• Partner with the IT team to manage grant agreement templates and grants system integrations and updates.
• Oversee the grants@hsfoundation.org mailbox to respond to and triage questions and requests as necessary.

Compliance Support

• Provide information and technical assistance to grantmaking staff and grantees regarding grant requirements, grants status, and the grants management portal.
• Run equivalency determinations for eligible foreign prospective grantees.
• Prepare any state lobbying reports for filing.
• File any necessary political reporting for the Action Fund with external reporting firm.
• Manage any side letter correspondence in connection with Action Fund grantmaking.

Data Integrity and Project Management

• Provide general oversight of the Foundation and Action Fund grant budgets in Salesforce.
• Strengthen data integrity by building and maintaining data dashboards, generating reports, and creating data entry guidelines and related documentation, as requested.
• Manage and drive grants management projects such as designing onboarding and training modules and other process improvements.
• Maintain accurate electronic grant files in Box and Salesforce, according to grantmaking processes.

Team Support

• Work with members of the team to refine grantmaking processes and document internal and Foundation policies and procedures.
• Partner with the Director of Grants Management and General Counsel to plan meetings, events, and agendas to support a highly collaborative and effective team. 
• Oversee and delegate scheduling, event logistics, and other administrative tasks to the Office Coordinator, as appropriate. 

Foundation-wide Responsibilities

• Contribute to a positive, inclusive, and dynamic organizational culture. 
• Participate in Foundation-wide activities, such as committees, internal culture-building, training, and strategic planning. 

• 3+ years of relevant administrative experience.
• Excellent written and interpersonal communication skills.
• Proficient in all Microsoft Office applications.
• Experience with grants management databases, preferably Salesforce is highly desired.
• Working knowledge of DocuSign and Box applications preferred, but not required.
• Able to plan, prioritize, and anticipate workflow and meet deadlines.
• Solution-oriented and comfortable taking initiative and working independently.
• Excellent attention to detail and follow-through.
• Flexible and willing to assist others, when needed.
• Experience with contract management.
• A strong interest in philanthropy, grants management, and/or nonprofit organizations.
• A sense of teamwork, community, humor, and integrity.

Compensation and Benefits

• The starting salary range for candidates is $105,000 to $125,000 per year, depending on experience.
• We offer a comprehensive employee benefits package that includes employer-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees and dependents, long-term disability, business travel and life insurance, flexible spending accounts for medical and child care expenses, a 401(k) plan (with a 2:1 match for employee contributions of up to 8%), commuting assistance, an employee assistance program (EAP), mental health counseling, tuition reimbursement, and a generous professional development budget, matching gifts, fitness reimbursements, fertility and adoption assistance, and identity theft protection. In addition, we allow flexible schedules.

Heising- Simons Foundation Commitment to Equal Opportunity

The Foundation is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes a diverse pool of applicants. Foundation policy prohibits unlawful discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, marital status, physical disability, mental disability, military service, legally protected medical condition, reproductive health decisions, or any other consideration made unlawful by federal, state, or local laws. Reasonable accommodation will be made so that qualified applicants with disabilities may participate in the application process. Please advise in writing of special needs at the time of application.

Our success depends on our ability to build teams that include people with different experiences and expertise who can challenge each other’s assumptions with new viewpoints and bring different perspectives to the team. We encourage women, people of color, formerly incarcerated individuals, immigrants, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities, and others with diverse perspectives and experiences to apply.